S/5/PV.313 Security Council

In the last few days I have received many messages and communications from institutions or persons whose hearts are filled with anguish as the result of the world situation and who ask me to approach thr. Powers directly concerned in order that the danger which threatens mankind may be averted. Since I am unable to answer each of these messages, I wish, now that we are taking up our work again in plenary meeting, to make a short statement. 2. I should be lacking in frankness if I tried to conceal the gravity of the oresent time. The situation is, indeed, very &et'ious, though we may hope that it is not desperate. 3. The Security Council, which has the primary responsihility for the maintenance of peace, dealt with the question. Since the governments directly concerned are represented at the ~eetings of the Security Counc!l, the world hoped that they would use the opportunity to make a renewed effort to understand one another. Owing to circumstances known to you, the Security Council was unable to reach a decision. The question will necessarily be referred to the General Assembly. This is a point which I may note without in any way committing the General Asst~mbly or prejudging any decisions which it may take. 4. I address myself not only to those who haYe told me of their anguish but also, to the peoples of the world. They must not allow themselves to be blinded by hate or by fear. Peact. can be maintained if the peoples and their rulers are not guided by obscure feelings but bring a lucid mind to the study of the situation. The present meetings of the United Nations provide them with an opportunity to carry out that study, which should lead to the maintenance of peace and security, which mankind desires. Reallocation of two items to the Fll'St Committee

Before taking up the various items on the agenda of today's meeting, I have to info :m you that the General Committee has decided to recommend that two items wh;ch were referred to the Ad H oc Political Committee should be reallocated to the First Committee. They are item 20-"Palestine", and item 75-"Complaint by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics regarding the violation of Chin.ese air space by the Air Force of the United States of America and the machine-gimning ~d bombing of Chinese territory by that Air Force, and against the bombardment and illegal inspection of a merchant ship of the People's Republic of China by a military vessel of the United States". This recommendation was approved unanimously by the General Committee .. 6. I was going to ask the General Assembl:y: to endorse the General Committee's recommendation. But I suggest that it should not take any decision for the time being on· the reallocation of item 20 but should approve only the General Committee's recommendation regarding the transfer of item 75 from the Atl Hoe Political Committee to the •First Committee. · 7. As no objections have been raised, I take it that the General Assembly accepts my suggestion. It was so decided. Consideration of the various items on the agenda of tTiue meeting: proposal by the .President 8. The PRESIDENT (t1·anslated from French): In order to save time, I shall make the following suggestion : before taking up the various items, the Assembly It was unanimously decided not to discuss any of the ten other items (iten-..s 12, 29, 57, 21 (d) and (e), 39 (c), 13, 21 (c), 64, 31, and 63 of the agenda). 11. The PRESIDENT ( translated from French) : I call on the representative of the Soviet Union, who wishes to speak on a point of order. 12. Mr. MALIK (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated from Russian): The President has put a question to the members of the General Assembly and they have replied; it would seem from their reply that they were unanimous in desiring not to proceed to a discussion of the items on the agenda of today's meeting of the General Assembly. 13. Nevertheless, I think I am not mistaken in believing that a number of delegations may wish to make brief statements in explanation of their votes. As none of the questions on the agenda of this meeting of the Assembly fa to be debated-whid0 vill save a great deal of time-the USSR delegation Cvdsiders that it would be reasonable to allow delegations which desire to make brief statements in explanation of their votes, to do so before the vote, and not after. 14. The delegation of the Soviet Union suggests this procedure. I repeat: it would be reasonable to allow c;lelegations which desire to explain their votes on a particular item on the agenda of this meeting to do so before the vote, a1nd not after. · 15. The PRESIDENT ( translated from French) : As the Assembly kno1ws, whenever it has been decided not to discuss an iten1 on the agenda; delegations have had an oppcrtunity to explain their votes. That practice has always been followed and will continue to be observed. 16. Personally, I should prefer it if representatives explained their votes afterwards. It is for the President to decide whether the explanation should precede or follow the vote. I do not wish to take advantage of my po'!er and ~erefore, if any delegations wi.sh to explain theuvotes 1t1 advamce, I shall gladly give them the floor. · Threats to the political independence and terri• to.rial Integrity of Grooce: reports of the First Committee (A/1536) and the Fifth Committee (A/1512) [Agenda item 22] 11. The P~IDENT (translated from French) : I shall put the draft resolutions contained in the report 1,713 members of the Greek army captured in 1946 were in the territory of Greece's northern neighbours, an<l again, that they were in all probability in the territory of tilt! three countries to the north of Greece. 