PRISONERS OF WAR

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 60, 8 February 1945, Page 6

PRISONERS OF WAR

JAPANESE INVITATION. (N.Z. Press Association. —Copyright.) (Bee. 11 a.m.) BUGBY, F§ft‘; 7. The Minister of State (Mr B. Iv. Law), replying to a House of Commons question respecting Japaneseheld prisoners of war, said: “In the middle of last December the Swiss Go»ernment and International Bed Cross Committee wwe invited to visit the Santo Tomas civilian internment camp at Manila, the prisoner-of-war camp at Singapore, and the prisoner-of-war hospital in Siam. This offer does not, of course, cover more than a fraction of the camps in the southern area but the Japanese stated that they regard these limited visits as the first step. Meanwhile American forces have tfiken the Manila camp. 'The Japanese offer was conditional upon representatives of the International Bed Cross Committee being permitted to visit Japanese subjects held in Britain, the Unite 1 } States, and Allied countries and in particular in New Caledonia. Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. The British Government at once replied that neutral representatives have long been permitted to visit all Japanese held in the British Empire and full reciprocity, therefore, already exists as far as the Empire is concerned. The French Government recently stated that it was prepared to > authorise the sending of an International Bed Cross delegate to New Caledonia. The United States Government has not yet replied in regard to visits to the camps at Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.”

When the question of the treatment of British prisoners of war in German hands was raised in the House of Commons, Mr R. Purbrick (Con., Walton) asked whether the Prime Minister would notify the Germans that, unless British prisoners were properly housed and fed. we should reduce the standard of living of the German prisoners in our hands to the same level. The Deputy-Prime Minister (Mr Attlee) replied : “No. The obligation imposed by the Geneva Convention is that food and housing conditions should eorres-,, pond with those of the depot troops of the detaining Power. It is the nolicv of the Government to comply with nil these obligations.”