CZECH COUP: U.S. SUPPORTS MOVE FOR UNO INQUIRY

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 March 1948, Page 5

CZECH COUP: U.S. SUPPORTS MOVE FOR UNO INQUIRY

(Recd. 11.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, March 14. The State Department today instructed the United States delegation to the Security Council to vote in favour of placing on the agenda the Chilean charge that the Soviet engineered the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia. This is reported by the United Press quoting authoritative sources.

The American decision virtually assures the complete hearing of the complaint. Seven Council members must approve the placing of an item on the agenda and the United States decision should attract at least six votes. British officials have indicated that they are voting with- the United States. . Russia is considered certain to oppose the motion, but as the veto normally does not apply to agenda questions, the Soviet will not succeed in stopping the move.

It was reported on Saturday that Chile has filed a formal protest with the United Nations asking the Security Council to investigate the charge against Russia made by the Czecfy, delegate (Mr Papanek). i The Chilean delegate (Mr Herman; Santa Cruz) filed a letter of complaint which, after repeating Dr Papanek’s charge that “the political independ-1 ence of Czechoslovakia has been vio- j lated through the threat of the use of force by ..Russia,” says that the | Security Council must make an in-1 vestigation in accordance with the Charter. j The letter adds that the Govern-> ment of Chile believes that the.auth-| oritative accusation by the permanent representative of Czechoslovakia is of i such gravity that a mere question of formal procedure must not be allowed

to prevent the organ specifically charged with safeguarding world ■ peace and security from practising a necessary investigation in order to establish its truth. , The letter, after saying that the I world faces a repetition of the actions ; and methods Nazi Germany employed, says: “Peace and security are in imminent danger because of internaI tional action contrary to the Charter i on the part of a member State against another State.” I The letter calls on the United Na{tions to employ all means provided by the Charter “to prevent before it is too j late these actions and these methods * from fulfilling the execution of a plan jthe designs and range of which it is not difficult to imagine.” ! The complaint has been placed on the agenda of the Security Council for March 17.