INCREASED SOVIET MEASURES TO SEAL ZONAL FRONTIERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26959, 20 December 1948, Page 5

INCREASED SOVIET MEASURES TO SEAL ZONAL FRONTIERS

NZPA—Copyright LONDON, Dec. ,17. “ Frontier jitters ’’ now grip all the foreign forces in Germany, says the Berlin correspondent of the Associated Press. The Russians have taken increasingly severe measures in the past few nonths to seal the frontier, across vhich thousands of German refugees had fled from Eastern Germany. This illegal immigration includes hundreds of Soviet army deserters. Russian frontier patrols are known to have orders to shoot trespassers. British Army headquarters in Germany announced the release of the six soldiers held by Russian frontier guards, says the Hamburg correspondent of the Associated Press, following hours of negotiation by senior British officers who went into the Soviet zone. The British Military Governor, General Sir Brian Robertson, said that, although the case was regrettable, he did not consider it of great importance. “If it is properly handled, I don’t think that it will stir up trouble between us and the Russians,” he said. Statute Differences The three western military governors, who have been discussing the occupation statute at Frankfurt, were unable to agree at their meeting yesterday and are referring the statute back to their governments, says the Frankfurt correspondent of The Times. Differences have arisen particularly over the question of who is to interpret the statute in the cases of disputes, and who is to be responsible, a central government or the Germcfh States, for collecting the occupation costs. A new six-Power conference is likely to be called. Both the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and the dominions have recently indicated their continued interest in the terms of the occupation and would require to see the statute before it is given to Germany. The United States Military Government has offered to lift its counterblockade of the Russian zone long enough to permit the transit of 50,000 Christmas gift parcels to Eastern Germany, says the British United Press correspondent in Berlin. The Russian authorities will have to provide railway wagons to carry the parcels. Berlin Radio Incident Observers in Berlin are speculating whether the Russians, in retaliation to the destruction by the French of two radio towers of Berlin radio because of their interference with air-lift traffic, may cut Berlin’s telephone and telegraph links with the British zone and the rest of the world. Allied officials in Berlin stated that preparations bad been made for such an eventuality, and a special radio-telephone transmitter had been already installed at Harz, in the British zone. The Soviet authorities will claim 150,000 marks as compensation for the damage to the masts, says Reuter’s Berlin correspondent. The German News Agency reported that the claim will be made on the ground that the time given by the French authorities was too short for dismantling to be undertaken.

The American Military Governor, General Lucius Clay, at an informal press conference, thanked the French for blowing up the towers, says the Frankfurt correspondent of the Associated Press. “I am grateful to the French for their action in removing a real source of danger to our pilots on the air lift,” he said. Asked if he knew what Soviet retaliation might be, General Clay said he did not, and he did not care.