S/PV.147 Security Council

I thank the Rapporteur and, through him, the Commission, for the report it has submitted to us after its long and difficult labours. I think we will be unanimous in thanking the members of the Commission for the work they have accomplished. Mr. AUSTIN (United States of ,America): r am about to offer a resolution, and what I have to say leads up to the introduction of that resolution. The matter before the Security Council today is, in the opinion of my Government, one of the .most serious which the United Nations up to this time has been called upon to consider.The action w4ich the Security Council takes in this case will be of vital importance to all Member States ofthe United Nations, and may be a decisive factor in strengthening the confidence of the world in the effectiveness of this body to deal with situations such as the one before us. To one country, at least, our action may represent the difference between, life and death, between the opportunity to pursue a peaceful cour,se of national reconstruction without fear and the loss of its freedom aDd independence. M. AUSTIN (Etats-Unis d'Amerique) (traduit de fanglais): J'ai l'intentionde deponer une resolution et je voudrais d'abord vous PI~S;:!lter un expose des motifs. La question que discute aujourd'hui le,Conseil de securite est, de l'a-vis de mon Gouvernement, l'une des plus serieuses que les Nations Unies aient ete appelees aexaminer jusqu'ici. Lesdeci.. sions que prendra ace sujet le Conseil de securite amont une importance vitale pour tous les Etats Menabresdes NationslJnies etelles pourront contribuer de maniere decisive a renforcer la confiance du monde clans l'efficacite avec1aquelle le Conseil traitel~ situations teiles que celle dont nous sommes saisisen ce moment.' De notre decision peut dependre la vie ou la mort d'un pays . au moins, qui, suivant le cas, pourra poursuivre sans crainte sa tache pacifique de reconstruction nationale: ou hien perdre sa liberte et son independance. . Pendant la guerre, dans la lutte commune contre les Puissances de l'Axe~ le peuple grec s'est sacrifie sans compter. A la liberation, le pays etait affaibli et devaste. La famine et la resistance contre les occupants en. avaient lourdement taxe les ressources mat&'ielles et avaient coute bien des vies humaines. Les voies de. communication etaient presque entierementdetruites; la vie economique normale.etaitparalysee; la politique de.- liberee des forces .occupantes de l'Axe avait enleve toute autorite aux services du Gouvernement. Aprcs la liberation fut abordee la tache immense et desesperement lente de la reconstruction et du relevement du pays. Si l'UNRRA et d'autres ceuvres d'assistance etrangere purent empecher la faminle et l'effrondrement general, elles ne permirent pas de relever un pays et un peuple qui pendant quatre ansavaient subi de cruelsravages. L'ennemi avait attise les haines partisanes. Apres la liberation, desireux d'obtenir de l'aide pOUf restaurer les usages democratiques dans le domaine politique, le Gouvernement grec fit appel a la France, aux ~tats-Unis,ala Grande- Bretagne et a l'Union des Republiques socialistes sovictiques, L'Union des Republiques socialiftes In the common struggle against the Axis during the war, the Greek people sacrificed themselves unstintingly. Liberation found the country prostrate and devastated. Starvation and resistance to the occupying enemies had taken heavy toll in resources and human lives. Communications were almost completely destroyed; normal economic life was at a standstill; government administration had been rendered ineffective in ac- .cordance with the policy of the Axis occupying forces. Mter liberation, there began 'the enormous and heart-breakingly slow task of nation-wide reconstruction and rehabilitation. UNRRA and other foreign aidwere able to prevent widespread starvation and collapse, but were not sufficient in themselves to rehabilitate a country and people that had endured four years of cruel depredations. Bitter factionalism had been encouraged by the enemy. In order to obtain assistance in the restoration of democratic political procedures, the Greek Government after liberation turned to France, Great Britain, the United States and the Union of Sov~et Socialist Republics. At Yalta the Union of SOVIet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom Le PRESIDENT: Je remerde le Rapporteur et, en sa personnl.:, la Commission, du rapport qu'ils nous ont presente apres un long et difficile travail. Nous serons tousd'accord, je peru:e, pour exprimer nos remerciements aux membres de la Commission pour l'reuvre qu'ils ont accomplie. In a letter dated 3 December 1946, the' Greek Government requested that the Security Council cOI).Sider a situation lt~ading . to friction between Greece and her neighbours, who were charged with lending support to guerrilla warfare in northern Greece against pJlblic order and the territorial integrity of Greece. The Greek' Government requested the Security Council to investigate that situation. The Security Council considered the Greek complaint during the course of seven meetings, and on 19 December by iunanimOUS action resolved to establish a commission of investigation to ascertain.the facts relating to t~e situation complained of by the Greek Government. This Commission was given broad authority to conduct its investigations within the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria, and to call' upqn the government officials and nationals of these countries for information relevant to its investigation. The Commission was invitedto make any proposals that it might de~m wise for averting a repetition of.the border violations. Commissio~ re«;ut des pouvoirs etendus lui permettant de conduire son enquete surIes territoires de la Grece, de la Yougoslavie, de l'Albanie et de la Bulgarie, et de faire app~l aux fonctiorinaires et aux nationaux de ces payS pour recueillir les informations pertinentes. Elle fut invitee d'autre part a faire toutes propositions qu'elle jugerait 'propres a'empecher le renouveUement des via- 'lations de frontieres. Cette Commission et.ait la premiere que le Conseil de securiteeut instituee pour mener une ~n­ quete sur les lieux. Elle avait une lourde tache a remplir, etant donne la nature des accusations. Elle a carrement acd:pte ses responsabilites. Elle a poursuivi son enquete avec vigueur. Elle ne s'est pas contentee d'entendre les depositions de temoins dans les differents pays intereSses, mais pour etendre son enquete a une zoneanssi large que possible et pourentendre le maximum de temoins, elle a envoye des groupes d'enquete qui ont poursuivi le travail pend,ant que le groupe principal reurussait despieces et des temoignages a Athenes, a Salonique, aSofia et a Belgrade. Altogether, the Commission and itss:eyen ID,yes",. En tout, la Commission et ses sept groupes d'en- , tigating teams heard some 256 witnesses or state~':"quete ont entendu, environ 256 temoignages et nients during the course of its work, and.accuinudeclarations au cours de leurs travaux et reuni lated'approximately 20,000 pages of evidence and approximativement 20.000 pages de temoignages other material. Morethan 3,000 communications ,et autres documents. La Commis3ion a re~u plus were received by the Commission from vanous de 3.000 communications emanant de differentes organizations and individuals. organisations aussi·bien que de particuliers. Having completed its investigation ,in the first Ayant termine sonenquete au cours de la preweek in April, the Commission proceeded to Gemiere semaine d'avril, la Commission s'est rendue . neva, wher·e it spent approximately two months a Geneve, ou elle a passe 'environ deux mois a :more in sifting the evidence and in drafting its dasser pieces et,temoignages.et a rediger un rapcomprehensive report. port detaille. The Commission's task in the preparation of La preparation de ce rapport constituaitune this report was exceedingly diflicul,t. As a memtache extremement diflicile. En qualite de men:.t , \This Commission was the first to be appointed by·the Security Council to make an on-the-spot investigation. Because of the nature of the charges, this Commission had a grave responsibilit-y. The Commission met tlJis responsibility squ"lrely. It has been pursuing its investigation with vigour. Not only did the Commission obtain testimony ~rom witnesses within the variotts countries, but in order to cover as wide an area as possible and to hear the maximum number of witnesses, the Commission sent out investigating teams which operated while the main body was collecting evidence in Athens, Salonika, Sofia, and Belgrade. , av~c mission de ,constater les faits relatifsa la situation qui avait fait I'objet de la plainte. Cette These conclusions state that the Bulgari~nGovernmellt provided aid to the Greek guerrilla movement. This aid was principally mthe form of' assistance in en,tering and leaving BulgaH,an territory, in the provision of transpor'tatibri 'for guerrillas crossing Bulgaria to and from Yugoslavia, and 'in the hospitalization of guerrillas wounded in Greece. However, in certain instances Greek guerrillas were given arms in and near Sofia. These conclusions state that Albania also assisted the guerrillas. Prior to the establishment, in the spring of 1946, of the course for guerrilla lead- ~rs ~ the camp at Bulkes in Yugoslavia, the Alba~an Government operated a camp at Rubig in ~hich Greek refugees received political instruction as well a& practical and theoretical military training. Albania granted a£5:'stance to Greek guerrillas by providing arms and ammunition as well as making available routes of entry, g~des - . . ~oignages etayent manifestement ces accusations; Les conclusions de l'enquete etablissent que les partisans, ou irancs-tir~urs,ont re~u de l'aide en Yougoslavie. Il a ete procede au recrutemenf et a l'i.llStruction, en territoire yougoslave,-de refugies venus de Greee, qu'on a renvoyes iensuite dansce pays pour combattre dans les unites de francstireurs, en leur fournissant-des armes, des approvisionnements, des moyens de transport, des' guides, des facilites d'hospitalisation, etc. On a veille egalement a menager aux francs-tireurs les moyens d'echapper aux forces du Gouvernement grec. Au camp-de Boulkes (Yol1gos1avie), on a cree un cours d'instruction specialisee pour enseigner aux refugies de Grecela theorie et la pratique de la guerilla. Dans ce camp, on a soumis les refugies aun~ndoctrinement etaune propagande politiques les incitant a renverser le Gouvernementgree. Lts ,memes conclusions etablissent que, de son ' cote, le Gouvernement bulgare a fourni une aide aux francs-tireurs grecs. Cette. aide consistait pdncipaleJ;Dentafaciliter aux fr~ncs-tire.ursl'entree et la sortie du territoire bulgare, aassurer le transport des francs-tireurs qui traversaient la Bulgarieadestination ou en provenance de la Yougo· slavie, et ahospitaliser les francs-tireurs blesses en Grece. Dans certains Cl:l.5, les francs-tireurs grecs ont re~u egalement des armes aSofia ou dans les environs de cette ville. Enfin, ces conclusions etablissent que l'Albanie a, elle aussi, aide.les francs-tireurs. Avant que ne fUt cree, au printemps de 1946, le cours d'instrution pour chefs de francs-tireurs au camp de Boulkes, le Gouvernement albanais dirigeait a Rubig un camp OU les refugies grecs recevaient une instruction politique ainsi qu'une formation militaire pratique et theorique. D'autre part, l'Albanie a fourni de' l'aide aux. francs-tireuf5 grecs en leur proemant-des armc:s et des muni.. "1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: ... to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead,to a breach of the peace; "'2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen 'universal peace". I also wish to call your attention to the obliga~ tions of· Members unqer Article 2 to act in ac~ corclance with' the following principles, among others: suiv~nts: "1. L'Organisation est fondee sur le principe de l'egaIite souveraine de tous ses Membres. "2. Les Membres de l'Organisation, afin d'assurer a tous la jouissance des droits et avantages resultant de leur qualite de Membre, doivent remplir de bonne foi les obligations qu'ils ont assumees aux termes de la presente Charte. . "8. Les Membres de l'Organisation reglent leurs differends