AGREEMENT ON TERMS OF ATLANTIC PACT

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 March 1949, Page 6

AGREEMENT ON TERMS OF ATLANTIC PACT

LONDON, March 12.

The ambassadors in Washington of the eight nations negotiating the Atlantic Pact agreed on its terms yesterday. After they had conferred with the United States Secretary of State (Mr Dean Acheson) for more than two hours, the Belgian Ambassador (Baron Silvercruys) told reporters: “It is all fine, agreed to and everything.” He added that the negotiators had cleared up the remaining points and polished up the text. The final meeting would be held next week. A State Department spokesman said it was expected that the text of the treaty would be published on March 18. Later an eight-nation communique announced that it was expected that the treaty would be signed in the first week in April. It added that there would be one or more meetings next week. Italian Adherence The Italian Prime Minister (Mr Alcide de Gasperi) told Parliament yesterday that'the Italian Cabinet had unanimously agreed to adhere to the Atlantic Pact, but he said that participation in the pact did not necessarily signify participation in war. “Even in the case of war breaking out one of the participants in the pact might have other functions than exactly that of fighting.” Mr de Gasperi said.

Packed tense sessions of the Chamber and Senate heard this brief declaration.

Mr de Gasperi said that Italy did not subordinate entrance to the pact to her desire for revision of the peace treaty.

The Italian Government is not expected to take further action towards joining the pact until the Senate and Chamber approve its decision. The pro-Communist leader, Mr Pietro Nenni, opening a debate in the Chamber of Deputies, said that the Italian Left Wing would fight the pact as it had fought the Fascist pact with Germany. He asked that a referendum be held. Mr Nenni added that the pact was an attempt to put a ring round the Soviet Union and the popular democracies.

Threat Of Strikes

The Communist leader (Mr Patemiro Togliatti) told the Chamber that the Communists threatened a new wave of strikes and demonstrations if Parliament approved of Italy’s inclusion in the pact. The Chamber rejected a resolution that full details of the pact should be given to the Chamber’s Foreign Affairs Commission before the pact was discussed in the House.

“Police armed with truncheons and tommy-guns charged hundreds of youths demonstrating in central Rome against the Atlantic Pact,” says Reuter’s Rome correspondent. “The youths gathered near the Chamber of Deputies. Fights started and 50 persons were detained.”

Communists in Naples entered the city hall to protest against the pact. As part of the campaign against the pact Communists held small unofficial strikes in numerous places today. In Paris the evening newspaper Paris Presse quoted a Spanish Foreign Office spokesman as saying that Spain would not join a Mediterranean pact if she was excluded from the Atlantic Pact and the United Nations.