TRUCE VIOLATED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 956, 28 December 1933, Page 1

TRUCE VIOLATED.

Efforts to Settle Gran Chaco

Dispute Fail,

LEAGUE’S INTERVENTION. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. MONTEVIDEO, December 20. The final session of the seventh PanAmerican Conference, which closed today. took the important step of turning over to the League cf Nations the peace negotiations between Bolivia and Paraguay’ concerning the Gran Chaco dispute over which war has been raging for more than a y’ear. Since the recent truce was announced there have been charges from both sides of flagrant violations, and the efforts to effect a permanent peace agreement have been of no apparent success. In the words of one speaker to-day: “We turn over to the Leagtie what we are incapable of settling.” During the currency of the ccrfterence many conventions of a social and i cultural nature were adopted, such as that in respect of women’s rights, but little concrete progress was made towards the rehabilitation of int-r-Ameriean trade. It was reported on December 19 ! that along a front of 300 miles in the ; sub-equatorial wilderness of Gran i Chaco, ever the possession of which Bolivia and Paraguay have been in dis- | p.ute for more than fifty’ years, firing : ceased at midnight in conformity with | an armistice, which was to be effective i until the end of the year. In the last i seventeen months, 150.000 soldiers have ! battled in this area; 30,000 have died; 20,000 have been taken prisoner; and unnumbered thousands of casualties have been caused by bullets, dysentery, ! scurvy and typhus. The truce was arranged by the League of Nations j Commission appointed to effect peace, ' with the co-operation of Senor Gabriel i Terra, President of Uruguay, and the Pan-American Republics whose delegates were then in session. Bolivia and Paraguay through their representatives then agreed with the Pan-American ; nations that the major objective of . peace must be secured by ths permanent termination of the dispute.