21. In April of thl" year the Greek Govemmert considered it probable that 1,713 mcrnbers of the Greek armed forces were being detained in the countries north of Greece, but it subsr!quently moderated its tone and the Greek representative declared in the First Committee that he had in his possession 250 letters received from Greek prisoners of war in Albania. Here again, however, the representative of Greece confined himself to a bare statement, and failed to submit any letters or any list of Greek prisoners of war in Albania or Bulgaria. By way of evidence, the Greek representative referred to Radio Tirana which, he alleged, announced in 1947 that 200 Greek soldiers had been interned. Having no genuine evidence of any weight, the representative of Greece r~fers to the ether, to the radio. This is all the evidence that the Greek Government has been able to adduce in support of its new complaints against Albania and Bulgaria. 22. It is hardly necessary to prove here that if we wish to approach the matter in a serious and conscientious way, complaints or demands car.not be based on probabilities or suppositions. It woul<l be even more inadmissible for the General Assembly to take a responsible repr~sentaf!ve of the Greek Government to produce evjdence in support of his complaints. It did nothing of the kind, although it was its duty to require such evi.:. dt•nce before approving the draft resolution. 24 The Committee was content merely to vote on the Gi•eek draft resolution, without any discussion. No one, for instance, asked the Greek representative for any of the following data: who the persons were whose repatriation the Greek Government desired, their surnames, the circumstances in which they were sent to the countries north of Greece, and to which countries specifically. Assuming that such cases had in fact taken place, it was necessary also to produce evidence to show that a particular former Greek soldier did in fad desire to return to Greece, where a savage campa;in of terror is raging, and that he was being detained abroad against his will. 25. No such evidence has been provided. We do not even know who are the prisoners in question. At first the Government of Greece quoted the figure of 1,713 Greek soldiers. In the First Committee, the representative o~ Greece reduced that figure to 250 former members of the Greek armed forces alleged to have been detained in the cou~~riPs to the north of Greece, from whom the Greek Government claims to have received letters. But what sort of letters these are and how they came into the hands of the Greek authorities-that again is something we do not kn.ow. That is the Greek representative's secret. By whom and to whom these letters were sent is equally unknown. How did the Greek Government know that these letters were written by former Greek soldiers and not by partisans or persons who joined the partisans? It may well be that no such letters exist. 26. The Greek delegation, which submitted its . draft resolution on this question, should have checked aii this and proved its statements by documents, facts and figv.r es. But no documents and no reliable facts or figures have been placed before the General Assembly. It is precisely for this reason that the Greek Goven1- ment1, aeing unable to offer documentary evidence in support of its new complaints against its northern neighbours, deliberately uses, in its letters on this matter, such vague and indefinite expressions as "in all proba- 2lbid., Firll Committee, 346th, 392nd to 398th meetin&"s inclusive. 29. It must also be admitted that the First Committee failed to examine this question thoroughly and that the representatives who wished to go into the substance of the question raised by the representative of the Greek Government were unable to do so because the Greek Government, which had brought up the question, had produced no reliabie official evidence to support· its complaints. 30. The Greek draft resolution was unfounded and unwarranted, and the First Committees by approving it without discussion and without demanding or consider-· i.ng any corroborative evidence, showed a lack of seriousness in dealing with the question. The delegation of the USSR therefore opposes the adoption of this draft resolution by the General Assembly and will vote against it. 31. If the President permits, I should like to explain my delegation's vote on draft resolution B. 32. The PRESIDENT ( translated from French): You may do so if you propose to make a short explanation. 33. Mr. TSARAPKIN (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated from Russian) : I shall now ex .. plain my delegation's vote on draft resolutio~ B. 34. The report submitted by the United Nations Specia1 Committee on the Balkans was subjected by the delegation of the USSR and by several other delegations to detailed criticism, in the course of which it was shown that the Committee's conchtsions were contrived and tendentious, its methods of work unsound and its recommendations inappropriate a11d contrary to· the true state of affairs. The Special Committee's activities have not only failed to promote a settlement of relations between Greece and the countries concerned, but have on the contrary impeded in every way the restoration of normal relations between Greece and tho~e countries-~s was . ~onclusively proved, on the basis of the facts, m the First Committee. 35. In the discussion on the Greek question in the First Committee it was also pointed out that the Special Committee was openly pursuing a policy of hostility to B~1lgaria and Albania, and had engaged in the fabrica- . tion of slanderous charges against them. At the same time, the Special Committee, which is the instrument of the policy of the ruling circles in the United States and 36. In these circumstances, to approve the activities of the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans and maintain it in operation for a further year, would be a harmful step calculated to prejudice very seriously any attempt to restore relations between Greece on the one hand, and Albania and Bulgaria on the other, to normal. 