S/PV.61 Security Council

TheSecurity Council has decided to admit to thediscU3sion of item 2 the seil 1 See Security CO!lIlcil Officild Records, First Year, Second Series, Supple:D1ent No. 5, :Anr.cx 8. Première AnneXe Première Annexe 39. Discussion of th~ Ukrainian complaint against Greece (continued)

Yesterday we heard the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Repllblic. Now wc are going to hear the representative of Greece. Mr. DENDRAMIS (Greece) (translated trom French): Greece, whkh marched side by side with the Allies at a time when, to quote Mr. Churchill's words, England could only offer blood, sweat and tears; Greece, which brought the fust victory to the Allies over a Power hitherto considered invincible; Greece, which subsquently suffered under a fourfold occupation, Itallan, German, Bùlgarian and Albanian, and put up strong resistance to the occupying forces; Greece, my country, comes before you today for the second time in the space of about six months, to defend herself against the charge that she is provoking her neighboursand threatening the peace. We are aware of the motives underlying the Ukrainian complaint; nevertheless, we welcome it with pleasure bec~use the discussion will enable the members of the Security Couneil to gain an insight into the matter and form their own opinion as to whether it·is Greece or other countries which, by their incessant provocations, are endeavouring to disturb the peace. When 1 come to the substance of the question, 1 shall, 1 feel sure, be able to convince you that Greece, which emerged from this war in astate of complete devastation, and has the misfortune to be situated at a focal point of south-east "Euro:pe, has always been and will continue to be the champion of the great ideals of peace and liberty in the Bàlkans, for Greece considers peace in that area one of the prerequisites of general peace. The campaign launched against Greece in this country and at Paris simultaneously reminds us of the clamour that was raised at Rome on the eve of the Italian attack upon "Greece ·on 28 October 1940; at that time, Greece was subjected to a stream of insults,·her ships were bombed and even sunk,while Italian fascists and the press in Rome accused her of threatening peace in the Balkans. Greece possesses by tradition an innate sense ofmoderation. She dislikes high-flown language. But Greece is entitled to remember and, if necessary,to remind othercountries, that her territory is the motherland of the world, the birthplace of civilization and liberty. Her land is notlarge but her name is the symbolof certain moral and spiritual values which give her the right to The Ukraine cames forward as the accuser of Greece and the United Kingdom. She attributes ta Greece the intention of attacking innocent Bulgarians and Albanians and charges us with provocation against the anarchistl) in our country; she claims iliat the British are offering ta help us to terrorize these peaceable anarchists, who are wearing the garments of their victims and have not yet washed their hands clean of the blood they shed in the civil war of December 1944. The representatives of the Ukraine and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics seem to have blotted from their memory the excerpts from the Soviet press quoted by the Moscow radio in its talk'3 for Greek listeners. These were summarized in its broadcast of 27 April 1942, the first anniversary of the entry of the Germans into Athens, when the Greeks were told: ""You have fought without anns against an enemy armed ta the teeth and you have won; small against great, you have been victorious. It could not have been otherwise, because you are Gree.ks. You gained time for us to defend ourselves; as Russians and as human beings, we are grateful to you." That was one of the finest tributes received by Greece, subjugated, tortured in the fiesh, but indomitable in spirit. The Greek people have the greatest admiration for the unparalleled heroism of the Soviet Army, which was one of the chief factors in the destruction of Nazism. The Greek people nevertheless feel that, so far as .they were able to do sa, they rendered service to the great Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In the circumstances, Greece expected help and assistance in her efforts to obtain satisfaction of her just cJalms and the imposition of sanctions on certain neighbours who were the common enemies of Greece and Union of Soviet Socialist " Republics. Therefore, the Greek people are justified taday in fe!'Hng a certain bittemess, not only because this help to which they were entitled has been denied, but a1so because they are under the impression that their neighbours, whether fûends or foes, are being encouraged by the favour shown to them by. the Union·of Soviet Socialist Republics, to go so far as to utter threats or engage in a war of nerves against Greece. The Mediterr~ean makes Greece a neighbour of the Western Powers, while her land frontiers make her a neighbour of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Our national policy is based on our geographical position. We desire ta he, not a point of friction, but a factor of . conciliation, a bond between our great allies. The Greeks are the most democratic of peoples. Greece is the cradIe of d~mocracy, which is a creation of the Hellenic political spirit. 