ASSEMBLY VOTES AGAINST PROPOSAL FOR RETURN OF AMBASSADORS TO MADRID

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27083, 18 May 1949, Page 5

ASSEMBLY VOTES AGAINST PROPOSAL FOR RETURN OF AMBASSADORS TO MADRID

New Zealand Press Association—Copyright Rec. 9 p.m. NEW YORK, May 16. The resolution calling for the return of ambassadors to Madrid was defeated to-day when it failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority in the Genera! Assembly of the United Nations. The vote was 26 in favour and 15 against The Assembly rejected the Polish resolution calling for a ban on the export of arms and ammunition to Spain and recommending that States should refrain from entering into agreements or treaties with the Franco Government. The vote was 40 against and 6 in favour.

During the discussion Mr Hector McNeil, -the British Minister of State, accused Poland of supplying 500 fighter and bomber engines and propellers to the Spanish Government. He said Britain earlier had refused to supply Rolls Royce engines to Spain as they were to be placed in Heinkel bomber frames. The engines were then obtained from Poland. Mr McNeil said that neither the British Government nor the British people approved General Franco and his associates. Neither did they -ap prove restrictions on freedom whether found in Spain. Bulgaria, or anywhere Mr Julius Katzsuchy (Poland) denied Mr McNeil’s charges that Poland had supplied engines to the Spanish Government. He said: “Poland has never had any commercial relations with Franco Spain. We have never supplied any engines to Franco Spain, either directly or through an intermediary.’’

Mr Katzsuchy made the charge that the United States had a secret military alliance with Franco and was building up Spain as a military bastion in case of war.

Mr Ray Atherton (United States) denied that the United States had any secret, alliance with Franco. He said the United States policy towards Spain remained unchanged “ and we continue to hope for the development of free democratic institutions in Spain." Meanwhile, the Export and Import Bank has refused a loan to Spain, says the Washington correspondent of the Herald Tribune. “ Senor Andres Moreno, chairman of the Banco Hispano Americano* and General Franco's special financial emissary, left Washington empty-handed to-day after receiving a polite rejection from the bank to a request for loans totalling 1,275.900,000 dollars.

Before talking to bank officials Senpr Moreno discussed the loan with Southern Senators, telling them that if Spain were given cotton credit of between 54 000.000 and 90 080 000 dollars it would by 300,000 bales of cotton from the South, which has a large surplus this year. Similarly. Mid-wes Senators were told that Spain would buy 500.000 to 1,000,000 tons of wheat if the bank gave credit of between 80.000,000 and 160.000,000 dollars.”

The correspondent says that other interests were similarly approached, but the bank was not satisfied with Spain’s guarantees.