37. For the foregoing reasons, the USSR delegation will vote against the Ar;.glo-American resolution, now placed before us as a draft resolution approved by the majority in the First Committee, and will continue to press for the dissolution of the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans. 38. The experience of recent years has shown that there is no possibility of a settlement of the Greek question. on the basis of the Anglo-American proposals. Those proposals are based on the false and unfounded assertion, belied by the facts, that Albania and Bulgaria threaten the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece ; furthermore, they seek to conceal the true cause of the present abnormal situation in Greece. 39. The delegation of the Soviet Union therefore proposes that the Anglo-American draft resolution submitted by the First Committee should be rej1!cted, since it is based on assumptions which are not borne out by the true state of affairs in Greece, and is not calculated to solve the Greek problem. The USSR delegation .proposes that this draft resolution should be rejected because its adoption would merely complicate the solution of the Greek problem and would represent a new act of flagrant injustice to Albania and Bulgaria; it would constitute a new ohstacle to the settlement of relations between those CL-untries and Greece, to the restora·don of a normal situation in Greece and to the maint,:nance of international peace and security. 40. The General Assembly must make every endeavour to secure the restoration of a normal situation in Greece. The way to achieve such a settlement, in the view of the Soviet Union, is to adopt the measures provided in the draft resolution [A/1560] submitted by the USSR delegation for the consideration of the General Assembly. 41. The delegation of the Soviet Union wishes to add a brief observation with regard to the letter from the representative of Greece, circulated as document A/1558. In this letter, the Greek delegation has seen fit to make slanderous attacks on the USSR, while saying not a. word about the brutal reign of terror now raging in Greece. By so doing, it has confirmed the facts stated in the letters received from relatives of the imprisoned and exiled Greek patriots and in the letter from mothers, sisters and daughters of 2,600 women detained in Greek prisons. The delegation of the Soviet Union repudiates this slanderous statement by the representative of Greece with indignation. that if we are gomg to follow the wise practice Just introduced of voting to dispense with discussio~, I th~nk it very important that we should not renew d1scuss10n in our explanations of votes. I do not want to be critical of anything that has been done, but I would respectfully suggest that if we could have it understood that an explanation of a vote is a brief statemen~ of the ireasons for the vote, avoiding any discussion of detail, V'<! should not only save time but also avoid the nullification of our rule to dispense with discussion unless it is desired by one-third of those voting. 44. The PRESIDENT (translated from French): More than once I have urged delegations to explain their votes as briefly as possible. I can hardly do more because a speaker can always say that in order to explain his delegation's position he has to mention certain facts. I agree with the United States representative that the reason for the General Assembly's decision not to have a discussion was to avoid wasting time with the repetition of statements previously made in Committee. I therefore appeal again to delegations and hope the members of the General Assembly will heed my appeal. 45. I call on the representative of the Ukrainian SSR who wishes to explain his vote. 46. Mr. UDOVICHENKO (Ukrainian Sovjet Socialist Republic) ( translated from Russian) : I shall speak on all three draft resolutions together and explain the vote of the delegation of the Ukrainian SSR on these drafts. 47. The delegation of the Ukrainian SSR voted in the First Committee against the draft resolutions which are now before the Assembly as draft resolutions A and B of the First Committee and abstained from voting on the draft resolution which is now before us as draft resolution C. 48. None of these draft resolutions can serve to promote a real settlement of the situation in Greece, because they all deliberately ignore the reasons for the present internal situation in Greece and that country's abnormal relations with its neighbours, Albania and Bulgaria. They ignore the fact that the real threat to the political independence of Greece lies in the open interference in the internal affairs of that country by the ruling circles and monopolies of the United States, whose support made it possible for the present anti-popular regime to establish itself in Greece and to pursue a policy of terrorism and oppression of all democratic elements. 