internationaux par des moyens pacifiques, de telle manicre que la paix et la securite interm tionales ainsi que la justice ne soient mises en danger. "4. Les Membres de l'Organisation s'abstiennent, clans'leurs relations internationales, de recourir ala menace ou al'emploi de la force, soit contre l'integrite territoriale ou l'independance politique.de tout Etat, soit de tovte autre maniere incompatible avec les buts des Nations V:lies." A mon avis, nous ne devons pas donner un sens etroit aux dispositions de la "Grande Chartel' des Nations Vnies. A notre epoque, il y a, pour un Etat desireux d'employer la force contre l'integrite territoriale d'un autre Etat, maintes ma· Iiieres de proceder. L'invasion par des armees organisees lie constitue pas le seul moyen de porter atteinte aI'independance d'un pays. De nos joui's) on peut employer la force efficacement en reCOllrant aux moyens detournes de l'infiltration, de l'intimidation et du subterfuge. Mais personne ne s'y trompe. Aucun homme intelligent, connaissant les faits, ne peut manquer de reconnaitre qu'il y a, dans le cas qui noUS occupe, recours a la force, si habile que soit le subterfuge. Nous devons reconnaitre ce que les Gitoyens intelligcnts et avertis savent deja. ~ "1~ The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. "2. All Members, in order to ensure to all 'Of them the rights and benefits resulting from'membership, shall~:.I1fil in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present , Charter. "3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace arid security, and justice, are not endangered. "4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force ~gain3t the territorial integrity or politiCal independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the' purposes of the V nited Nations." I do not think' that· we ::ihould interpret narrowly the "Great Charter" of the United Nations. In modem times, there are many ways in which 'force can be vsed by on~ State against the territorial integrity of another. Invasion by organized armies is not the only means for delivering an attack against a country's independence. Force is effectively used today through devious methods of infiltration, intimidation and subterfuge. But this does not deceive anyone. No intelligent .person in possession of the facts can fail to reccgnize here the use of force, however devious the subterfuge may be. We must recognize what intelligent and informed citizens already know. Yugoslavia, J3u1garia and Albania, in supporting gUefM I am minctul of the fact that neither Albania nor Bulgaria js a Member of the United Nations. This does not mean tha.t they are not guilty of having used force in contradiction ot the principles of the United,Nations. The Charter has not overlooked the necessity of preventing the use of force by non-member States. I call your attention to ArtiCle 2(6) which provides Lhat the Organization shall ensure that States which at~ not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with the principles of the United Nations "so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security". In fulfilling its responsibility with respect to· the maintenance of peace, therefore, the SecurityC,ouncil must treat alike every State using force against the territorial integrity of another. ~vec les: principes d.es.NationsUnies. La Charte n'a pas'omis de tenir compte de la :tlec~ssited'empecher tout xecoursa la force de la part d'Etats .11on Membres. fattire a cet egard '\lotre attention sur l'Article 2, dont l'alinea 6.dit que l'OrganisatioIt. fait. en~')rte que les Etats qui nesontpas Mt:mbl'es des Nations Unit's agis;seI1tconformementa ces principes "dans la mesurenecessaire au maintien de la paix et dt:la securite interna" uonales". En assumant la responsabilite du main- Hen de la paix, le Conseil de securite doit ..done traiter ~(l fa~on identique tous les Etats qui em,. ploient la force contre !'integrite territoriale d'un autre Etat. Telle est la situation dans laquelle se trouve le Conseil de securite au cours de sa deuxieme annee d'existence: le Gouvernement grec a accuse ses voisins du Nord d'avoir. soutenu la. guerilla en Grece, portant ainsi att~inte a SOIl integnte territoriale. Les conc1usi"ns approuvees par huit des anze membres de la Commission etablissent que les voisiris septentrionaux de la Grece ont en effet sOl?-tenu la guerilla dans le nord d<: la Grece. Uu Membre de l'Organisation des Nations Unies ~ enfreint les principes StU' lesque1.s elle est fondee. Deux lwtres Etats, qui esperentsans cloute devenir Membres des Nations Unies, ont egalement enfreint ces pl'incipes fondamentaux. Thls, therefore, is the situation with which the Security Council is faced in the second year of its existence: The Greek Government has charged her northern neighbours with supporting guerrillr'\ warfare in Greece against her territorial integrity. The conclusions subscribed to by eight ')f the eleven members of the Commission stated that Greece's northern neighbours have in fact sup- 'ported the guerrillas m northern Greece. A M,;:nbel' of the United Nations has violated the prinr ciples upon which this Organization is founded. Two other States, which no doubt look forw<J.rd to the time when they may become Merr"be::':4 of the United Nations, have acted.in contr:wE-ution of the same basic principles. . This is a matter which the Security Council must face squarely. The Members of the United Nations have conferred upon the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and they have agreed that, in carrying out these duties under this responsibility, the Security Council acts on their behalf. It is therefore the duty of this body to,take the action necessary to prevent further support of the Greek guerrillas by its northern neighbours, so that Q-reece may determine its own destiny within its rights as a sovereign Member of these Uni.ted Na.:tions. C'est la une affaire a laquelle le Conseil de securite doit faire face avec franchise. Les Membres des Nations Dnies ont confere au Conseil de securite la responsabilite principale du maintien de la paix et dela securite internationales et sont convenus qu'en s'acquittant·des devoirs que lui impose cette responsabilite; le Conseil de securite agit en leut nom. Cet organisme a donc le devoir de prendre les mesures· necessaires pour empe~her les voisins septentrionaux de la Grece de soutenir davantage les francs-tireurs grecs et pour que la Grece puisse decider de son propre destin comme elle en a le droit en tant qu'Etat souverain, Membre des Nations Unies. Le Conseil a invite la Commission d'enqu€te a faire des propositions en vue d'empecher le renouvellement des violations de frontieres. La Commission a exannne av~c beaucoup de soin et d'application cet aspect particuJier du plobleme. Neuf de ses onz~ membres ont approuve la ligne de conduite recommandee au Conseil de securite. Dans son rapp'Jrt, la Commission declare que ses propositions ont ete "eIahoreesdans Pesprit du Chapitre VI de la Charte des Nations Unies, en vue, d'abord, d'empecher que cette situation ne The Council invited the Commission of Invest~gation to make proposals for averting a repetition of the border violations. The Commission has worked carefully and diligently on this phase of the problem. Nine of its eleven members have subscribed to a recommended course of action for the Security Council. This course of action is stated in the·Commission's report to have been "framedin the spirit of Chapter VI of the Charter of ~e United Nations with a view, first, to pre- ~ any aggravation of the situation, and, I Security Council direct to the parties concerned. executer les recommandations faites directement par le Conseil de securite aux parties mteressees. Les propositions de la Commission comprennent en outre une disposition prevoyant que l'organisme en question disposerait dtt personnel necessaire lui permettant de remplir ses fonctions, notamment de personnes capables de jouer le role d'observateurs de frnntiere et de faire rapport sur la mise en application des conventions frontalieres qui seront etablies, ainsi que sur la situation "dans la zone frontaliere et autres questions ana~ logues. Etant donne la nature'du terrain et l'am- .pleur des graves problemesque posent les controles dont le Conseil de securite recommanderait directementl'.etablissement aux parties intl~ressees~ I'organisme que cree:rait le Conseil de securite se heurterait ade grandes difficultes s'il ne disposait . The proposals of the Commission also include a provision that thIs agency should have the staff necessary to perform its functions, a staff including p'ersons able to act as border observers and to report on the observance of the frontier convention to be.established,'on the state of the frontier area and cognate matters. Considering the nature of the terrain, and the tremendous problems involved in ,the controls which the Security Council woJdrecommend direct to the parties concerned," the Security Council agency would have great difficulty without such a staff. It may not be possible at this time to place border observers at every point along the border. Nor can it be determined how many such observers would be re- 1 Voir le rapport de la Commission d'enquete su!' Ies incidents survenus a la frontiere greeque au Consed de secutite, partie IV, chapitre premier. • Ibid., partie IV, 1 See the report of the CommiJsioJJ of Investigation concerning' Greek Frontier Incidents, to the Security Council, part IV, chapter 1. . . ~ Ibid., part IV. In this connexion, I wish to draw the attention of the Security Council especially to the proptlsal of the Commission that "in"the light of the situation investigated by it, the Commission believes that in the area of its investigation f~~ure cases of support of armed bands formed on the territory of one State and crossing into the territory of another State, or ofrefusal by a Goyernment, inspite {)f the demands of theBtate concerned, to take all possible measures on its own territory to deprive such bands of any aid or protection, should be considered by the Security Council as a threat to the peace within the meaning of the Charter of the United.Nations".1 My Government attaches great importance to this proposal. Although the Charter contemplates pacific settlement of a dispute of this kind, we cannot overlook the fact that the Charter also contemplates·enforcement action when a situ';tion becomes aggravated to an extent sufficient to warrant it. . The Commission has clearly recognized that the situation will be more serious if the acts committed by Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria against Greece's independence should continut;. It is important that the Security Council approve this particular proposal which the Commission has made. It is important because it will make clear to these countries, and to the world, that the continued use of force in violation of the Charter must be regarded by the United Nations as requiring enforcement measures. Taken as a whole, this is a carefully devised plan, a plan which our representatives on·the Commission developed in the light of conditions on the spot" The futureof the United Nations and the peaceof the world require that the United Nations take effective action to put an end to violations of Greece's northern border. The problem is to find and apply the course of action best suited to ac- -complish this purpose. My Government is convinced that the Security Council should at this stage in this case continue to act under Chapter VI of the Charter, bearing in mind that, if the acts and practices fo~nd by the Commission of The framers of our Charter contemplated that the provisions of Chapter VI should serve as an impelling and effective instrument for the settle- .ment of disputes. In the year and a half of the Seculity Oouncil's operations, we must recognize that it has in fact effectively solved several serious problems by recourse to the provisions for pacific settlement. The authority of the Security Council under Chapter VI carries with it the full weight of the United Nations. The Members of the United Nations, and those who look forward to becoming Members, must also be deeply conscious of the obligation of Members under Article 25 "to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter'~. uConvaincu, sur