'This It has never occurred to Greece to disturb the peace. She has always counted,with due circum·, spection and moderation, upon rèceivinK justice from the great Powers. If that constitutes a menace to peace, peace is indeed seriously endangered. In reality, it is endangered by an intolerable abuse of force and a most brutal violation of justice. To he strong is not necessarily to be right. One cannot transform the most barefaced collaborationists of the war, the Bulgarians and Albanians, iIito saints simply by extending one's protection to them. But that is hardly reason enough to convert Greece's bloodstained crown of thorns into an· international symbol of disl'uption of·the peace. Greece very naturally feels bitter; she expected, not only for her own sake but aIso for the sake of the ideaIs which she has· so· tenaciously defended, to receive the friendship of all the Allies, great and small$ wîthout exception, in the same way as she has shown and continues to show friendship towards everyone. Greece is profoundly· distressed by the suspicions voiced that her territory might constitute a œntre of disturbance in the Balkans. Apart from the state of wealmess to which her long succession of cruel tribulations has broughther, Greece bas paid so dearly forthis warthat her devotion to.the cause ofpeace is more justified than that of any other country. socialistes revendications basées manière mais tentions bulgares! donnée Etats-Unis, suit, à "Before closing 1 want ta say a few words about Greece. In the Conference she has been criticized by an ex-enemy State and by sorne members. Thisis very unfair. Ata most critical hour, before sorne·of us realized our own peril, that small but great·nation :resisterl with matchless valour the full mightofthe European Axis. 1 tlhall never forget how we then waited The right of Gre.:ce ta formulate her just clainlS was recognized by the Peace Conference, now meeting in Paris, by twelve votes ta seven. Refuting the assertion that Greece is still technically in a state of war with Albania, war having been declared by Albania herself and by us, the Ukrainian representative said yesterday: "What political significance can one attach ta the untiring repetition that'Greece is il>. astate of war with Albania, in spite of the fact that everybody knows that the war ended in 1945?" He admits therefore that a state of war did exist in 1945. Since that time, we have not, so far as 1 know, signed either an armistice or a peace treaty with Albania, and those are the only instiuments which, according to internationallaw, could have ended the war. The parallel drawn between Russia and France on the one hand and Greece and Albania on the other, has a purely oratorical value and 1 am sure that the person most surprised by it was the representative of France. The representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics maintains that a distinction mUst be made between the Albanians of today and the Albanians who dec1ared war upon Greece and the Allies. May 1 remind him that the history of Albania shows that she has always been an instrument of the imperialism of certain Powers? We are now told that the regime has changed and that the Albanians today are different from those who served fascist imperialism. The same Albanians who now sing the songs of the Volga, a year aga sang Giovinezza. The Albanians who. today salute with the clen~hed fist are the same as those who gave the fasCISt salute when they believed in all Axis victory. British troops first came to our country in Novembér 1940 in conformity with a prior agreement entered into by Great Britain. They came at the request of thè Greek Government, not ta encroach upon our national independence but ta fight for it in the hard and unequal tIefensive struggle which our littlecountry was obliged. toput up against two all-powedul inv~ders. At the tîme of the Iiberation British troops again landed in Greece, not on theit own initiative bütonce more atthe·request of the Greek Government and in accordance' with an agreement concltided in Italy andsigned by the representatives of ail the politicalpàrties.without exception,·including those of the extreme left.. The landing of British troops was successful from The charges that British troops in Greece have shawn partiality are devoid of aIl foundation, for the British army, several of whose men lost their lives during the grievous happenings of December 1944, has not only borne no gmdge against the EAM but strongly supported the Varkiza truce and aU other subsequent measures of indulgence towards the EAM, even the amnesty. The advice of Great Britain, like that of the other Allies, has not been b"Îven with the intention of establishing or encouraging the dor.1Ïnation of one political group over another. ln