49. The Soviet delegations and the delegations of the peoples' democracies demonstrated in their statements that the Special Committee had been guilty of including falsehoods and deliberate distortions of fact in its report with the object of vindicating the Greek Government and laying alf the blame on Bulgaria and Albania which, so it alleged, were threatening the independence of Greece. The First Committee nevertheless recommended, by a majority, that the Assembly should approve the report of the United Nations Special Com- 61. The domestic policy of terrorism and of oppression of democratic elements now prevailing in Greece must end. It is essential to carry out democratic reforms in that country and, first of. all, to declare a general amnesty and to abolish the concentration camps. Only a representative goverilment, set up as a result of a general parliamentary election and enjoying the confidence ·and support of the people, can lead the country out of the difficulties into which it has been plunged by the policy of the present rulers in Athens, supported by the American residents in Greece. 62. These measures should be taken .by the Greek people themselves without any outside interference. It is therefore inadmissible to retain the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans, which wa~ established illegally and which, by its hostile att~tude towards Bulgaria and Albania, has merely served to aggravate the friction between Greece and its neighbours. 63. All the necessary measures for the settlement of the situation in Greece are contained in the draft resolution [A/1560] submitted by the delegation •of the USSR; the delegation. of the Ukrainian SSR supports this draft and will vote for it. The adoption of this text and the speedy and effective execution of its provisions would ensure a real dissipation of the threat to the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece and would at last enable us to delete from the agenda of the General Assembly a .. q.uestion which, through the fault of the Anglo-American bloc, the Assembly baa been obliged to consider for the fourth time. 70. Those were to us and to the Greeks days of deep and stark tragedy, but we of New Zealand shall remember and shall never forget the noble spirit of those gallant Greek people who had already suffered so much and were to suffer so much more in the years to come. It was not the warmth of their welcome and their kindness to our sons on their arrival that we remember -that, of course, could have been expected-but when, at the end of the struggle, we were forced out of Greece and then out of Crete, the· people of that suffering land -left, as they knew and as we lmew, to the indescribable agonies and oppressions of a Nazi occupationbade our sons farewell with the same garlands, the same songs and the same high fraternal spirit with which they had welcomed them. 71. We of New Zealand do not forget. Many of our New Zealanders were inevitably left behind in Greece and in Crete, and I cannot find words to describe the devoted fidelity and unbounded generosity which the 1 Greek people, great and small, rich and poor, of all shades of political opinfon, extended to our wandering and suffering sons, in circumstances in which to help such an outcast was a matter of real and instant peril, and to nourish him meant pei-sonal deprivation and suffering. Eve~-where, those fugitive and desperate New Zealanders were succoured and preserved, bidden from the Nazi tyrant, and, in due course, in many, ~any cases, assisted to escape. These tlwigs we of New Zealand do not forget. n. Greece held its head high through the rigours of the occupation and though subsequently, and most unhappily, Greece was rent with intema 1 dissension, we of to deal. During this fifth session we have received a number of important documents testifying to the fact that terrorism in Greece is not abating. This testimony refutes an the Greek Government's assertions that it has adopted a more lenient attitude towards political prisoners. These documents are disturbing world public opinion and call upon us to take steps to save the lives of Greek patriots under sentence of death, of whom there are now almost 3,000. 90. The Czechoslovak delegation .considers that the General Assembly will be acting with justice and humanity if it adopts the USSR draft resolution [ A/1569], which requests the President of the Ge·a.eral Assembly to enter into negotiations with repl'•eser:catives of the Greek Government concerning the repeal of the d~ath sentences passed by the military courts on Greek patriots. The Czechoslovak delegation whole•heartedly supports this draft resolution of the Soviet Union. 91. Mr. KANELLOPOULOUS (Greece) (trats.tlated from French) : As regards draft resolution A, the text of which was submitted in the First Committee by Greece, I would request the President•s permission to reply briefly to the representatives of the Soviet bloc. have no right to ask for proof. and witnesses. In any case the names and even tb.e present addresses of a latg~ number of these Gre,.!k soldiers have be~n communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nati.ons through the United Nations Special Com1?-1ittee on the Balkans. That is all I had to say concerning draft resolution A. 94.. The Greek delegation will, of course, vote. in favour of draft resolution B, concerning the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkan~. 95.. That Committee has d~ne good work, worthy of recognition by all the free and peace-loving peoples of the world. It 'has been and still is the guardian and defender of truth. It is true that it had neither the material strength nor even the authority to ward off the evils from which Greece has suffered for so long. Yet the Greek people are grateful to the ~pecial C:o~ttee for the courage it has shown, not only -.n establishing the ttu.tb but also,. and above all, in insisting on the truth witb the impartialty which has aiways been its greatest virtue 96.. The evils which befell us thanks to the aggression etmmitted by the ho,:des of red totalitarianism, which we r~sfot~ with sacrificial ardour, are lmown to the Special Com..1Uission, which has recorded them and revealed their true causes. It has recorded the fact that the trials to which the entire Greek people have be~n subjected during the last few years, the. crucial phase of which came to an end as a result of the victories of our armed forces towards the end AJf the summer of 1949,. were the ,result of the international character of that war which the representatives of the Soviet bloc persist in calling a civil war. Only t½e complicity and the pamcipa~ion in that war of the northern neighbours of Gr~>ece rendered that war possible. That now applies, as far as our Jmmediate neighbours are concerned, only to Albania and . Bulgari~ For since Yugoslavia has effectively closed its frontiers, it has been easy to see that armed communism cannot survive in areas adjacent to a closed frontier. 