la foi du rapport de la Commi~ion, qu'il importe que le Conseil prenne d'autres mesuresdans ce domaine; uDecide ce qui suit: "1. Le Conseil de securite adopte les propositions faites par la majorite des membres de la Commission; "2. En donnant effet aux propositk>ns des paragraphes A, B, D"E, le Conseil de securite recommande par les prcsentes aux Gouvernements de Grece, d'une part, et d'Albanie, de Bulgarie et de YOt,lgoslavie, d'autre part, de prendre les mesurcs proposees dans ces paragraphes; . "3. En donnant efIet au paragraphe C de ces propositions, et afin de retablir des conditions normales le long de la frontiere qui separe la .1 "(4.) To ~tlist in the implementation of the recommendations made to the four Governments under this resolution with respect to refugees; to receive reports from the four Governments with respect to persons who may cross or have crossed from the territory of anyone of such countries to any of the others; to maintain a register for its confidential use of all such persons, and to assist in the repatriation of those who wish to return to their homes; and in connexion with these functions, to act in concert With the appropriate agency of the United Nations; CC(5) If called upon by any of the Governments concerned, to supervise the arrange~ ments for the transfer of minorities reco' mended to such Governments under this reso~ lution and to act as'a registration authority for any persons desiring to emigrate; lC(6) To have such other duties and powera , ~s the S~curity Council tuay determine from time to time. ' Itn.' _ "b. Les fonctions et pouvoirs de la Commission seront les suivants: "1) Employer ses bons offices en vue de regieI', par les moyens mentionnes a!'Article 33 , de la Charte: lea) Les litiges survenant ala suite de violations de frontieres; ((b) Lei litiges concernant directement l'ap~ plication des conventions frontalieres Tecom~ mandees aux quatre Gouver'A~mentsP~Tla pre~ sente resolution; lee) Les plaintes relatives ala situation creee a la frontiere, porteesdevant la Commission par un Gouvernement contre un autre; et "e. The commission shall establish its own rules of .procedure and methods of conducting its business.. ' "£. The commission shall render regularly quarterly reports to the Security Council, or more frequently if it thinks fit. "g. The commission shall commence its work as soon as pracQ,cable and shall remain in existence until 31 August 1949, before which date the necessity for its continued existence after that date shall be reviewed by the Security Council. "h. The commission shall have the staff necessary to perform its functions, including persons able to act as border observers and to report on ·the observance of the frontier conventions recommended under this reSolution, the state of the frontier area, and cognate matters.

I understand that the representatives of Greece, Albania and Bulgaria are prepared to state their views, if the Council so decides. I think the most logical procedure would be to hear. these statements now, beginning with that cf the representativeof Greece. That is my suggestion to you. ' Mr. DENDRAMIS (Greece) (translated from Frenc?;.): On behalf ofthe Greek ~ople, I should like to thank the Commission of Investigation for the way in which it has done its work. As a result of its co~ientious labour, the Security Council has bclore it an objective report, which will enl able it to take decisions in conformity with the principles of the Charter. . .All the States Members of the United Nations 'have agreed to "settle their international disputes by peaceful means" and to "re~:rainin their inter- .national relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State •..". The statement of principles continues as follows : "The Organization shall ensure that States which are not Memoersof the United Nations actin accordance with these principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security". The Security Council has the main responsi- . bility for ensuring that all States Members or non-members of the United Nations will refrain fl 'om all threats to, ;md all breaches of, the peace. When a dispute likely to disturb the peace is brought to the attention of the Council, the latter "f. La Commission enverra regulierement au Conseil de securite un rapport tous les trois mois, ou plus souvent si elle le juge opportun. "g. La Commission commencera.ses travaux aussitot que possible et restera en fonction jusqu'au 31 aout 1949. Avant l'expiration de cette date, le Conseil de securite examinera s'il est necessaire de maiIltenit~sonexist61ce. "h. La Commission disposera d'un personnel lui permettant de remplir ses fonctions~ notamment de perso:nnes capables de jouer le rOle d'observateurs de frontiere et de faire rapport sur 1'0bservation des conventions frontalieres recommandees par la presente resolution ainsi que sur la situation a la zone frontaliere et autres quest\0ns analogues." Le PRESIDENT: 1'ai ete informe que les representants de la Grece, de l'Albanie et de la Bulgarie, seraient disposes, si le Conseil en decidait ainsi, a exposer leur maniere tie voir. La fa~on de travailler lccplus logique me paraitrait de proceder maintenant a ces auditions, en commen~antpar le representant de la Grece. C'est ce que je vous suggere. M. DENDRAMIS (Gr~ce): Au nom du peuple hellenique, je tiens a remercier la Commission pour la fa~on dont eUe a accompli sa tache. A la suite de son travail si consciencieuxl le Conseil de securite se trouve en possession d'un rapport ob- ,- jectif qui lui permettra de prendre des decisions ~onformes aux princip~dela Charte. . Tous les Etats Membres de I'drganisation des Nations Unies sont convenus de "regler leurs differencls internationaux par des -moyens pacifiques" et de "s'abstenir, dans leurs relationsinter- . nationales; de recourir ala menace ou al'emploi de la force, soit contre l'integrite temtoriale ou l'independance politique de tout Etat ..." La proclamation des principes poursuit: "L'Organisation fait en sorte que les Etats qui ne sont pas 'Membres des Nations Unies agissent conformement aces principes dans la mesure necessaire au maintien de la paix et de-la securite internationales." C'est le Conseil de securite qui est en premier lieu charge d'assurer que tout Etat, Membre ou non des Nations Unies, s'abstiendra de toute menace contre la paix ou de toute rupture de la paix. Lorsqu'un differend propre a troubler la paix est porte al'attention du Conseil, cel~i-ci ~~ tiori~ In ho case would these measures constitute raient,. en aucun cas, constituer une' menace ~ threat to the territorial integrity of a State; nor contre l'integrite territoriale d'un -pays; elles ne can they be considered as being directed against pourraient non plus etre considereescomme etant the interests of any State. Thus, there mno legitidirigees contre les interets d'un Etat quelconque. mate reason for any country to oppose their Aussi n'existe-t-il aucun motif legitime pour qu'un adoption. pays, quel qu'il soit, s'oppose aleur adoption. The majority of the members of.the Commis- La majorite des membres de la Commission sionreached the conclusion that "Yugoslavia, and est arrivee a la conclusion que "la Yougoslavie et, to alesser extent, Albania and Bulgaria, have supdans une moindre mesure, l'Albanie et la Bulported the guerrilla warfare in Greece". It was garie, ont soutenu'la guerilla de Grece. Il a ete . found that the guerrillas are able to take refuge constate que les francs-tireurs ont la possibilite de on the territory of Greece's northern neighbours, se refugier sur le territoire des voisins septentriowhence they return, reinforced and re-equipped, naux de la Grece, d'ou ils reviennent, renforces to resume their offensive against the territori~ inet recquip~s, afin de reprendre leur offensive tegrity and pa,litical independence of Greece. If contre l'integrite territoriale et l'independance one of the three neighbouring countries has hithpolitique de la Grece. Si l'ull des trois pays voisins erto' proved ,more active in any way than the s'estreveIejusqu'apresentplusactifquelesautres others, or has given greater assistance in achieving dans un sens quelconque, ou s'ila fourni dans une a certain result, this fact is entirely "due to geoplus large mesure son concours pour arriver aun graphical considerations or to natural possibilities. certain resultat, le fait est entierement dO. a des The body of evidence collected shows that· this considerations geQgraphiques ou ades possibilites interv~tion was jointly planned and jointly exenaturelles. L'ensemble des preuves recueillies incuted. Nothing is l1!ore characteristic than the clique que cette intervention a ete conjointement unity of purpose and the concerted action which congue et conjointement executee. Rien de plus these three countries ~splayed throughout. caracteristique que l'unite d'esprit et la communaute d'action avec lesquelles les trois pays n'ont cesse de proceder. The importance of this threat to Greece'sinde- L'importance de cette menace contre l'independence, to international peace, and to the effecpendance de la Grece, la paix internationale et tiveness of the Security Council's function in the l'efficacite future du role du Conseil de securite future, cannot be appraised without examining ne saurait etre evaluee sans que soit examine le this problemin its present perspective. probleme actuel dans sa perspective immediate. During the occupation of Greece by German Durant l'occupation de la Grece par les troupes and Italian troops and by those of the Bplgarian allemandes et italiennes et par celles des satellites and Albanian satellites, certain Slav-speaking and bulgares et albanais, certains elements slavo- Albanian-speaking clements collaborated actively phones et albanophones se sont empresses de colwith the enemy. Many of them r~treated with the laboreI' avec l'ennemi. Plusieurs d'entre eux ont enemy troops. Our northern neighbours selected suivi les troupes ennemies en retraite. Nos voisins from these groups persons whom they considered du Nord ont choisidans ces groupes des personnes p~rticularly qualified and whom they imbued qu'ils ont jugees particulierement qualifiees et WIth their beli~fs. After having trained and armed auxquelles ils ont jnculque leurs doctrines. Apres them, they sent them back to Greece with orders . les avoir entramees et armees, ils les ont renvoyees to undermine the free institutions of that country en Grece avec la mission de saper, par des moyens by subversive means and also by the use of force. subversifs aussi bien que pal' l'emploi de la force, lIes institutions libres du pays. --......-------d----- These are the men whom Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria have provided, and,continueto provide, with arms, ·at the same time giving them · military training and "inciting th~'Il to overthrow the Greek Government", as expressed in the conclusions ofthe Commission. These are the men who are trYing·to weaken Greece by terrorizing the countryside, burning down villages, recruiting young people by.force, .and massacring and mutilating all those who resist them. These are the men who defy all agreements to lay down arms, who mock ·at all amnesties, and·who.are I warmly welcom.ed beyond our frontiers, which they again cross, reinforced and re-equipped,to resumethc::ir attacks against democracy in Greece. Aminorityoftwo members of the Commission has described this situation as "civil war". But when· bands are armed in one country and.sent into another to overt~owthe Government of the latter,thatis notcivil war. It is the most flagrant form of 'breach of the peace. It constitutes aggression. . The critical issue is the following: All aimed Fifth Column, acting as the agent of foreign Gov.., · ernments, •has been organized by these Govern~ mentsand then hurled upon Greece. Even if the countries which set•these forces in motion could now·.be·brought to repudiate their agents, and 'were hencrforth to suspend all assistanceto th~m, thee~ectsoftheir action against the'.J:erritorial integrity and independence, of Gree~e ''A'onld not be removed. The,sh()t aimedatthe heart,~j dreece has·.alteady beerl. fir~dlEvef' if these countries ID The Commission of Investigation has made certain recommendations. In themselves, and within the framework of the Commission, these recommendations are good. Greece is in favour of their adoption by the Security Council, and for her own part undertak~to apply them in all good faith. ' Nevertheless, the efficacy of the Commission's recommendations jg, open to serious doubt. The Security,Council, unlike the Commission, is not restricted in its recommendations 01' in the decisions it may take. Its powers are commensurate with its responsibilities. The Council is responsible for ensuring peace. It is in duty bound to use its full powers to the extent necessaryto ensurepeace. Above all, it is its duty to take action beforehand, in order to prevent fresh violations of the Charter.. For reasons of brevity, this problem is commonly called "the Gr.eek question". This description does not tally with reality, for it indicates only the Greek aspect of a much more important problem. Only if the Security Council regards this aspeCt of the problem with courage ~md takes, without delay, the steps necessary to eIlSurc respect for the legal'and moral prinCiples of the Charter, will the United Nations be able to continue its, task and become' an organization stroIig . enough to save other free countries from in~olun­ tary enslavement. Greece submits her fears, and her hopes to the Security Council,in the conviction t~tthe Mettlbers ofthe United Nations will not all6w the torch of liberty to be extinguished in the very country where it was first lit. Let me remind you that the frontiers of Greece are today the frontiers ofhuman liberty.

