BRITISH POLICY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 20, 21 December 1944, Page 6

BRITISH POLICY

LABOUR CRITICISM. MR EDEN'S FIRxM REPLY. (N.Z. Press Association.—Copyright.) (Rec. 11.30 a.m.; RUGBY, Dec. 20. Opening a debate on the Greek situation in the House of Commons after the Government had given an opportunity for a discussion at the request of Labour members, Hon. A. Greenwood said the problem was important hot from the military point of view as much as from the fact that when military power had exercised its force, spiritual values would final-

ly determine the victory. Mr Greenwood said they must regard ! the situation as a test case and wiiile ! making full allowance lie considered j the Prime Minister had not handled tne situation in the way it should have been handled. "I really do submit I that British honour and dignity are at stake," he said, "and Ido not think we ought to stand on the ordinary kind of rules and regulations. I believe this problem is not military; it is political, it is not going to be solved by forcible means, or by the demand that arms should be laid down before anybody talks. This is a supreme test of statesmanship on which the future of the liberated countries will largely depend." Mr Greenwood pointed out that we were likely to have the same kind of problem in other countries, and, if British forces were to be turned into a kind of Gestapo to suppress the forces we had admired when they were resisting the Germans, Britain would lose her. good name in Europe. "I am not myself as afraid of the E.A.M. as Mr Churchill, who tends to divide the people into sheep and goats. He tried to convey the impression that we are helping to support a righteous cause and eveo'one who is a member of the E.A.M. was a gangster. We went into Greece with the perfectlygood motive of feeding the people. Having got involved in this trouble the Government has got to see it through and play a great part in establishing an armistice. It is unfortunate that the King of Greece expressed great reluctance against the Regency, which as far as I understand, is generally agreed to by the vast majority of\ Greeks. I am prepared to forget the Darlans and Badoglios, but I am not prepared to forget Greece, I beg the Government in the interests of Greece and the interests of the future and honour o c our people to get rid of the shooting."—Official Wireless. SITUATION DEPLORED.

' "I must say that Mr Churchill has not handled the situation in the way in which it should have been handled. I am not taking any joy in saying this, but I feel it on my conscience to say it because I believe that Mr Churchill's words have, in fact, done something to embitter " the political situation over here," said Mr Greenwood, according to a Press Association message. "There is no division in this country on this issue. Everybody deplores the situation and knows it is fantastic and tragic to have the Greeks and Britons at each other's throats. It is a terrible thing to have British soldiers under orders to attack men with whum they have fought in the past. If Mr Churchill had bven a littlo more responsive and generous in the words he used-in the House of Commons on December 15 there need not have been any occasion for a debate. Mr Churchill should not have come down as a schoolmaster prior to the Christmas holiday, waving a birch instead of wishing the boys a happy Christmas, This is not the occasion tor a vote of censure. There is no

challenge to the Government, but there is great perturbation in the minds of millions of Britons and among the Allies as to the situation in Greece."

'He concluded by appealing to the Government to get rid of the shooting and get down to the use of the ballot rather than bullets.

Sir Percy Harris (Lab.) claimed that there was a lot of resentment in Britain because young men who had been conscripted to fight the Germans were now being used to shoot down allies. He said it was an unwise policy lor Britain to tak6 the sole responsibility in Greece; our allies should lie asked to share the responsibility. Mr Aneurin Bevan (Lab.) declared: "We are meeting under the shadow of a threat by General Scobie, who declared in a leaflet that, unless the E.A.M. guns cease firing, guns, bombers rockets and tanks will be used against Athens. If the threats are carried out the House of Commons would be put to a most shameful situation. '(Cheers.) When the Germans were fighting in Greece we said that if Athens w'ere bombed we would bomb Rome. The Germans did not bomb Athens, but we did. Are we prepared to go into recess and allow the strife to be continued on such terms? The Greeks do not trust the British Government because it has been intriguing for two years to get King George back on the throne. Will Mr Eden give an assurance that the British Government favours the establishment of a Regency!-' Why should British soldiers lose their lives in order to back up intrigues of the King of Greece? Gurkhas are being used in Greece because they are politically backward and can be relied on to fire against the Greeks." Mr Eden, intervening, said that the overwhelming majority of troops in Greece are white. Mr H. A.j Molson (Con.) : What is the point of ah offensive remark about the Gurkhas?

Mr Bevan: The Greeks resent the Gurkhas as you would resent them in similar circumstances.

At this point fcaere was considerable shouting. Some members of the House of Commons rose to their feet. Mr Bevan said the Government must not put too much strain on us. Labour participation in some of these policies has gone as far as some of us will allow. If, when we return from our recess, fighting has gone on in Greece, and if you reject our friendly advice, some of us will make it clear that those policies against the Greeks are only the Tories' policies. AGREEMENT THAT FAILED.

After other members had spoken on similar lines', Mr Eden replied. He said there was nothing the Government would welcome more than closer machinery of international collaboration than there was now. Before the decision was taken in Greece the Allies had been consulted and the step Britain was taking was approved. The Government did not foresee that matters would turn out as they had done. For reasons of security, Britain's plans and intentions had not been described even to their Greek ally a;:d it had been impossible to give the Greeks a clear answer to their appeals for the British to go into Greece. When the time for entry into Greece approached, guerrilla bands had been contacted and the two leaders, Zeryas and Serafi, were invited to meet the Supreme Commander. Immense trouble was taken to try to get an agreement between all the parties in Greece before the British went intq s Greece. The agreement was accepted by the Papandreou Government in the presence of the guerrilla leaders. Mr Eden quoted from the document which was accepted unanimously. In

it, all the guerrilla forces placed themselves under the orders of General Scobie and the guerrilla leaders declared that they would forbid any units under their command to take the law into their own hands. Such action would be regarded as a crime and treated accordingly. All the guerrilla forces, in order to put. an end to past rivalries, declared they would form a national union in order to coordinate their activities in the best interests of the common struggle. Mr Eden submitted that this document ( showed there had been a great deal of trouble in Greece before the British arrived. Mr Eden stressed that Britain was seeking no advantage whatever through the actions in Greece. British troops luid ko.iio there to help because Greece not'support herself and her harbours and means of transport were utterly destroyed.