BIG THREE PLANS FOR PEACE TREATIES

Grey River Argus, 5 November 1949, Page 5

BIG THREE PLANS FOR PEACE TREATIES

For Germany And Japan CHINESE COMMUNISTS A COMPLICATION

(Rec. 9.55). NEW YORK, Nov. 3. The New York Times has an article by its correspondent at Washington, Mr James Reston, in reference to the projected meeting in Paris of the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Britain and France. Mr Reston says that a peace treaty with Japan and a recognition of Communist China will probably be included in the agenda for the meeting in Faris of the British, French and United States Foreign Secretaries. He continues: An official of the U.S State Department said to-day that, Messrs Bevin, Schuman, and Acheson were discussing the possibility of an early meeting in Paris. Mr Reston said that the Foreign Secretaries would meet there probably from Tuesday next to Wednesday. He added that this meeting was proposed by Mr Ernest Bevin, who originally had suggested a conference on Germany. “But”, he continues, “no policy has yet been devised that has ever prevented the three Foreign Ministers from freewheeling over much larger areas in th e world, whenever they get together”. The question of recognising the Chinese Communists, he said, raised a number of complicated issues for the three Foreign Secretaries. The British Government was under pressure from the extreme Left (for ideological reasons); from the extreme Right (for commercial reasons), and from Australia and India ("or geographic reasons) to recognise the Chines e Communists as a legitimate Government.

Mr Reston goes on: The United States would, however, rather not take such action at this time, mainly because the Chinese Communists have not met the tests for recognition, and because there are powerful"forces in the United States who are supporting the Chinese Nationalists. The officials in Washington saw little chance of the three Foreign Secretaries being able to agree about China. I? the three Governments cannot agree on when to recognise the Communist Government of China, this will make their deliberations on proceedings with the Japanese Peace Treaty, all the more difficult, for China must be in on any Japanese Peace Treaty conference, and, until everybody recognises the same Government of China, a conference on a Peace Treaty will probably have to be postponed. QUESTIONS ON GERMANY I Mr Reston added that questions connected with the organisation of the North Atlantic Pact were also expected to be considered and an "informed guess” at the State Department was that the following questions on Germany would be discussed:—

(1) The developments since the formation of the West German Federal Republic and the Communistdominated East German Republic. (2) The West German Government’s proposed entrance into the Council of Europe; an international wheat argeement; an international bank for reeonstrutcion, and an international monetary fund (together with tactics for keeping the East German Democratic Republic out of these and other international agencies. (3) The West German Government’s desire to end the dismantling of the German factories, and the Western Allies' cesrie to see the West Germans acepet rights and responsibilities offered them under the terms of the International authority for the Ruhr. I-i.' Germany’s export competition with Western countries.

WESTERN POWERS NEAR FINALITY ON GERMAN TREATY

(Rec 9.50) WASHINGTON, Nov 3. An official of the U.S. State Department said tonight, that the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and the United States were discussing the possibility of having an early meeting in Paris. This would be primarily to deal with the German problem. The official said that Mr Ernest Bevin, M. Schuman, and Mr Dean Achesan had not reached an agreement on the details regarding Germany, but they were close to it. The Paris meeting would be a continuation of tbs discussions that the three Foreign Ministers had held in Washington after the dollar crisis talks finished in September. The Paris conversations would deal mainly with German problems, but it was that other subjects would be Included on the agenda.

PARIS, Nov. 3

Europe’s Foreign Ministers decided tonight to drop the issue of Western Germany’s entry in to the Council of Europe until Russia and America have had a chance to talk" 9 ?!' over. The two sessions of the 12 Ministers resulted only in parliamentary manoeuvring designed to delay action on the acceptance of the West German Republic ns a member. Meanwhile th? United States Secretary of State, Mr Dean Acheson, will fly to Paris next week for three Power talks on the whole German problem —shortly after meeting the Russian Foreign Minister, M. Vysh nsky. in Washington. At their meeting to-day the 12 Ministers decided that they would not take any action on new members in the Council without consulting the permanent steering committee of the Council’s Lower House or Assembly. This committee will begin meeting in Paris next week.

WEST GERMANY DECIDES ON CAPITAL

BONN, November 3. , The West German Parliament’s Lower House (Bundestag) to-day voted Bonn the capital of Western Germany. The voting was 200 tc 176 with three abstentions and 1 invalid votes. Frankfurt was Bonn s rival for the seat of Government. A special committee investigated the merits and costs oi the preparation of the two cities and reported that Bonn would need £8,300,000 more

spent on it than Frankfurt. The Constituent Assembly chose Bonn on May 10, and th? High Commissioners approved it, but the final selection was with the Bundestag. The choice of the Western Republic’s capital aroused more public interest than almost any other political issue. The ancient enmity between France and Germany had become anachronism which must be over come, said the West German Chancellor (Dr. Konrad Adenauer) in an interview witii the Hamburg weekly newspaper, Die Zeit. Dr. Adenauer said that he was “'‘determined to seek improved French-German relations. A Federal Chancellor must simultaneously be a good European. Security was the central problem in relations between the two countries. If France should demand too great a measure of security, ignoring vital German needs, then our att'tude is likely to stiffen,’’ Dr. Adenauer added. An exchange of French and German workers might help both countries to understand each other's culture.