I thankth~ representative of Greece.. If the representative of Albania is prepared to speak now, I shall call upon him~ Colonel KERENXH! (Albania) (translated from French) : You have again heard a stateme!1t on the Greek question. I take this opportunity once more to express the Albanian Government's wish to see this question, which concerns it closely,set-· tIed in conformity with the rules of justice. The Albanian Government, in a desire to co- . operate to the utmost in consolidating peace and good ;relations between'nations, is prepared to make the maximum contribution to the,best and fairest solution of the problem before us. We welcomed the Security Council's resolution of 19 December 1946 to set up the Commission of Investigation; we did everything in our power to assist this Commission in its task. The Albanian Government's sole purpose was to seek the truth recommandation~. Prises en elles-tnemes et dans le cadre de la Co1U1:Illi:"sion,' ces reconmiandations sont bonnes. La Grece est enfaveurde'leur adoption pax le Conseil de securite ets'engage a les appliquer, en ce qui la concerne, avec une enti,ere bonne foi. L'effi.cacite des recommandations de la Comn.Us.'lion souleve pourtant des, doutes seneux. Le Cqnseil de securite, contrairement ala Oommission, n'est pas entrave par des restrictions dans ses, recommandations et clans"les decisions qu'il pourrait prendre. Ses pouvoirs sontala. mesure de ses responsabilites. Au Consell incombe la responsabilite d'assurerla paix. Il est de son devoir d'employer 8GS pleins pouvoirs dans lamesure necessaire pour assurer la paix. Son devoir p.r.imordial est de prendre les mesures necessaires, afin de prevenir toutenouvelle violation dela Charte. Ce problemeest, pour des raisons debrievete, communement appele "la question grecque". Cette denominationne corr~pondpasalarealite, car elle designe seulement l'aspect grec d'un probleme heaucoup plus important, 'Seubment} si le Conseil de'securlte envisageait courageusement cet aspect du probleme et adoptait sans delai.les mesures propres aassurer le respect des principes juridiques et moraux de la Charte, ,les Nations Unies'pourraient continuer leur tache et devenir une organisation assezforte pour epargnerad'autrespays libres un asservissement coritre leur volonte. La ,Grece soumet au Conseil de securite ses craintes et ses espoirs) persuadee que les Membres des Nations Unies ne permettront point que le flambeau .de la liberte soit eteint dans le pays tneme ouil fut allume pour la premiere fois. Perniettez-moi de vous :rappeler que lesfrontieres de la Grece sont aujourd'hui les frontieres de la liberte humaine. Le PRESIDENT: Je remercie'le representant de la Grece. Si le representant de l'Alb~ie est dispose a prendre la parole rnaintenant, je la lui donne., Le colonel KERENxHI (Albanie) :La question grecque est e:p.core une fois devant vous. Je profite de cette occasion pour exprimer de nouveau le desir du Gouvemement albanais de voir cette question, qui le touche de pres, resolue conformement aux reglesde l'equite. Le Gouvernement albanais, inspire du,desir de collaborer le plus possibleala consolidation de la paix et des bonnes relations entre les peuples, est pret a apporter la plus grande contribution possi1:lle.a la solution la plus equitable et la meilleure du probLeme qui se pose avous. Nous avons bien accueillila resolution du Conseil de securite du 19 ciecembre 1946 relative ala creation de la Commission d'enquete; nous avons fait tout notre po~­ sible pour contribuer ala tache de cette Comm:';;- Now, asin the past, we greatly deplore the disturbed•conditions prevailing on tlte frontier between Albania ~d Greece. These conditions are the; result of the expansionist policy'adopted by , Greece IDdic;regardboth oUhe wish ofthe peoples , toJive'in peace, and ofthe friendly relationsestablishedbetween the States after the war against the .German and Italian invaders, and·even in disregardofthep~ciples of the United Nations. , . Throughout .the long history of the Telations between the Albanian, and Greek peoples, it has been c1earthit, if there have been quarrels and 'mis~derstandings,the responsibility has not been .that ofthe Albanians. The Albanian people has never had any interest in creating misunderstandingswith, its 'neighbours. Our sI,UaIl country has never had either the time or the power to. do so; on the contrary, it has had to defend itself and to struggle repeatedly against imperialists who direc'Uy attacked its.primary interests. Inthis dCfensivestl'uggle,.the Albanian people hasaIso had to protect itself against the imperial" isticdesigns of a Greecewhi~h, as ,at present, has shoWn herselfopenly opposed to a free and independent' AlQania, which wants only' to·.live in .peace. ,',' ' Nevertheless, the Albanian people appreciated atitsw9rth the struggle carried on by the Greek people, a stniggle identical with that which we ,ourselvalwaged against the same enemies, the fascist invaders. ,In.that war, our, two peoples helped eacliotherto fight thesamft enemiesoriour Tespective territories. The foundations ofsincere and frieridlyco-operation were thus shaped in this common struggle of our two peoples. But, unhappily for the cause of good relations between our~o countries, ch,anges have taken pl~ce in Greece which have prompted and led to tlie present state'of affairs. We can,prove irrefutably,that Greece is adopting a bellicose policy to- ,wardsour country, and that, inordertopursueits attack-against us ~d to aggravate ourrelations, it is levelling against us-:-not ..inadvertently--unfounded, accusations. TheAlbanians who, like all otherfreedom-Iov- -iri.gpeople, emerged as yictorious eliberators of their country after a tl Tible war against the Italian and German invaders, gladly welcomed the dawning of a new era, hoping to be able to live in freedom, independence and' peace; to rebuild their countr,,!, which had been so ravaged and so misused by the common enemies;,and to ensure a liappier future. The great sufferings of the l~twar are. a good stimulus, spurringthe nations to iritensive efforts for a Just and stable peace. The AIJ:>anian people has, accordingly, welcomed and continues to wel-" come' and support all the effortS made by other dia~. ! 'Dans cette lutte defensive, lepeuple albanais a ete. oblige aussi de se protegeI' contre les visees imperia1istes de la.Grecequi,alors comme main- . tenant, se mantrait ouvertement opposee a une AIbanie libre et iridependante, dont l'unique desir est de vivre dans le caIme. Malgre cela, le, peuple albanais ,. a apprecie cornme il convenait la.lutte livree par le. peuple grec, lutte identique ace11equ'il menait lui-meme contre les memes eImen$, lesenvahisseurs fascistes, Danscette guerre, les de~ peuples se sont aide mutuellement en,combattant, sur leurs territoires respectifs, les memes ennemis. Les bases d'une collaborationsincere et amicale se sont cristaI1isees ainsi danscette lutte commline de nos deux peuples. , . Mais, pour .le malheur des bonnes relations :-<entre nos' de~ pays, il y a eu en Grect; des change~ ments qui'ont inspire et pl'ovoque' la situation actuelle., Nous pouvons prouver, par des faits irrefutables, que la Grece suit une politiquebelliqueuse al'egard.de notre pays et que, en vue de poursuivre sonattaque contre nous et d'aggraver nos relations" elle formule contre nous, et non par .hasard, des accusations gratuites. Lepeuple albanais qui, comme tous les autres , peuples aimant la liberte, estsom vict9rie~d'une effroyable guerre, liberant son payscles.envahisseurs italiem·etaIlemands,a accueilli avec une grande joie l'ere nouvelle qui s'ouvrait, dans l'espoir de pouvoir.vivre libre, ihdependant etcaIme, de pouvoir rec~nstruire le pays qui avait subi,de telles destructions et avait ete tant malmene par les ennemis communs, de pouvoir s'assurer un avenir meilleur. ' Les, grandes souffrances de la derniere guerre sont de bans stimulants qui poussent les peuples '" vers'un travail intense en vue d'une paix juste et durable. Ainsi, le peuple albanais a bien accueilli , et continue de bien accueillir et d'appuyer tous~ peace~ of respect for mutual rights and (\f good neighbourliness. It has often been the prey of imperialists and, in such cases, has been able to retaliate with hono!ll" arid dignity. For those teasons, the Albanian people knows very weJl that it needs independence, territorial integrity· and peace, and that is why it is defending its·rights and has'no interest in activities directed against another country. It asks qnly that due respect be shown for the rights,of a small people which has given much during the,war waged jointly by th~ Allies; it asksfor nothing mote thangood, friendly relations with other peoples,'within the ftame... work of the principles of international co-operation andthe guarantee of peace. Albania is faithful to these principles. All assertions to the contrary and all charges brought against Albania will only prove to be absurd, unjust and unfounded. " Greece, on the contrary, is at present following a quite different policy, an expansionist and bellicose policy. She considers herself to be ina state of war with our couiltry. In this way, she tries to deny that the Albanian people wage~ a,struggle or made a contribution to the common cause 'of the Allies. Her assertion of the existence of a'state of war is in itself.not only an item of propaganda , .used in international conferences, but furthermore serves to justify the aggressive measures taken by Greek official circles against Albania, in order to achieve their imperialist.designs directed a:gainst the independence, liberty, and territorial integrity of our country. Such an attitude on the part of the Greek Government is a contravention of 'Lhe ,decisions of international c'onferences. The Peace Comerence in Paris recognized the contribution made by Albania to thewar waged jointly by the Allies; reparatio~ were granted to Albania. Even more importantis the fact that this meant the failure of the policy pursued by the present Greek Government with regard to Albania and the failure of the Greek claims at this same conference. Nevertheless, with still greater energy Greece has pursued the achievement of her aims, but this time rather by illegal means, by means at variance with any ~rincipleoflaw and peace: Her policy is to con- SIder herself to be at war with our country. This is ~ , _a policy of claims; instead of endeavouring to conform to the. decisions of the Peace Comerence, Greece continues to be solely responsible for the tension between the two countries. ...... --- pl~ieurs fois grace a des combinaisons diplomatiques), aac~omp1i avec honneur, durant cette derniere guerre, son devoir contre le peril fasciste, dansl'esperance d'un avenir meilleur, de relations de bonvoisinage, cl'un respect