“SOVIET CASE STATED”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26747, 16 April 1948, Page 5

“SOVIET CASE STATED”

FEDERAL MINISTER ACCUSED MARSHALL PLAN BITTERLY CRITICISED Rec. 9 p.m. CANBERRA, Apl. 15. The Minister of External Territories, Mr E. J. Ward, was accused during the resumed foreign affairs debate in the House of Representatives of having stated Russia’s case “ in a way that must dissipate any idea that the Government is not tinged with Communism.” The Leader of the Opposition, Mr R. G. Menzies, said that Russia’s foreign policy was frankly imperialistic and that so long as grave tension and hostility existed in the world Russia would believe it would pay her to have a disorganised Germany, a divided France, and a disturbed Italy. There was no support for the Soviet view that the United States was engaging in economic and political aggression in Europe. Mr Ward strongly criticised America and the Marshall Plan, attacked the Greek Government, and supported the use of the veto in the United Nations Council.

“ The press in this country is playing a great part in whipping up hostility to the Soviet,” he said. “In international news we are a great deal dependent on channels almost exclusively in the hands of private enterprise, and as a result all sorts of trash is dished up. My own opinion is that war is not an imminent danger, but could be if the non-progressive forces

in the world remain in control.” He charged that the Marshall Plan was being used for political purposes and that the Western Powers had sponsored both Italy’s admission to the United Nations and the return of Trieste to Italy to influence the Italian elections. It was a blunder to keep from the Soviet Union the knowledge of the discovery oT the secret of atomic energy. „ , , Mr H. L. Anthony (Country Party) said he doubted whether any other democratic country could state the case for Russia as Mr Ward had. The speech was a sample of what a MnCommunist could do by way of stating the Communist case.