ALLIES AND AUSTRIA

Grey River Argus, 22 February 1947, Page 5

ALLIES AND AUSTRIA

TREATY DIFFERENCES Penalties on Nazis LONDON, Feb. 20. The Foreign Ministers’ deputies have completed their work on the Austrian treaty’s political clauses. Of 15 articles, seven will go to the Foreign Ministers’ conference at Moscow; as agreed on, relating to the establishment of a free independent Austria, human rights, democratic institutions. ' recognition of satellite peace treaties, liquidation of the League of Nations and certain of its organs, bilateral treaties, and thf* restoration of archives as between Austria and Germany.

On the remaining eight clauses there is difference of opinion, mainly between the three western powers on the one hand and the Soviet on the other. They relate to guarantees of Austrian independence, the banning of German propaganda in Austria, frontier questions (Russia wants Slovene Carinthia to go to Yugoslavia), nationalities and naturalisation Nazi organisations and lution of Fascist organisations and war criminals. These clauses, with the braacketed disagreements, will also be sent to Moscow. The deputies are dealing with the military ond political clauses and the position of German assets in Austria.

LONDON, Feb. 20.

The Times Vienna correspondent says: A law defining punishment for Austrian Nazis, which has been discussed for months by political parties and the Allied Commission, has now been published, and it operates immediately. It defines categories to be punished, and the amounts that they are to be fined. Over half a million Austrians are affected. All members of the Nazi Party, the S.S. and S.A., and officials in attached organisations who had control over an area roughly equal to a parish and upwards, together with writers and business men already convicted of collaboration with Nazis, are now compelled to be registered. They are divided into two caregories—guilty and less guilty. Those in the guilty category comprise all Nazis from i the position of cell leader upwards, all members of the S.S., Gestapo, security police and affiliated organisations, also convicted writers and business men. The rest are defined as less guilty. Those defined ns guilty must pay fines amounting to 20 per cent, on their existing income and also property taxes to the end of 1950. They can have their houses taken away. They may never stand for any election, and may not vote, or join any party until the end of April, 1950. All their pensions come to an end, and in special circumstances they may be held in camps. The less guilty are, to pay ten per cent, additional taxes, they may vote and join parties, but may not be elected. All students of both categories are excluded from the high schools until the end of April, 1950. There have been several protests against this last clause, Albanian Reply ATTACK ON BRITAIN (Rec. 6.5). NEW YORK, Feb. 20. The Albanian representative, Hysni Kap, spoke for three hours to the U.N.O. Security Council in reply to the British charges of illegal minelaying in Corfu Channel. Kap denied, firstly, that Albania laid the mines; secondly, denied knowing who laid them; and thirdly, denied knowing that the mines were in the channel. He accused the British warships of flagrant violations of Albania’s sovereignty, saying that they entered Albanian waters in battle formation without flying their national flag, and that they fired machine-guns into th© air and the water in the hope of creating an international incident. The remainder of his speech was devoted to an attack on Greece for violating Albanian waters, and on British officers, whom he accused of having collaborated with the Axis in Albania during the war. Six 1 A. Cadogan (Britain) described the Albanian delegate’s speech as “nine-tenths irrevalent”.' He said that the remainder of it showed that Albania had harboured grievances against Britain, and had a motive for mine-laying. The hearing was adjourned.