reciproque et d'unc paix juste et durable. Jamais le petit peuple alba- Ilais n'a touche al!x interets d'autrui, parce que ses propres interets nationaux ne pouvaient etre assures que s'il pratiquait une politiquede paix, de respect reciproque des dro~ts de bon voisinage. Il . a ete plusieurs fois la proie des imperialistes et, en de telles circonstances, il a suleurrepondreavec hqnneur et dignite; c'est pourquoi --:- il fien rend c1airemeilt compteillui· faut l'independance, l'integrite territoriale et la paix, et c'est pourquoi i1 s'occupe de de£endre ses droits et n'a rien a voir dans des agIssements diriges contre un autre pays. Il.ne demandeque le respect des droits dti aun petit peuple qui a donne beaucoup pendant la guerre livree en commun par les Allies; il ne demande rien de plus que. de bonnes relations amicales avec les autrespeuples, dans le cadre'des principes de collaboration intemationale et de garantie de paix. L'Albanie est fideIe a ces principes. Toute affirmation contraire et toute accusation portee contre I'Albanie ne peuvent que se reveler ridicules, injustes et sans fondement., La Grece, au contraire, suit actuellement Une poIitique tout a fait opposee, une politique expansionniste et belIiqueuse. RIle se considere en etat de guerre avec notre pays. Ce faisant, elle tend a nier la lutte livree par le peuple albanais et sa contribution a la cause commune des Allies. Son affirmation qu'il existe un etat de guerre non seulementconstitue', en soi, un element de propagande employe dans les conferences internationales, mais encoresert a justifierles mesures agressives prises par les milieux gouvernementaux grecs contre l'Albanie, en vue de realiser leurs visees imperialistes dirigees contre l'independance, laliberte et I'integrite territoriale de notre pays.. Unetelle attitude met le Gouvernement grec en opposition avec les decisions de conferences internationales. La Conference de la Paix, a Paris, a reconnu la contribution apportee par l'Albanie a la guerre livree en commun par les Allies; des reparations lui ont ete accordees. Ce qui est plus important encore, c'est l'echec de la politique poursuivie par le Gouvernement grec actuel ~ l'egard de I'Albanie, et l'echec des revendications grecques a cette meme conference. Malgre cela, la Grece a poursuivi, avec plus de force encore, la realisation de ses buts, mais, cette fois, plutot par la voie illegale, par la voie qui s'ecarte de tout principe de droit et de paix: sa politique consiste a se considerer en etat de guerre avec notre pays; c'est la politique des revendications; ....u lieu de chercher a s'adapter aux decisions de ..a Conf6~ rence de la Paix, la Grece continue d'etre la senie 'responsable de la tension entre les deux pays. coniir~e que la Grece se livrea une intense activite subversive a l'interieur· de l'Albanie, a des provocations armees contre nos frontieres, et qu~elle rassemble et organise des criminels de guerre dont elle fait usage contre notre regime democratique. The documentation submitted to the Com- ~ La documentation presentee a la Commission nlissiopof Investigation by' the Albanian de1egad'enquete par la delegation albanaise contient des tion contains detailed statements which confirm exposes detailles qui confirment ce qui precede; .theabov~; itcontairls a wealth of arguments and elle. contient. une argumentation tres riche, des statements by well-known Greek politicians and declarations d'importantes personnalites politimany extracts from the Greek press which dearly ques grecques etde nombreux extraits dela presse show the preparation of public opinion for a war grecque q~ reveIent de ,toute evidence la prepa- ,againstAlbania. It contain.s a list, with supportration de l'opinion publique a une gqerre contre . c ..ipg.documentary proof, of frontier incidents prol'Albanie. Elle contient urie enumeration des inci- .voked by the military authorities. These proofs dentsde frontihe Pl'ovoques par les autorites militake the ·fQrm .of statements.'from hundreds of taires, enumera:tion a<:compagnee de pieces a!'appeaSants who have suffered in these incidents. pui: declarationS emanant de centaines de pay- The docuinentationalso includes a list of acts of sans qui ont souffelt de ces incidents; Ellecontient bngandage committed by bands sent from Greece aussi une· enumeration des actes de brigandage .to .Albania, e~pecia1ly those acts committed by commis par des bandes envoyees de Grece en bands organizea by Lieutenant-Colonel Mo11Sa-. Albanie, notamment ceux des bandes organisees .. kitis~ the commander of the Corfu garriSon. par le lieutenant-colonel Mousakitis, commandant la garnisonde Corfou. ' La delegation albanaise a remis a la Commis- , sion des documentsauthentiques emanant des autorites militaires grecques, d'ou il ressort clairement que la Grecea procede au rassemblement des'rCfugies albanais en etatde porter les armes. Panni ces documents, figure un rapport de la Mission militaire,britannique en Albanie,'qui permetde se rendre compte que des incidents de frontihe sontegalement provoques par des refr:- gies .albanais se trouvant en Grece. En' outre, d'autres documents remis a la Commission, tels les proces.;verbaux· des proces de criminels albanais, confirinent ·l'acti'vite subversive organisee par la Grece al'interieur de I'Albanie. La Cornn;rissiond'enquete a egalement re~u un nombre important de temoignages ecnts et oraux / qui revelent l'utilisation des criminels de gueITe et des quislings pour des operations;dirigees contre les trois pays voisins de la Grect::,' ou, avec l'aide des bandes de fa droitc et des gendarmes, contre la paisible population grecque. Tous ces actes representent le revers de la medaille: l'avers de la medaille, c'est que la Grece seconsidere en etatde guerre avec l'Albanie. Tous ces actes representent le cote pratique de la po~­ tique grecq'ue a l'egard de I'Albanie. La coinCI.- dence entre la politique et la pratique est ici bien evidente. Le rapport logique entre les deux est egalement bien evjdent. Pour attirer l'attention de l'opinion publique mondiale sur ses revendications territoriales et pour realiser ses buts annexionnistes, le Gouvemement grec a interetacreer le long de nos frontieres une situation troublee, un etat d'alerte; mais en meme temps, il cree un danger pour la paix dans ' . ce secteur de l'Europe. D'un cote, le Gouvernement grec declare avec force que la Grece se considere en etat de guerre ....... The Albanian delegatidn gave the Commission, authentic documents emanating from the Greek military'authorities which, show clearly that Greece has been recruiting Albanian refugees capable of carrying·arms. Among these.doc'- uments·there is also a report by the British Mill- .tary Mission in Albania, Which shows that frontier incidents are provoked by Albanian refugees in Greece. Other documents submittecl to .the Commission, such as the records of the trials of Albanian criminals, also conlli..m the subversive activities organized by Greece inside Albania. The Commission of Investigation has also received a great deal of written and oral evidence which discloses the use made of war criminals and quislings for operations directed against the three countries adjacent to Greece, or, with the help of right-wing bands and gendarmes, against the peaceful Greek population. All these activities constitute the reverse side of the medal; the obverse is that Greece considers itself to be in a state of war with Albania. All these activities represent the prastical side of Greek policy towards Albania. The coincidence between policy and practice is very clear. The logical connexion between the two is.also very. clear. '/ In order to draw the attention of world public opinion to its territorial claims and to achieve its annexionist aims, it is to the interest of the Greek Government to create disturbed conditions along . our frontiers, a general state of alarm. But, at the same time,·it is'creating a danger to peace in this part of Europe. On the one hand, the Greek Government states emphatically that Greece considers itself to be in ye~rs were killed, eight women and children were wounded and forty-eight draught animals were killed. The aim of the charges made by Greece against its three northern neighbours has often been unmas]{ed. It has been provedthat the Greek Government, in appealing to the Security Council, has tried to'conceal the real causes ofthe disturbances in .that co:untry-not only in: the north but throughout the country-and that" in acting thUS, it is pursuing its policy of attacking and cal~ umniating its, three northern neighbours. During the work of the Commission of Investigation, .it has been proved that the causes of the disturbances in Greece are exclusively internal. These disturbances are due to the terrorist policy of the present Greek Government, to the presence of British armed forces'and to their int~rferencein the internal affairs of Greece. It has been proved that, after violating the Varkissa Agreement, the rulers of Greece began to pursue a policy of unparalleled terror. . This terrorist policy is applied throughout Greece. A campaign of relentless persecution has been launched against members of t!J.e Greek Resistance and against all democratic elements. Peaceful citizens have been assassinated with~ out trial. Thousands.of others have been imPlisoned and deported to the Islands. Popular demo~ cratic organizations, such as trade unions and the Youth Organization, have been outlawed, continually harried andindicted before the courts. It has been proved that everyone has suffered from this terrorism.: women, children, old people, work~ ers, peasants and intellectuals. There have .been definite cases of collaboration between right-wing bands and the Greek Government forces engaged in perpetrating large~ scale acts of terrorism. Villages have been burned down and the population massacred. The Greek democratic Press has also suffered from this terror: dozens of newspapers have been suspended and their editorial staffs imprisoned 01" deported. It has been proved that, in order to escape the ~ampaignof terror conducted by those presently III power, gteat numbers of Greek democrats have had to seek refuge in the mountains in order to defend themselves and to fight against tyranny. Irrefutable proof has brought to light the fierce terror exercised by the Greek authorities against national minorities. to~ les elements democratiques SOD;t l'objet d'une persecution sans merci. Des citoyens paisibles ont ete assassinessans an- 'cun proces. Des millieo d'autres ont ete emprisonnes et deportes dans les Des. Des organisations democratiques populaires, comme les syndicats ouvriers et l'Organisation de la Jeun~e, ont ete declarees hors la loi, continuellernent pourchassees et traduites devant les tribunaux. D aete prouve que tous ont souffert de cette terreur: femmes, en;' fants, vieillards, ouvriers, paysans,intellectuels. Il y a eu des cas concrets de collaboration entre les bandes de la droite et les forces gouvernementales grecques se livrant les unes et les autres a des actes de terrorisme de grande envergure; Des villages·ont ete incendies et leur popula~onmassacree. La presse democratique grecque a egalement souffert de cette terreur: des dizaines de journaux . ant ete suspendus et leurs redacteurs ont ete jetes' en prison ou deportes. Il a ete prouve qu'afin d'echapper a la terreur exek'cee par les dirigeants actuels, le~ democrates grecs sont obliges de chercher refuge en grand nombre clans les montagnes pour se defendre et combattre la tyrannie. Des preuves irrefutables ont mis a jour la terreur feroce exercee par les autorites grecques contre les minorites nationales. .The witnesses heard by the Commission, who revealed this truth, are all of Greek origin. They came fromvarious parts of Greece. By giving evidence before the,Commissiy:",\, they did not win the favour of the Greek authorities; they ran the risk of danger and certain persecution. That is what happened to them after the Commission departed from Greece. These witnesses were perse-. cuted,'condemned to death and executed. Let me quote, for instance, the case of Dr. Joanidis, who ·washeatClny'Team] .8. of the- ConirillSsionat Flori,na, and who was at that time free; he was subsequently executed. Despite the terror which .prevailed and although their future was inevitably jeopardiz~d, the witnesses, speaking either for organizations bf the people or in a private capacity, . came before' the Commission to tell the truth. .L\mongst these witnesses there were spokesmen of the largest political-organizations,in Greece, political prisoners, persons condemned to death and deportees representing thousands of other deportees. There were representatives of persecuted villages, representatives of intellectual associations and clubs, and representatives of soldiers of the Greek Democratic Army. The great value of this evidence, emanating from popular circles of this kind, is therefore dear. The documents submitted to the Commission of Investigation regarding the policy of uprooting national minorities in Greece offer further convincing proof of the tense situation and of the civil war provoked by the Greek authorities. With regard to the massacres of members of the Albanian minority in Greece, the documents submitted by the Albanian delegation included the following: 1. A statement·on the massacres of members of the Albanian minority ID Greece. This showed clearly the responsibility of the Greek ?l]thorities for large-scale massacres, for the death f 2,877 persons, for the sacking of 68 villages, ,for the burning of 5,800 houses· and for the presence of 23,000 refugees in Albania now; . 