Russians Cause More Trouble On Berlin Road Route

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 May 1949, Page 5

Russians Cause More Trouble On Berlin Road Route

BERLIN, May 19 (Rec 1 p.m.).— The Russians tonight lifted their restrictions on the movement of loaded lorries through Helmstedt to Berlin to allow the traffic waiting at the border to travel to the city. The United States economic chief, Mr Lawrence Wilkinson, said that the Russians had made it' plain that once those lorries' had moved the restrictions on using the Helmstedt route would be imposed again. There were about 50 lorries waiting when the restrictions were lifted.

The Brtish chief of staff, MajorGeneral Westropp, tonight sent a protest to the Russian authorities saying that it has been necessary to cancel all German lorry traffic to Berlin because of the Russian restrictions at Helmstedt.

The acting United States Military Governor, Mr George Hays, also protested against the imposition of the restrictions on lorry traffic through Helmstedt and against the provision of a 25-mile detour because these were not in force before March 1, 1948, when the blockade began. A British official statement tonight, referring to the, latest Russian restrictions on road transport to Berlin, said: “The confusion these mounting difficulties have created with German firms and organisations in the West have led to grave doubts as to the practicability of continuing this traffic by road to Berlin.” Reuter’s correspondent says the new procedure demanded by the Russians for lorries entering the city calls for the production of an import licence isused by the Soviet Zone Economic Commission, as well as the original signature on the bill of loading issued by the Western zone authorities. It also calls for the redirection of all German load-carry-ing vehicles from Helmstedt ,to a subsidiary crossing-point at Bustedt, 25 miles away.