97. Since the victory of Greek arms last year, the position in Gr,~e has considerably improved. There is no longer any militarily organized banditry in the country .. But Greece still has long frontiers which, o~ to the reduction of the national armed forces, are practically open and cannot be patrolled from end to end. Beyond those frontiers lie the neighbouring countries which maintain, organize and arm the bandits who took refuge there after . the defeat inflicted by the Greek army on their fighting units. The report of the ·united Nations Special · Committee on the Balkans contains ranean has not fallen into the hands of international communism. It cannot resign itself to the fact that the Greek people, as in 1940 and 1941, have once more paved the way to victory over t~e powers of darkness. When communism was defeated in Gr~ece, the USSR tried-and it is still trying-to change the victorious democracy of Greece into a passive, atrophied and lifeless democracy which would be robbed ot its victory by the :esumption of the subversive activitfos of commumsm. 102. Greek democracy is fully conscious of its mission, a mission of world-wide importance at one of the world's nerve-centres, and it is not prepared to hand over its moral weapons to those who, after slaughtering millions of Greeks over many years and laying waste hundreds of villages, have finally been forced to hand over remain at the service of the United Nations. 104. The President will allow me also to explain my vote on draft resolution C, concerning the repatriation of Greek children. 105. The. Greek delegation expresses its profound regret that no solution has been found for a problem of of such great moral i~ortance, Greece is grateful to the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the League of Red Cross Societies and to the Secretary- General of the United Nations for their untiring efforts to solve the problem in the name of humanitarian principles. It notes, however, with serious apprehension as regards th~ future _of thre world,. ~t the_re is a gro19> of States which perctst not only m 1gnonng the basic principles of the moral dignity of human beings, the family and society, but in tr&--:7.:pling them underfoot in the most cynical· fashion. 106. Unlike those countries, Yugoslavia has just made a first gesture in the direction of restoring kidnapped Greek children. We hope that, despite the grave fears expressed by some, a difference in social systems and politics need not involve differences in the fundatnental moral conceptions regarding human beings and families. 107. Everything. said here by the representatives of tbe Soviet bloc to hide the fact that, even while they were voting in previous years for resolutions recommending the retum of the Greek children, they had no intention of letting th{"m go, ha.s been no more than a smoke- · Sct"eett for their devilish purposes. I feel myself called upon to denounce those purposes· and to draw the attention of the United Nations to the consequences which would inevitably ensue if they were finally achieved. · 108. The countries of the Soviet bloc will certainly release those unfortunate children some day. But when? Only when, after a long training dispensed by ruthless methods, they have ceased not only to be men with free consciences but have also lost even the possibility of ac;quiring a free conscience as a result of moral reeducation. going to say to the manufacture-of men who are not human bei!lgs; !t wiµ lead tf! the mass eroduction of. morally bbnd biological specunens. The mhuman and monolithic form of education instituted by the Soviet regime robs the soul of .all its human qualities. The purpose of the States of the Soviet bloc which are. still detaining Greek children is to return those children to Greece only wheri the human element in their soul has bee.."l entirely destroyed.· 110. The representatives of the Soviet bloc have not failt?d to assure us that the education which these children ·are recei.ving includes systematic instruction in their n1other tongue, that is to say, Gre,-.k. But who has ever denied that? The Cominform has no intention of using those children in the territories now under its control. Its purpose, of course, is to send them to Greece later, and therefore they must have a perfect knowlewte cf Greek~ They will certainly 1~.am their mother tongue, but they will none the less have ceased to be Greeks in the true sense of the word, because they will have ceased to be men with free consciences. 111. While it is still not too late for the sake of tho~ at least for whom there is yet time-the countries 1;i the Soviet bloc _must be forced under the piusure . of world opinion to give up their devilish plans. . 