WAR CRIMINALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 February 1947, Page 7

WAR CRIMINALS

FRIVOLOUS CHARGES? ALLEGATIONS BY AMERICA AND BRITAIN GENERAL CLARK’S STATEMENT (Rec. 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 4. Allegations that certain nations had made frivolous charges of war criminality were uttered at a meeting of the Foreign Ministers’ deputies during discussion of the clause about war criminals to be inserted in the Austrian treaty. America’s delegate, General Mark Clark, declared there should be a prior examination of alleged war criminals by the occupying Power. He quoted a case in which the Soviet Government had given the names of 12 persons whom the Soviet declared were Soviet citizens and war criminals, though subsequent investigation revealed that only three of the 12 named were Soviet citizens and there was not the slightest evidence that, the three named were war criminals. Britain’s delegate, Lord Hood, said the careless way in which of names were presented as those of war criminals amounted to an attempt at political victimisation. Russia’s delegate, Mr. Gusev, suggested that a telegram should be sent to the Control Council asking it to take more energetic measures to produce war criminals. General Clark protested that such a telegram would imply censure. The deputies finally decided to send the Control Council a telegram asking it to refer to its w »r cnmina problems when it reported to the deputies. -