JAP. EMPEROR

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 December 1945, Page 5

JAP. EMPEROR

NOT WAR CRIMINAL

. MACARTHUR’S DECISION

NEW YORK, December 20.

“It is learned that General MacArthur will not name the Emperor as a war criminal or force his abdication unless evidence of his guilt develops or General MacArthur is compelled to act by a directive from a higher authority,” says the correspondent of the New York “HeraldTribune” in Tokio. “However, if the Emperor wishes to abdicate—according to some reports he has been asking General MacArthur to sanction such a move —that is something which the Japanese Government and people must work out for themselves. “General MacArthur, who considers that the first major phase of the occupation concluded with his directive abolishing the State religion of Shintoism, has redefined the occupation policy in instructions to his commands, which, according to a staff release, ‘set forth with striking clarity that an opportunity is being afforded the completely vanquished enemy to correct the errors of its ways.’ The instructions emphasised again the determination to keep a firm hold on the Japanese people, but said that the Government and people must be given every opportunity to carry out the Supreme Commander’s orders without compulsion. The Supreme Commander would continue to control Japan through the Emperor Hirohito or by other suitable means, but the final form of government must be one supported by the freely-, expressed will of the people. “General MacArthur cautioned his commanders, saying that respect for and confidence in the United Nations and their representatives would be developed by example, demonstration, and the safeguarding of individual rights.” General MacArthur has ordered restoration of the right to vote and hold public office to all political prisoners whose release he ordered on October 4, and those released before that date.

KONOYE’S MEMOIRS

(Rec. 12.35 p.m.) TOKIO, Dec. 20. Prince Konoye’s memoirs, which are now in the hands of the Chief War Crime Prosecutor, state that there was not a doubt of the Emperor’s sincere wish at all times for peace. They condemn Japan’s system of government which permitted free rein to the army.

“While the Government was carrying on negotiations with all its might, the army was pushing ahead with its war preparations, but the Government did not know what the preparations were. The movement of ships and mobilisation moves became known in the United States, creating doubt in the United States of the sincerity of the negotiations. The army wanted war and the navy would not or could not oppose the army. The Emperor remarked to me: ‘lt is regrettable about the army.’ ” Konoye commented in his.memoirs on the fact that the Emperor rarely voiced an opinion to the degree that it might be thought. He was too hesitant. Konoye added that “although it was proper that the Emperor be passive in peace-time, such passivity when the country was standing at the crossroads of peace or war led to extreme difficulties.”

FOOD SHORTAGE.

NEW YORK, December 20.

A Tokio report states: Japanese officials have continued to emphasise the growing gravity of Japan’s impending food crisis. The occupation authorities have therefore forbidden the American troops to eat Japanese food, and all of the eating places that are serving food from Japanese sources have been placed out of bounds. The club messes have been ordered to obtain their food only from Allied sources. The order said that this action is being taken to prevent possible civil unrest, and undue interference with the occupation mission. Meanwhile the official Japanese figures have shown that the rice collections are only 11 pel’ cent, of the total assessment.

RUSSIAN CRITICISM

U.S.A. FORCES IN CHINA

MOSCOW, December 20.

Reticence is still being observed about the Foreign Ministers’ talks in Moscow, but the Russian newspapers are' giving prominence to news from the Far East, which may point to the matters under discussion, says the Moscow correspondent of “The Times.” A long Tass Agency dispatch describes mounting dissatisfaction among Japanese Left Wing parties with the Japanese political elements which are seeking to shield the Emperor. It describes the Japanese financial and labour situation as chaotic.

“Pravda” deals bluntly with the presence of large American forces in China, which, it says, seems inconsistent with respect for Chinese sovereign rights and the principle of non-intervention. It also criticises President Truman’s explanation of American policy in China, saying that the task of disarming the Japanese does not require the presence of American tanks, aeroplanes,_ and warships, nor was American intervention needed in areas of China where the local Chinese forces had proved themselves capable of dealing alone with the task of disarming the defeated enemy. “Pravda” draws the significant conclusion that the presence of a foreign army in North China justifies the Soviet Union in maintaining troops in Manchuria for a certain period, especially as Manchuria was so long under Japanese occupation and lies on the Soviet borders.

PEACE IN CHINA.

(Rec. 11 a.m.) SHANGHAI, December 20. With the arrival of General Marshall, Chinese Communists asked the Government to agree to the immediate unconditional cessation of - hostilities, according to Lu Ting Yi, of the Communist peace parley delegation. Lu said that Chou En Lai, the Red leader, would seek an opportunity of presenting the Communist case to General Marshal. It was reported in Chungking that the Central Government and Communist leaders were ready to go to the limit in peace-making concessions to impress General Marshall. Chiang Kai-shek awaits General Marshall in Nanking. It is expected both will fly to Chungking this week for conferences.

INDO-CHINA OPERATIONS.

FRENCH CRUELTIES ALLEGED.

LONDON, December 20. A French war correspondent at

Saigon reports that he has protested to General le Clerc, Commander of the French forces, against torture and killing of a Tonkinese member of insurgent Annamese forces. This correspondent says he saw the Tonkinese nearly beaten to death by a French Lieutenant and by a civilian interpreter for his refusal to answer questions. The Tonkinese was then shot by a French sergeant in the presence of French officers.

The correspondent also said: “The execution of captured Annamese solders, who refuse to talk, is quite an ordinary feature of any French cleanup operation anywhere in southern Indo-China. A French armoured patrol searching for Annamese leaders found an improvised Annamese field ambulance with 16 wounded, all of whom were killed. The leader of the patrol said the Annamese were half dead anyhow.” The correspondent said that official figures which he obtained from reliable French eye witnesses indicated that the French reconquest of Indo-China involved systematic mass slaughter of insurgents. Only a few days ago at French police headiquarters in Cholon (Saigon’s Chinatown), eleven Annamese insurgents were shot without trial, and 40 other prisoners were compelled to witness the execution.