112. The problem of the Greek children who.have been taken from their homes is one of the most tragic of our century. Greece demands today that these Greek children should be set at liberty and delivered as soon as possible from this morally· inhuman treatment, so that they may return to their families and to the society of free men. · · · • 113. The PRESIDENT ( translated from French) : We have never had a discussion like this before. The ~peech~ could n~t have been· longer if the Assembly nad decided to ho1d a debate on the question., :nor could matters which baye no direct' braring · on the subject have been dealt with more t};!.Jrough..iy~ . · 114. I appeal to you once more. As there. were three draft resolutions on the Greek .question, and I said· that I would allow representatives to explain tbett votes on each of them, I have allowed speakers to go on beyond the stiJ?ula!ed time. But i give notice to t~e Assembly . that, with its approval, I shall be more stnct when we come to deal with other questions, and I shall limit the time for exµ~ations of votes to seven minutes. 115. Mr. KATZ-SUCHY (Po1and): After the re-· quest of the President, I shall not reply to all that nonsense which we have just heard from the representative of Greece. We all know what he spoke about and how matters look, apart from his high-sounding phrases. I shall pmit myself to an exphmation of ~'ie vot~ of rny delegation on the several . draft resolutioni, which we ha:ve before us concerning the Greek problem. . 116. The first-draft resolution A-concerns the re- . par.nation 0£. 9reek armed forces allegedly captured by Greek . guemllas and transported to the countries neighbouring on Greece. , report was based entirely on the Greek statements, which were not supported by any evidence, any facts or data. My delegation, therefore, intends to vote against . this draft resolution'" which is merely another attempt to launch slandr.:rous attacks against some of Greece's northf;!rtl neigr;oours~ 118. The report of the United Nations Spedal Committee on the Balkau.s and the draft resolution subsequently submitted en the basis of that report were • extensively discusst':d during several sessions of the : First Committee. My delegat\on, during the debate, l made clear its views on the rc.~port as well as on the : internal situation existing in Greece, on the relations between Greece, on the one hand, and Bulgaria and ~\lbania, on the other,. and on the charges contained in : the report. \Ve expressed the view-and we now con- ; tinue to maintain it-that the fiye-Power draft resolul tiont which is now before us :i~: Jraft resolution B, is : not intended to enable us to find a solution to the Greek : problem. Its purpose is to maintain the present condi- : tiuns in Greece and the e..xisting state of tension and so l to justify continued foreign intervention in Greece's !. internal affairs . an.· d the subordination of Greece to I foreign military,. strategic: and economic interests. ! 119. l\fy delegation opposed the inclusion of this item : in the agen~ for it was fully aware that it was not • intended to proteci:: the independence of Greece; we knew that it would be used for the continuation of that i .foreign intervention in Greece which we have been ~discussing since the very inception of this Organization. t Foreign intervention., war preparatiol'!s and designs,. i territorial claims against the northern neighbours of t G~, no:mdgic dreams and mega.lomanic desires for I a. greater Greece at the expense of a small and peaceful ~·· country like Albania-these are some of the internal tionalaspects of the Greek affair. This is what threatens ii the peace in the Balkans. 120. \Ve have demanded at thts session of the General ·- Assembly~ as at·previous.sessions,. a simpleand. straight- ~ forward dC<:l~tion by tbfk Grt-ek delegation tha~ Greece ~· hat; oo territorial design on the Balkans. At thist as at l:t,revioas sessions, no sucll declaration was made"' At the rsa,met~,,_ the incre3~g number of frontier provoea- [ tions si~ws that the . .\thens regime is prepared to f Wlow updts claims by the use of force. J !21. Drait resolution B approves the report of the r Special Committee and continues the existence of that ~ Committee until the.next session of the General Assem- ! Yy. This point in the draft resolution is the crux of the r matter. 'I'be· ·whole ~ of the disaission and of the J draft. resotutioo ~. to have the Special Committee con-- ( tinned and so constitute a phony United Nations stamp : ., the a.ctivi~ of United States interventionists. f ttt My delegation considers that to continue the Spedat Committee in being is certainly not t~ ~--ay to , iaa,pn:,ve the situation in the 13alkatts. On the contrary, 123. Every demand of logic shC>ws thtit thtllre is some~ thing totally wrong m the proposed solution, and hone:>ty and dccen~y should r~q1.tire a change or meth-- ods and the seeking cf b~tter ones. That has not been done in the draft res<'>lt1tic>t'l, My delegation will ,:ote against draft resolution H, and will ~tlso <>pp◊se atty financial appropriation to implement it. 124. As regards the Soviet Union drait r~softttfon [ A/1560], my defogation considers that only through internal conciliation in Greece on the Ofle hand, and through conciliation with the Governments or Albania and Bulgaria on the other, ca.n the normalization of the situation in Greece be achieved. For~ign it!terven .. tion must cease so that the Greek people may be free to decide their own fate. They should have: the tight to express their opinions and desires in free parJfa .. mentary elections based on proportional representation. The economic and social burden which rests so heavily on the back:, of the Greek people should be lessened, and the terror and oppression in pris(nts and concentra .. tion camps should be removed by the declaration of a general amnesty and the abolition of concentration camps. Conciliation between Greece and Albanfa :md betwer:n Greece and Bulgaria should lead to the est, \b .. Iishment of normal diplomatic relations with tho~ countries. 