CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27573, 15 December 1950, Page 7

CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL

Commission To Determine Basis For Negotiations

New Zealand Press Association—Copyright Rec. 8.40 p.m, NEW YORK, Dec. 13. The United Nations Political Committee today approved of the appointment of a three-member commission to try to arrange a ceasefire in Korea. The vote was 51 to 5, with Nationalist China abstaining. The only opposition came from the Soviet group. Shortly before the vote Mr Jacob Malik said that Russia’s motion for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Korea included the Chinese “ volunteers,” whose presence was caused by other foreign intervention. The resolution for a cease-fire bid will now go before the General Assembly for final approval. It proposes that the Assembly president, Nasrollah Entezam, and two others should attempt to determine the basis for a satisfactory cease-fire and then report to the Assembly.

The Soviet Union earlier rejected the Asian-Arab plan for a Korean cease-fire on the ground that the United States and Britain would 'use the truce to prepare their forces for a new attack. Mr Malik said there could be no peace in Korea until all United Nations troops were withdrawn. “My delegation will vote against the draft resolution before the committee,” he said. “We will object to the adoption of any resolution which has implicit in it the maintenance of foreign troops in Korea.” Mr Malik was speaking in the debate on the cease-fire proposal put forward by India and 12 other AsianArab nations with the support of the United States and Britain. A companion measure calling for a peace conference to settle existing issues in the Far East was to be considered later. Mr Malik said he did not question the motives of the Asian and Arab nations in sponsoring the cease-fire proposal, but the United States and Britain were interested only in the strictly limited objective of a cease fire and not in settlement of other political objectives. Mr Malik said that as far as Britain and the United States were concerned the cease-fire proposal was “hypocritical camouflage intended to obtain a breathing spell for further military action to get their broken ranks into order again and then to continue armed intervention.’’ Referring to the communique issued last week by President Truman and Mr Attlee. Mr Malik said: “ It shows again that the authors of the communique did not seek peace or the possibility to talk of peace. They seek a mad armaments race and the Dreparation of a new war.” M. Jean Chauvel. the French dele-, gate, joined with the United States and Britain in supporting the ceasefire resolution. He declared that the application of a cease-fire should be limited to the military aspects of the Korean question and not allowed to affect the political problems of the Far East.