2. NC?tes sent to international conferences by the Chain Anti-Fasdst Committee; , 3. Quotations from Greek newspapers describing the massacres; . There have recently been attempts by Greeks to cover up the disgrace attaching to the Greek authorities responsible for these massacres by raising the question of the alleged terror exercised by Albanian authorities against the Greek minority in Albania. It is obvious that Greek official circles Wish that such a terror did exist an'tl are 10th to admit that the;Greek minority in Albania enjoys the same rights as the Albanians and that these rights are guaranteed by law and by the actual Constitution of the People's Republic of Albania; they are equally loth to admit that terrorism has never existed in Albania. Efforts of this kind were also made before the Commission and an attempt . was even made to include a chapter dealing with this alleged terror in the Commission's report. This effort also proved to be vain; it was rejected by the.Conun.ission. . These then are the real causes of the tension existing everywhere in Greece. It is obvious that Greeccts northern neighbours, who are unreasonably held responsible for this tension, have nothing' to do with it. Many convincing proofs show that Greece's northern neighbours cannot be accused of interference in the internal affairs of that country. The saIne evidence shows, as a whole, that Greek official circles provoked the civil war throughout Greece by th,eir terrorist poliCy towards the democratic masSes and 'by their policy of uprooting national minorities. The Commission of Investigation could notfail ",r ~ttac:::~t importance to the inquiry intothe 8. Les depositions des temoins tchamourlotes devant l'Equipe 1 A, a Konispoli; 9. Des renseignements montrant qu'en Albanie il y a environ 23.000 refugit~s de la minorite 31,;, banaise de Grece. Le Gouvernement grec a tente de nier tous ces faits, mais sans le moindre succe$. Meme les te~ moins cites par le Gouvernement grec ont fait des depositions qui constituent, en "erite, de nouvelles preuves de ces massacres. Citons, par exemple.l le temoin NostredAll, qui a declare qu'actuellement il ne reste en Grece que seize familles .tchamouriotes; ou bien citons le temoin grec Frontzas, qui a declare notamment qu'il y avait un bataillon tcha..111ouriote clans les ra..'I'lg:! de l'EL.AS. ':reut-eela-- red~it a neant les tentatives faites par les Grecs pour dissimulerla verite sur les abominables massacres de la minorite albanaise. Derpierementencore, du cate grec, on a tente de dissimuler la hante qui rejaillit sur les gouvernants grccs responsables de ces massacres, en soulevant la questioJ:} d'une pretendue terreur exercee par les autorites albanaises contre la minorite grecque en Albanie. n est clair que, du cate des milieux gouvernementaux grecs, on souhaite une telle terreur; on n'admet pas facilement que la minorite grecqueen Albanie jouissed~ memes droits que le peuple albanais et que ces droits soient garantis· par la loi, par la Constitution meme de la Republique populaire d'Albanie; on n'admet pas non plUs facilement que la terreur n'ait jamais existe en Albanie. Devant la Commission, des tentatives similaire& ont ete faites; on a meme essaye d'inclure dans le rapport de la Cqm:- mission un chapitre traitant de cette pretendue terreur; mais cetteteI;1tatives'est egalementreve!ee infructueuse: elle a ete rejetee parla Commission. .voila donc les vraies causes de la tension qui existe dans toute la Grece. Il est clair que l~ voisins septentrionaux, tenus sans raison responsables de cette tension, n'ont rien a y voir. Des preuves convaincantes et multiples etablissent que les voi,;, sins septentrionaux de la Grece ne peuvent etre accuses d'ingerence dans les afl'aires interieures de cc pays. Ces memes preuves montrent, dans l'ensemble, que les milieux gouvernernentaux grecs ont . provoque la guerte civile sur toute l'etendue de la Grecepar leur politique de terreur a l'egard des masses·de1110cratiques et par leur politique de deracinement des minorites nationales; La Commission d'enquete ne pouvait pas ne pas donner une grande importance a l'examen There is no corroboration of the charge:; that Greece's northern neighbours supported the guerrillas in Greece, with the exception of the statements made by some witnesses either to the Greek authorities or to the Commission. This fact should be stressed in view of the magnitude of these charges. On the one hand, charges are made which, according to the Greek Government, completely explain the internal tension. On th.e other hand, there is only insignificant and faked evidence.in support of these charges. The unsubstantiall1ature of the Greek charges becomes increasingly ~lear when the supporting evidence, that is to say,thetestimony, is examined. Varlous important facts underli11e the insignificance of .the evidence and of the charges formulatedby'Greek official circles. These 'absolutely unfounded charges, based on forgeries, have . served as a pretext for sentencing thousands and thouSands of innocent.people in the country itself and for attacking peaceful States. The following are some of these facts: == •••....• ·"····1.··· The G:ret:kwitllesses tame beforethe C01ll.- ~onwithout any documents to prove that they were actually the persons to be heard. Serious dcubts were expressed on the subject during the hearings of'witnesses. The Commission even decided to conduct an investigation to verify the identity of 'tJltitnesses. 2., The Greek witnesses wer<:: prepared in advanceto state arid to support what they had already· been ·taught. Their moral, political and judcial' capacities were not those of trustworthy witnesses for the following reasons; , (~) Somewere arrested persons, who had either not yet been tried or had already been condemned to death" in which case,their execution depended on ~~ behaviour before th~ Commission ?f TnT vestigation. Or they were pnsoners freed Wlthout previous trial, but on condition only that they Illade false stat@ents to the Commission. There are concrete exam.ples. which exppse' the method pur'Su~dby the Greek Government to obtain false ·statements. I shall quote only one example- .• there .. ~eIIlany.others,c altlluugn'tnerh were very few witnesses who testified against Albania. I refer to the case of the witnesses Stavros Kentros and Nikolaos Tsipis. These two witnesses were captured along with eight other members of a group c of guerrillas. But although .the other prisoners werebr()ug1:lt into court and sentenced to death or to .terms of imprisonment, Stav:ros Kentros was freed. Leonidas Ra.ptis, who ~as condemned to death and executed, and all the others categori- . cally denied that they had crossed into Albania and had received arms there; theystated that these. charges were exaggerations and ,inventions. It mustalso be pointed out that even the indictment of these prisoners laidbefore the court never men- The matter is very simple: Raptis is executed, the others are imprisoned, whereas Ken:ros, who gives evidence in support of the charges made by the Greek Government, is at liberty. (b.) There were certain Greek witnesses who, thanks to their false statements, were given not only their liberty but also the protection of the Greek authorities. (c) There were witnesses in the service of the Greek Anny Information Bureau, whose moral qualities are doubtful. (d) There were witnesses who committed crimes and acts of terrorism eVen while the Commission was in Greece. (~) Finally, among the Greek witnesses there were war criminals and common law criminals. 3. Il a ete constate que les autorites gouveme... mentales grecques ont exerce unepression morale et physique sur des temoins pour obtenir,'devant la Commission, des decIaratio:ns falsifiees et preparees par de tierces personnes. Le temoin grec .yaltadoros a ete torturejllSau'.a.cceQn'j1eilLaq"'c~ cept{d~decl~~r tequ'onllrl avait ~eig~e:Le· temoin Thoma Zahos, egalement cite par leGouvetnement grec, a declare,avoirsignesous menace nne deposition preparee d'avancepar une tiel'ce personne, deposition qu'il a reniee devant laCom- . missioIl. 3. It has been established that the Greek Government authorities hrought moral and physical pressure to bear on wi1:!iesses in order to get them to make to the Commission false statements pre~ pared by third persons. The Greek witness Valtadoroswastortured untjI he agreed to testify~h~ --had been told~ The witness Thoma Zahos, also summoned by the Greek Govermnent, stated that he had signed under duress a deposition which had been prepared beforehand by a third person, ai:J.dwhich he rt.-voked before the Commission. Other proofs anddocuments submitted to the Commission reveal the system followed by the Greek Government for the falsification of evidence. There are authentic documen~emanating from the Greek authorities and also many depositions which contradict the Greek c·iarges. On,the other hand, the Albanian, delegation supplied the Commission with the reports of com- , missions appointed by the Aibanian Government which prove thatthe Greek charges are absolutely unfounded. With regard to frontier incidents, it should be noted that the Greek Government, in submitting its CasetOthe Commission of Investigation, almost failed to repeat the charge thatits northern neighbours were responsible for these incidents, The documents made available to the Commission by Greece in support of its charge against our cc·..:ntry consist only of a brochure entitled Incidents on the Greek Frontier and six depositions. A perusal of these documents shows that no proof or argument has been submitted in support of the charge. In the brochure, we are accused of having, provoked 1O~ incidents, but there are 69,discrepancies and contradictions between the French and English texts. There are also alleged incidents ~hichAlbania had nothingto do with. Even more nnportant contradictions may be found between ,this brochure and the Greek memorandum of 3 C'est bien simple: Raptis est execute, les autres sont emprisonnes, tandis que Kentros, qui est un temoin al'appui. des accusations formulees par le Gouvernement grec, reste Iibre. b) 11 s'agissait encore de temojns grecs qui, grace a leurs faussesdeclarations, ont joui non seulement de la Iiberte, mais aussi de la protection des autoritesgrecques. c) 11 s'agissait de temoins au service du Bureau d'information de l'armee grecque, bureau dont lesqualites morales sont douteuses. d) Il s'agissait de temoins ayant commis.des crimes, des a~tes de terrorisme, meme durant le sejour dela Commission en Grece. ' '.. e.) Enfin, l'onpouvaitrelever egalement, parmi les temoinsgrecs, des criniinels de guerre et des criminels de droit commun. D'autres preuves et documents ont ete prescntes a la Commission, qui devoilent le systemesuivi par le Gotivernement grec pour la,falsification des t6:noignages. 