125. . These are some basic reqnirements for any action which sincerely aims at solving the Greek problem. This is the path of action that the General Assembly should recommend, and this is what the Soviet Union draft resolution proposes. We strongly support this draft resolution, which gives a ray of hope to the oppressed people of Greece 126. The oppressed people of Greece, who live in fear, hunger and starvation, who are suffering, starving and <lying, look· towards this Assembly with the hope that their strivings for a free and democratic country will finally be taken up by the United Nations. We have failed them many times. If this Orgtmization wants to fuifiI its role as a centre for harmonizing the activities of nations and for developing international co11a.boration, it cannot afford to fail them again. We cannot shun the basic issues brought forth in this debate ~nd fonnulated in a plan of action by the USSR draft resolution. This plan of action is the only real solution. It alone puts the problems in their n..'al perspectfre~ artd proposes concrete measures. My delegation will vote in favour of this draft resolution. 1?7. My delegation abstained in the First. Committee on the vote on the draft resolution conc.eming the repatriation of Greek children,. which is before us now as draft resolution C. We emphasized, and we do so Polish delegation ~t,;ortgly maintains its position that the tbildren should join tb~ir flttlilies whenever there is an c.,-p~ss will fur it and whenever it is ~cd out in «».tfon't'lity with th~ prindptes of the resolutions on this ~ubject adol)'ttd in 1948 ~nd ~in in 1949 (Wshlttlit'»t$ 19 .. t C (Ill) tittd 288 B (lV) ], 128. It is most unfurtun&.1:e that tM diseussion of this ptl'>blen, '\\'a'5 used a-s at\ op~rtunity to attack those oountries whkh gave pmt~tton to the d1ild~n at a tinie wh<11 their li~s wett in d~nger and when they were in direst need oi tare. ?\Iy delegation fully ~ii~s th~t t~re \vere msons fur, the evacuation ()£ ('J~k ehtldffl't from tht wa.rwstttclren areas of G~. In V'i~w of the hea:vy hombardnitnt of the guerriUa.~hcld ~reas ~nd in yiew of the_ ~nomic blocbde-, the l1~s of the~ thtldrcn. would h~~ beetl in d~l'fget h~d they 'fen.~a.ined t~re. Their evacuation was oofi<l.uct«l so as t◊ include only the children whose parents had ~xpressed the wish that they should be tlkro to saf~r :plaoes. The voluntary charactf'r of this e\latnation <-annot be denied by ~nyon.e, despite the tfflt~fidous p~da. dti'1'e laun.thed by the Athens Gl~mment. 129. I wish to ~phasize tl1at aii the ~untrles which ha\~ tiven ~hel~r to Greek children, ha:ve fu1fi!ted a gtctt hurrutn1ta.mn duty. 'they have g.i~n the th1ldren ~~I~t <:are and protection. They have ~:uanteed their upbringing in a spirit ot healthy patriotism and lo,-c <,f the history and traditions of G~. The gratitude of the Greek tnothers of t~e thildren, ~pressed in oo many lettel'S, should be ~plernentcd by the high praise ot thi$ (}rpnizt.tion for !lie countries that have BI\~ tt~ :tal'e uld protecti~~ to the ~ and mn.~t Vkttms of the '\l\--ar., Victims of the Truman · doct:rint\ 'Vid:ims -of ~ Athens 'ttgime, 130. At tbt same time, those countries, having under- ~ the task of protecting these children, are responsibl~ for their tale and hence must have a real guarantee t~t requests for their retum are genuine and voluntaty; for., as we ha~ ~) many requests were false and rnanuiaeb:m!d. The General Assembly must itself, therefore, demand gaamitees that the children will not betorne 'Victims ,of reform aunps, will not be punished for tht 'J)()litical mnvid:ions of their parents or for their .. ' ,. -.!I..-- ---=-'II ~""" .. 'f __ ,_.;1 stay m «nm1:IJ:t:S :w.uu~ ~ system iS WUKcu upon with disfa.wur by the Greek ~t. 13l. i'ms Assembly has been presented, however, with a dad't resolution wliich, unfortunately, uses the problem of Greek cb.ildren as a ~litical tool. Wtthont any justification~, the draft resolution accuses the <Dtmtries harbouring the Greek dmdren of creating diffiailties and, in spite of the action of the Red Cross., proposes the :Im nation of tL committee whose ,only -effect ~ be to :make the return tnaddney more difficult. '\\i"hilc in ~nt with certain parts of the draft resolution, ~ cannot acct.Pt it in its present form and we 2jed: the mtjmtmed accusations it CODWm. 132. Jly ildrgatioo ~ d:le Soriet Union amendmC'llis IA/.15dBJ to draft resolution C.. If the.,- were a~ we Bhoo1d 1Je prepared to accept ~ draft Gencra1issimo Stalin. During the debate in the First committee we heard hair-raising stories of tettor, persecution and torture in P.risons and concentration camps of men, -women and children. We know the heavy toll the Greek nation has· had to pay in death sentences. Three thousand more prisoners are in their cells awaiting their tum to be taken out t- 1le shot. This Assembly cannot remain deaf to ti -~ appeals for mercy and leniency towards men whose only crimes were their democratic beliefs. 134. \Ve all remember how united we were at the third session, in Paris, in our desire to save the lives of se"t~ trade union leaders. \Ve saved their lives only tempotarily, ior they are still under sentence of death and may be e.~ted any moment. If we ask whether tl1e General Assembly has done anything at all to help solve the Greek problem, no doubt this is the only positive achievanent to ,rlnich we can point. 135. Today we have ~~n opportunity to save a few human lives and thus 1oring WJPC to thousands more who live in constant fear of death. No responsible person can <¼-,aree to the continuation of the persecution. No responsible person can take upon his conscience the rejection of a draft resolution .. w~ch involves_ human lives. My del~ will vote 1n iavo~r o! this draft, in the firm belief that we are thus 111611mg a great humanitarian duty and taking a step wbk-h could mark the beginning of leniency and conciliation, a lightening of the heavy bard~ which bas befallen -m-e Greek people, whose histoty and gallantry we all admire. 