Greece’s Fate At Stake In Crucial UNO Debate

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 September 1947, Page 8

Greece’s Fate At Stake In Crucial UNO Debate

NEWYORK, Sept. 25. The United States, supported by Britain, demanded at .a .meeting of the Political Committee of the United Nations General Assembly today that Albania and Bulgaria be debarred from participation in the Committee’s debate bri the Balkans question unless they a'greed in advance to accept the Assembly’s decision. These two countries, nori-members of the United Nations, had applied for permission to be heard'. Mr Gromyko (Russia) described the'demand as “inappropriate and unnecessary,” adding that it indicated unwillingness to hear Albania arid Bulgaria 1 .-

Mr Hector McNeil (Britain) said it would be ludicrous-to let amarrcome to Court and obey the decision only if it suited his .convenience.. The committee approved the United States,resolution by 38 votes to G, deferring a decision, on the subject until Albania, and Bulgaria had stated whether they would accept the Assembly’s decision, whatever* it might be. Only the Slav bloc voted against it. Mr Herschel Johnson (United States) then moved a resolution: — American Resolution 1. Finding Albania, Bulgaria, and Jugoslavia guilty of helping the Greek guerrillas; 2. calling upon those three countries to “cease and desist”; 3. calling upon the three countries, as well -as Greece, to co-operate in settling the dispute by establishing normal diplomatic relations, entering into frontier argreements, cooperating on the refugee problem, and studying means for the voluntary transfer of minorities; 4. establishing a special United Nations committee, to “observe, the compliance of the four Governments”;

5. authorising the committee to call a special session of the Assembly, if necessary, to help to solve the difficulties. I Soviet Obstruction Mr Johnson said that all American efforts to settle the Balkans dispute in the Security Council had been by Soviet vetoes. Jugoslavia and Bulgaria had increased their assistance to the-Greek revolutionary guerrillas since the council had first considered the problem and it was a clearly established principle of. international law that such aid was a hostile aggressive act. “In. the opinion of my Government the Assembly’s decision in this case will be crucial, both for the existence of Greece as a free and independent nation and for the United Nations it-* self,” said Mr Johnson. “Failure to protect one small State can only endanger the security of other small States. Failure to face this Issue squarely would inevitably lead to Ihe belief that acts of this kind would be tacitly condoned in the future.” The committee adjourned until tomorrow.