11 y a des documents authentiques emanant des autorites'grecqueset aussi des temoignages multiples qui contredisent lesaccusations grecques. D'autre part, la delegation albanaise apresente a la Commission des rapports emanant de commissions nommees parle Gouvernement albanais qui demontrent ql~e les'accusations gi-ecques sont denuees de tout fondement. Pour ce qui est de la question des incidents le 'long des frontieres, il est a noter que le Gouvernement grec, en soumettantson cas ala Commis-, slon d'enqdete, a a peine reitere l'accusation selon laquelle les voisins septentrionaux seraient responsables de ces incidents. Les documents mis a la disposition de la Commission par la Grece a l'appui de leurs accusations contre notre pays, ne comprennent qu'une brochure, intituIeeInciaents ala frontiere helleniqueJ et six temoignages. L'examen de ces documents perrnet de constater qu'aucune preuve, aucun argumentn'a ete pre.sente a l'appm 4e l'accusation. Dans la brochure, nous sommes accuses d'avoir provoque 109 incidents; mais on re1eve' 69 differences et .contradictions entre les textes fran~ais et anglais. On peut aussi y trouver de pretendus incidents auxquels l'Albanie n'a riena voir. Ce qui est plus important Such a state of aff~ gives us every right to .repudiate all responsibility for the incidents. A study of the documents submitted by the .Albar.ian delegation leads to the conclusion that rthe Greek military authorities engage in provocation on our frolltiersin pursuit of the bellicose -Greek policytowards Albania. I spoke about this just now. I cannot end this statement, based on facts as ,they 'werepreseIlted during'the illvestigation- .though many of thein were not included in the .report-without dwelling here on the questipn of .the conclusions adopted by the Commission de- .spite the disapproval of two delegations, the ab- .:stention of a third and the remarks made by two ,others. . H the conclusions are studied from the factual .point of view, it ~ be nQted that the connexion between -these conclusions and the facts leaves much to be desired. I quote from theintroduction ·to the conclusions: "Although the liaison repre- ·sentatives te~eatedly denied these charges. . . little direct evidence was brought forward to dis- .prove them".2 Thus, it would seem that the depositions, doc- ' .Ainsi done, il apparait que les temoignages, les 'uments and memoranda directly concerned with documents, les memorandums ayant trait directe- ,refuting the charge of having helped the guerrillas ment a la refutation de l'accusation portee contre which.hasbeen brought against Greece's northern les voisins septentrionaux de la Grece concemant neighbours-----:-though much superior in quantity l'appui qu'~s auraif;ilt apporte aux francs-tireurs , and in quality to the evidence submitted by the -- temoignages de beaucoup superieurs, en nom- Greek Government-are considered to be "little bre et en qualite, aceux qu'a presentes le Gouver- .direct evidence"'. This· "little direct evidence", nement grec - sont juges comme ne constituant however, when added to the flagrant contradicque "peu de temoignages". Or, ce "peu de temoitionsfound inthe statements of witnesses brought gnages", s'aioutant aux contradictions flagrantes .forward by the Greek Government and also to the relevees dans les declarat:ons des temoins citespar -moral, politicaland judicial qualitiesof these wit- . le .Gouvernement grec, ainsi qu'au caractere nesses, (which ar.e·not those of trustworthy witmoral, politique et judiciaire de ces temoins, qui .nesses) constitutes the best displ'oof of the Greek n.'est pas .celui de tem9ins dignes de foi, constitue .Govt-mment's allegations. This proof. need. only la meilleure preuve a l'encontre des allegations du Qe compared with what are called the "well- Gouvernement grec. Une simple comparaison en~ .foundedstatements of Greek witnesses" to confirm tre cette preuve et c~ qu'on appelle "le bien-fonde incontestably what I have just said. des dires des temoins grecs", pourrait confirmer d'une maniaeincontestable ce qui vient d'etre dit. '.' &ee Official RecordS of the Security Council. SecondYear, 1 Voir 1es Proces-verbaux otficiels du Conseil de securite, "S\lpp1ement No. 10, Annex 16. ' Deuxieme Annee, Supplement No 10, Annexe 16. • See· the report of the Commission of Investigation con- • Voir le rapport de la Commission d'enqu~te sur les ceming Greek 'Frontier Incidents, to the Security Council, incidents survenusa la frontiere grecque au Conseil de __et.......;p_a...rt....I_U....,..,c_h_ap....t_er...1_.__...... • _ sec~~~~e.~...~~:~:.~II, chapitre pre.mier. . A plusie~rs des incidents cites par les Grecs, que l'on peut constater facilement que la version albanaise est presentee par le Gouvernement grec dans un sene; oppose, conforme a son propre interet - c'est-a-dire que nos accusations sont tournees en contre-accusations. Un tel etat de choses nous pennet abon droit de repousser toute responsabilite au sujet de ces incidents. L'examen des documents presentes par la delegation albanaise permet de conclure que les autorites militaires grecques se livrent a des provocations a nos frontieres, en application de lapontique belliqueuse poursuivie par la Grece contre l'Albanie. J'ai parle de cette question, il y a un instant. A l'issue de cet eXpose fonde sur les faits teIs qu'ilS iurent presentes au cours de l'enquete - bien qu'une grande partie n'en figure pas au rapport - je ne pourrais eonclure sans aborder devant vous la question des conclusions adopt~es par la Commission en depit de la desapprobation de deux delegations, de l'abstention 'd'une troisieme et des remarques fonnulees par'deux autres. L'examen des conclusions, du point'de vue des faits, perIDet de souligner que la eorrespondance entre ces conclusions et les faits laisse beaucoup a desirer. Dans l'introduction aux conclusions, on lit: "Bien que les agents de liaison aient dementi ees accusations . . . on a produit peu: de temoignages directs qui en infirment le bien-fonde." Le point a) mentionnel'existence d'un camp de refugies grecs a Rubig. Ce qui saute aux yeux, c'est la pretendue·"instruction militaire~' dont il y est question. Pour arriver a cette (' )nclusion, on s'est appuye sur les depositions contradictoires de trois temoins seulement, qui, devant les autorites grecques, avaient a peine mentionne cette pre-. tendue "instruction militaire'~ou n'en avaient rien dit du tout. La Commission n$a pris en consideration ni la declaration de notre delegation, ni le rapport sur Rubig, suivi de declarations de temoins, soumis ala Commission par notre delegation, ID les depositions d'un temoin grec, Zahos, ni celles d'un autre temoin encor<',qui faisaient tous ressortir clairement la vraie situation au camp. de Rubig. En quantite comme en qualite, les preuves: fournies en' refutation de l'allegation grecque selon laquelle ~ne "instruction militaire" aurait cte donnee au camp de Rubig sont de beaucoup superieures aux preuves venant a l'ap" pui de cette allegation. Il en ressort tout a fait clairement que le Gouvernement albanais, respectant les principes humanitaires, a donne asile a. un nombre limite de democrates grecs (trois. cents) qui s'etaient refugies en territoire alba-o nais pour echapper a la persecution et a la terreur dans leur pays. Le Gouvernement albanais ne pouvait adopter d'attitude differente al'egard de ces homines, car cela aurait ete contraire a tout principe humanitaire, contraire aux principes de la guerre de liberation,·contraire aux principes de la guerr~ livree par le peuple grec contre l'occui . Both in quantity and in quality, the proofs brought forward to refute the Greek allegation that. "military training" was given in the Rubig camp are far superior to the proofs supporting the allegation. The proofs brought forward in refutation show quite clearly that the Albanian Government, on humanitarian grounds, gave shelter to a limited number of Greek democrats Cthreehundred) who had fled into Albanianterrltory to escape the persecution and terror in their own country. The Albanian Government could not treat these men otherwise, since that would have been contrary to all humanitarian principles, contrary to the principles of thewar of liberation, and contrary to the principles of the war waged by the Greek nation against the occupying Powers. All these refugees were concentrated in a camp in northern Albania, and then left for Yugoslavia in October 1945. It is absolutely clear that. the Greek refugees at the Rubig camp had no arms and had not been given military training. These are the true facts. p~nt. Tous ces refugies furent concen~.resdans un . camp aunord del'Albanie, et, enoctob:l'e 1945, ils partirent pour la Yougoslavie. Il ressort t.out a fait clairement qu'au camp de Rubig les refugies grecs. ne possedaient pas d'armes, et n'avaient r~u aucune instructionmilitaire.Voila lesfaits ventables. . Il faut souligner que tout ce1a se passait en 1945, et les accusations grecques sur le pretendu . appui donne aux francs-tireurs ne portent que sur la seconde moitie de l'annee 1946, c'est-a-dire a peu pres une annee apres la liquidation du camp de Rubig. La conclusion formuIee au point b) n'affecte en rien l'Albanie. Les declarations des temoins. selon lesquels le parti communiste grec aurait recommande aux membres de l'ELAS de s'enfuir en Albanie pour echapper a la terl'eur regnant en Grece, declarations qui furent meme dementies par d'autres temoins, n'appuient en rien l'accusation grecque contre l'Albanie. Le Gouvernement albanais a fourni des vivl'es. et des vetements aux refugies grecs durant leur scjour de quelques mois a Rubig, en 1945; mais jamais d'equipement militaire. Il ne pouvait avoir une attitude differente, il ne pouvait les Iaisser mourir de faim. Cela ressort des preuves soumises a la Commission. Dans la derniere partie des conclusions relatives a l'Albanie, au point (:), il eSt dit que, d'apres les temoignages, l'Albanie a continue de fournir une It should be emphasized that all this happened in 1945, and that the Greek charges regarding the alleged support given to guerrillas relate only to the second half of 1946, that is, about a year after the liquidation.of the Rubig camp. Point (b) of the conclusions does not in any way affect Albania. The statements of witnesses, to the effect that the Greek Communist Party advised members of ELAS to flee to Albania in order to escape the terror reigning in Greece, give no support to the Greek charge against Albania and were denied by other witnesses. For a few months in 1945, '~le Albanian Gover;um:ent provided the Greek refugees ·at Rubig WIth food and clothing, but never with military equipment. It could not have acted otherwise; it could not have left them to die of hunger. This is clear from the evidence submitted to the Commission. In the last part of the conclusions concerning Albania, in point (c), it is stated, on the basis of "POSitions, that Al?ani:.has continued to 1 shall now touch briefly on the question of 'Greece's bellicose policy towards Albania. This :the Commission has not considered, although our ,delegation had repeatedly asked it to do so and •made concreteproposals,tothis end, and although :the Commission had also decided to study it at its meeting held on'21 March 1947 at Salonika. Neverth~less, it is stated in,the conclusiDns: "The C.ommission believes,however~that the ~~JaCtthat Greece has maintained an uncomproinising attitude on these questions [the claims] has undoubtedly ip.creased. the tension between the -two countrieS andcontributed to the psychological ;atffiosphere" evidenced in 'part by the frontier .clashes".2 It is thus finally admitted that Greece provoked the frontier dashes by its bellicose policy. , This question, though; is much cle~er than it ~a:ppears. Mention should have been made"of the illegal methods used.by Greece to obtain satisfac- 'tion of its claims. That was the, purpose of the investigation, requested by the Albanian delegation. "I have insisted that the consequences of Greek claims be ascertained from a legal point of view and, in particular, that the illegal methods -it used to obtain satisfaction of its claims should, 1 Section D, 10 (c) ,of the conclusions of the report of the .CoIil)Iiission of 'Investigation concerning Greek Frontier _Inddents to the Security Council. ti~rf ne sont qu'une manifestation2." , , OJ:l arrive ainsia admettre que la Grece, par sa; , politique belliqueuse, provoque des incidents de ,frontiere. ' , ' Mais cette qu'estionest bien plus claire qu'ilne .parait. Il aurait falluparler des methodes illegales employees par la,Grece' pOUf obtenir la,satisfac- 'tion de ses revendications. La etait le but de l'enquete demandee par la delegation albanaise.'rai insiste pour que l'onconstatat lesconsequences des revendications grecques sur le terrain Iegal,et surtout pour que l'on enquetatsur les moyens We- ,gaux employes po;ur obtenir la satisfaction de ces 1 Section D, a1in~~ 10 c) des conclusions du rapport d~la Commission d'enqu8te sur les incidents a la fronti1:re grecque. , '1 2 Ibid., section E, alinea 11 b) des conclusions au Conset de securite., '. ' ,~ . What view can one take of activities like the following? MtertheParisPeace Conference,where the request submitted by the Greeks.for frontier revision was absolutely rejected, the EAVI organization--which consists of Albanian refugees in Greece a..lldwhichis directed bythe Greek Government-tookcertainbellicosedecisions.AtYannina, the Northern Epirus Committe~ published on 24 November 1946 in the newspaper Vorios Ipiros a . communique which stated: "The people. of Northern Epirus" (that is to say, Albanians who had fled to Greece) "have taken a decision inspired by theirlonghistorical tradition. They will ···themselvestryto free thekietteted hands. And . they will be the only Qnesto b~}lq.r.esponsibil" ity". The same newspaper, co:nUrieriting on the communique, wrote as follows under the heading . The decision has been taken: ·"We have said be,: fore in these co!umns that the peopleof Northern Epirus, regardless 01 tlIe consequences, are resolved to defend in a different fashion the life and honeur of their brothers in bondage." This example, one of many, in itsel~revealsthe bellicose policy of Greece. In addition, there is the question of Albanian war crhr.Jnals and quislingsin Greece,.and of their· anti-Albanian activities.. , I quote from thecondusions: "Although there was some testimony indicating political activities on the part of the internees directed against Al~ bania, Bulgaria ~d Yugoslavia, the Commission· (~oes not feel thatthe Greek Government itself had encouraged it."! Documents and depositions, however, have shown clearly that the Albanian refugees,quislings arid war criminals in Greece were recruited, organiL.ed-for 'instance in EAVI-and used against Albania and against the democratic regime of our country. The Greek Governplentnot only leaves them at libertybut gives them all pos- .sible aid in order to expand their activities. It even allows them to publish several newspapers, which it finances. . Those.are the facts, and that is also the connexion which· exists between the conclusions and the facts; -- 1 Sec~on D, 10 (h) of the conclusions otthe report of the Co~mlssion of Investigation concerning Greek Frontier IlIntWdents to the Security Council. ~es consequences eventuell.;.S, sont resolus a defendre d'une autre maniere la vie et I'honneur de leurs freres en esclavage." Cet exemple,parmi tant d'autres, devoile alui . seulla politique belliqueuse de la Grece. 11 y a de plus la question des criminels deguerre et des quislings albanais se trouvant en. Grece, et des agissements hostiles de ·ceux-ci a l'egard de I'Albanie.· . Dans l~ conclusions, onlit: "Bien que certains temoignages indiquent que.les intern,es selivrent a. une activite politiquedirigee ·contre I'Albanie, la Bulgarie et la Yougoslavie, la Commission n'a pa~ eu l'impression que le Gouvern~mentgr~clujmeme1es aitericourages1." " Or, les documents et les temoignages ont demontre clairement que les refugies albanais, les quislings et les criminels de guerre albanais se trouvant en Grece sont rassembles, organises, _.- par exemple dans l'EAVI - et employes contre l'Albanie et contre le regime democratique de notre pays. Le Gouvernement grec non seulement leur assure la liberte, mais encoreleur donne toute l'aide possible pour accroltre leur activite. I1leur permet meme de publier plusieurs journaux, qu'il finance. . Tels sont les faits et teIle est aussilarelation qui existe entre les conclusions·et les faits. mem~pIJincipes. Victorieuse aux cotes des autres peuples allies, rAlbanie ne pouvait, en aucune maniere, adopter unepolitique contraire aux principes .qui ont pousse les peuples ~ s'unir eontre le f!eau fasciste. La politique' du Gouvemement albanais est caracterisee par le desir de vivre en1?onnes rela-· tions et en pleine collaboration avec tous les peu-· pIes democratiques. Elle est caracterisee par un esprit debon voisinage et de collaboration. , Siun tel etat de choses n'existepas encore avec la Grece, c'est sur la Grece actuelle qu'en pese la rcsponsabilite. Notre attitude envers la Grece est, eonnue.Nous avons appreciea sa juste valeur la lutte liyreeparte 'peuple gree. Nous ne formulons pas de revendications territoriales a I'egard de la Grece. Meme le probleme de la minorite albanaise massacree en Grece et le probleme des 23.000 etres ~umaIDs qui souffrent loin de'leurs foyers, nous avonsvoulu et nous voulons encore les resoudre par la voie pacifique, en les soumettant aux conferences intemationales. L'.Alba..llie a intereta vivre en bonnes relations avec le peuple gree. Notre pays n'a jamais eu et Il'a pas l'intention de ereer des incidents avec la Grece. ' , 11 n'y a pas longtemps encore, notre pays etait victime de I'agression fasciste et, durant toute la periode de l'occupation italienne et allemande, il , a mene une lutte formidable pour sa liberation, son independartce et son integrite territoriale. Aujourd'hui, l'interet de ce pays reside dans une paix juste et durable et dans la collaboration entreles peuples. Nous respeetons l'independance, la liberte et l'integrite territoriale des autres. Nous attendons des autres qu'ils agissent de· meme a natre egard. Le peuple. albanais ne demande qu'une chose: qu'ort le laisse tranquille pour relever le pays et edifier un Etat cl':.luocratique et republicain. 11 ne demande que le respect de sa liberte,'de son independanceet de son integrite territoriale auxqueUes iI a tant aspire. 11 lie demande qu'a vivre . en paix avec tous les autres peuples pacifiques et democratiques, sans subir le jougdes imperialistes.' The Albanian people asks for only one thing: that it may be left in peace to rehabilitate the country and build.up a ·democratic republican State. It asks only that its frc~dom, ~dependence and territorial integrity, which it has so desired, should be respected. It wants only to live in peace with all the other peace-loving and democratic peoples. and without bowing to the yoke of the imperialists. ' The PRESIDENT\ (translated from French): I thank the representative of Albania. This afternoon we shall hear the representative of Bulgaria. I givethe floor to the Assistant Secretary-General who wish~ to make a brief statement. Mr. .KERNO (Assistant Secretary-General) (translated from French) : Gentlemen, you were given, at the beginning of this meeting, French and English copies of the report of the Commission of Investigationin Greece. This is a document consisting of six volumes in all. It is very bulky Le.PRESIDENT: Je remercie le representant de l'Albanie. Nous entendrons cet apres-midi le re- ' presentant de la Bulgarie. Je donne la parole au Secretaire general adjoint, qui a demande a faire une breve declaration. M. KERNO (Secl'etaire general adjoint): .Vous avez trouve, Messieurs, au'debut de cette seance, un exemplaire en fran~ais et tin exemplaire en anglais du rapport de la Commission d'enquete en Grece. C'est un document qui forme en tout si.x volumes et qui est donc tres important. Sa reproduction est, en consequence, tres coo.teuse. C'est The meeting rose at 1.15 p.m. " HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHTH MEETING Held at Lake Success, New York, 01! Friday; 27 June 1947, at 3 p.m.. President: Mr. A. PARODI (,France). Present: The representatives of the following countries, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Poland, Syria, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United King~om, United 8.tates of America. ' 191.. Continuation of the discussion of the -, report of the Commission of Investigation concerning Greek Frontier Incidents1 Mr. MEVORAH (Bulgaria) (translated from M. MEvORAH (Bulgarie): Jesuis tres heureux French): It is a very great pleasure fo't me to d'avoir a representer mon pays devant cette haute represent my country before this important body. assembIee. J'essaierai de contribuer 'aux effor-.s I shall try to help the Council in its efforts to' que tente le Conseil pour clarifier et resoudre le clarify and settle the problem referred. .to it. probleme qui lui est soumis. We are met here before a supremeLlltematio:pal Nous sommes id devant un tribunal intema- tribunal, set up after a war which has upset all tional, institue apres une guerre qui a bouJe- the established' principles of international order. verse tous les principes d'ordre intemational exis.., Wenow have to establish anew order. Theoppor- tants. Il s'agit maintenant decreer un nouvel tunity now presented toyou, althoughitmay seem ordre. L'occasion qui vous en est actuellement so insignificant, is one of considerableimportance, offerte, bien que minime en apparence, est d'une for your decision will have its repercussions not importance considerable; car votre decision aura only on the countries concemed but ,also on the une repercussion, nOIl seulement sur les pays inte- development of intemational relations. This de- resses, mais aussi sur le developpement des rela- cision will be the beginning of an historical chap- tionsintemationales; elle marquera le debut d'un ter, and all the decisions to be taken in the future chapitred~histoire, et toutes les decisions qui se- will be governed by it. ' ront prises al'avenir se conformeront aelle. YO'Q are now creat~g a precedent, a jurispru- Vous creez donc en ce moment un precedent, dence; and it is~therefore important to make a une jurisprudence~ et par consequent il est impor- good start. The whole world hopes that the insti- tant de bien debuter. Le monde entier esper{~ que tution to which you belong will gain more and l'institution dont vous faites partie prendra de more stature and authority, and that it will be- jour en jour plus d'ampleur et d'autorite, et come, finally, the supreme tribunal to which all qu'elle deviencIra enfin le haut tribunal auque1 countries with disputes to settle will apply without s'adresserorit tous les pays qui auront des diffe- having to resort to the barbaric methods which, rends a regler sans avoir a recourir aux moyens unhappily, were already becoming a feature of barbares dont allait deja, helas, etre caracterise Our wonderful century. notre beau siecle. CENT-QUARANTf:-HUITIEME SEANCE Tenue aLake Success, New-York, le vendredi 27 juin 1947, a15 heures. President: M. A. PA'RoDI (France). Presents: Lesrepresentants des pays suivants: Australie, Belgique, Bresil, Chine, Colombie, France, Pologne, Syrie, Union des Republiques socialistes sovietiques, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis d'Amerique. 191. Suite de la discussion du rapport de la Commission d'enquete sur les inci· dents survenvs Cl la frontiel'e grecque1 Sur l'invitation du President, M. Urrutia, Rap.. ' porteur, le Colonel Kerenxhi, representant de l'Albanie, M. Mevorah, representant de Ja Bul: garie, M. Dendramis,representant de la Grece, et M. Vilfan, representant de la Y ougoslavie, prennent place ala table du Conseil. '~GENi~~:"ARGENrlNE' .' .Edits#alSudamericana" DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE LibreriaDominicana ""CalleMercedes No. 49 ,Apartado656 Ciudad Trujillo ~ '.s.·:·A:: .~ .~~~ Calle 4lsina500' .. Buenos Aires. ·,AUSTR.AiIA-. . AUSTlULIE .' 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Zurichl SXIUA-'SYRIE" Libriliie·universelle·... Damascus -. > • UNIONOKS()UTH·A.F:RICA lJNIONSUD..AFRICAINE.. . Cent~alNews.Ag~ncyLid. Commissioner & RissikSts. ·Johannesburg . ./ UNIT$D KINGDOM' ROYAUME·UNI ·II.M.;Stationery Office -"P.O. ]Jo't569 :J:.~hdon., 8.J.!i. 1 , UNITEJ),STATESOF .AMERICA - . ETATS·UNIS D:A.IJlERlQUE I:n.ternational Documents .. SerVice··.·. ColUliiliia UniyersityPresrj' 2960 Broadway . .'. ,', . . New YOl'k:27, N.Y. .'YUGOSLr\?lA XOUGOSLAVIE .' Dl'za"iIo Preduzece Jugolilo'venskaKnjiga' M:oskovskaVl. 36 ' "Belgrade