136. Mr .. VAN GLABBEKE (Belgium) (ll'Mulatltl' frc•_ Frexcli) : The Belgian._ . delegation wishes to give a brief explanation of its 'VOte; its p~on here will be the same as in the Fttst Commiitf:e. 137.. In the ·first place, it will vote ~ the draft resolutions submitted by the USSR f.A./15f11J a,ul A./ 15691:, because they provide for series of measures which are exactlv ilic kind or measures which should .; not be adopted. 138. It will wte against the amendments [A._/51681 submitted by the Soviet Union 1n draft resolution C, because their only pm.pose md their only effiect 1vould be to make the draft taOlutioo say endfy_the contrary of what it sbould. -- - 139. It will vote in :ta.YOU!' of the three th"afts approved by the First Committee, beouule they ;ay exadly what should be said. no more and no less. 140. It will vote in this way because it wishes to remain faithful to the_ Gcoaal. ~Y resolutiows of - 1948 and 1949, urgiag· all States Metnbers of the United Nations, and the other States which -are harbouring Greek children; to take all possible meumes~ in ~ and co1laboration with the_ in•- mtionat Rm Cross ()l't'JU!izatbis, to facilitate tbe spttdy tdtttn of the childrm to their ho-nea. 141.. Belgium will~ in d1is ~,, as it voted before, becaU$C it disappror,a of fbe ~~ of IOIUe countriea resolution!:. but, on the contrary, have hindered their implementation. 142, The Belgi.-n delegation will vote in this way because to its great regret, it sees, from the report of the United Nations S~ial Committee on the Balkans that the countries harbouring Greek children-except Yugoslavia, of course-have completely failed to take any action ; because the report states that a continuation of the present situation is absoluteiy unjustified; and because, finally, the report ex.presses the Special Committee's grave concern about the fact that, notwithstanding the two resolutions unanimously adopted by . the General Assembly and the unremitting efforts ::>f the Secretary-General of the United Nations and international Red Cross organizations, not a single Greek child has yet been returned to his native land, with the exception of those who have been repatriated from Yugoslavia. 143. The Belgian delegation will vote in this way because it cannot accept evasions on a question such as that of thf' repatriation of Greek children. 144. The representative of Poland told us iust now that the problem should not be considercl frou a politi- .:al ooint of view. Nevertheless, it was said in the First Committee that, if the form of government in Athens changed-in other words, if there were a communist government in Athens-the Greek children would be returned to their families. My delegation cannot accept an argument which amounts to saying: ,sThese children are better off where they are now ; let us not send them back to Greece." 145. My delegation will Y'lte in this way because it cannot agree that to-day, :1:tter so many years, the argument should be used that there are errors in one or other of the lists of children. As the lists contain the names of thousands of children, su.c.h er-rors are inevitable. 146. My delegation con.::iders that, when a country does not even reply to letters inviting it to give proof oi its goodwill and to participate in the very human work of repatriating the Greek children, that is a proof tMt obligations ~Jere being shirked and even, perhaps, a proof of badfaith. 147. Furtbennort, my delegation does not consider that it ea~ accept the argument that because some children lost: their parents in Greece during the civil war, they should not be returned to their homes. There may be other members· of the family-grandparents, undes or aunts-who are entitled to claim these chil- . dren, and in anl? case we think that the Greek Government itself has~ the ri0 a1t to assume responsibility for orphans who h~ 1'!.'l family at all. · 148. My deleg:: .. Jn would like to see the same prin•• ciples applied in the case of these Greek children as Ef.:lgium applied in the tase of the Spanish children i-epatriated after the Spa.11ish civil war. That repatriation caused deer, suffering among those who had ac.lopted little Spanish children; but when the time came to send them back, we did not say: "We do not like the 153. I now put to the vote the first amendment, calling fo:r the deletion of the first paragraph of the preamble. The amendment was rejected by 49 f.lotes to 5 with 1 abstention . 154. The PRESIDENT (translated from French): The second amendment of the USSR calls for th~ substitution, in paragraph 2 of the operative part ci the lraft resolution,, of the words "in conformity wfch the resolutions referred to above" for the words "and, whenever necessarv, to allow the internatio 11al Red Cross organization~ free access to their terri1.nries for this purpose". I put this amendment to the vote. The amendment was rejected, by 48 votes to 5, with 2 abstentions.

I now put the third amendment to the vote; it calls for t..'1e deletion of paragraphs 3 and 4 of the operative part or draft resolution C. The amendment was rejected, by 51 votfJs to 5, with 1 abstention. 156. The PRESIDENT ( translated from French) : I shall now ask the Assembly to vote on draft resolution C submitted by the First Committee [A/1536]. I put the second USSR draft resolution [ A/1569] to the vote. The draft resolution was rejected by 38 'IJOtes to 6,. with 11 abstentions. The meeting rose at 1.10 p.m.