their speeches the representatives nf the Union of Soviet Socjalist Republics and the Ukraine were chiefly' concerned with creating certain impressions by means of a floDd of gratuitous assertions regarding the internà1 affairs of Greece, and they recited a whole series of wild, distorted and faIse rumours which are being hawked about outside the country by a party of which nothing but the name is Creek. These must he rcgarded as manœuvres against the internaI peace of Greece, against her position in the eyes of international opinion, against her integrity and against her very independence. We regard as inadmissible any public discussion of our internaI affairs, because under Article 2, paragraph 7 of the United NationS Charter, this constitutes intervention in the internal matters of a sovereign State, a proud and independent Member of the United Nations. But we cannot allow the charges brought by this Council against our country to go unanswered. . sion constitue, 7, dans fier Cependant, ponse pays. socialistes le à des Londres. gères McNeil, Chambre des Communes, The representative of the Union of Soviet SociaIist Republics in bis speech to the Secu:ity Council on 30 August referred to statements made at Pari.s and London by Mr. Solley, a member of the Bl'W..sh House of Commons. Mr.H. McNeil, British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,· replying to Mr. Solley in the Hause of CC/mmons on 5 June said: "The honourable gentleman spoke for twenty minutes and made the most sweeping charges about conditions in Greece, 1 regret CCI should have been a very poor servant ta this House if 1 had not caused imm~diate inquiries to be made about the darkJ:~essof Sokos. 1 did have immediate L.'lquirics made. It is true that there has been disturbance in this village and that a gendarme fired upon a man who was attempLing ta escape. 1 am aiso having investigations made into ailegations that the local magistrate was subsequently prevented from fulfilling ms full duties. However, the honourable gentleman on ms return to Athens made protestations about the intimidation of some of ms girl supporters. Agam, 1 had inquiries made and 1 am glad to be able ta tell the House that what took place hardly justifies the description about the'darkness of the Middle Ages. "The honourable Member said that whereverthey,went, they saw examples of the Right beating up the Left. So far as there is disorder, that phrase is probably true, but the significance of the phrase rests in the words 'wherever we went'. "There were other publications in the Greek press besides those issued by Mr. Solley. The village couneil wrote to all the Jocal press complaining that the delegatioù 'ùa1 not met the village authorities and had refused to meet a deputation of widows of ELAS victims. Mterwards they held a public meeting ta protest against the partial attitude and one-sided investigation of the situation by the British delegation. 1 want to make it dear that the publication of the conclusions of the investigation undoubtedly would do good. But 1 am concerned that whenever Members of the House go abroad as a deputation they should proceed eautiously, responsibly and impartially. 1 insirt that if this delegation had that purpose their aetivities would have been a bit wider. "Overall, the situation !lad sharply deteriorated from the month before, 1 presume mainly owing to the apprù\teh of the eleetions. When the honourable Me:mber for Broxtowe referred to the mistake whieh the Leit Wing forces had made in December, 1 thoughthe was going to say something wîth which 1 heartily agree, something 1 deeply regret, the poliey of taking hostages that marks, and will stJl mark many,parts of Greeee, so that when people tend to interfere ng?'inst Left Wing personnel they proceed more actively than they do "The burden of the complaint made by the honourable gentleman was that this disorder, 1 if not caused by the British forces, would at any rate disappear if the British forces were wîthdrawn. He quoted vonversations with Mr. Sophoulis and Mr. Sophianopoulos on this subject. 1must say that at no time when those gentlemen were in office did they commit themselves to that opinion. 1 say further that no Greek Government of the Right or of the Left Centre, while in .office, had asked that British forces should be withdrawn. Indeed, it is the other way round. We have had to keep telling Greek governments that they must make their own plans for policing and patrolling because we want our fellows out. "Further, 1 do not think it cm be argued that we have tolerated any discrimination against the Right. We instructed our Ambassador as late as 2 March to convey that to Mr. Sophoulis, because public speeches had heen made about illeged obstructions. 1 do not blame Mr. Sophoulis because. you cannot wipe out, dramatically and suddenly, the feelings and sufferings of a civil war. But 1 will not allow any Member of this House, without offering evidence, which has not been offered as yet, to assert that the British forces in Greece are being used to uphold Right Wing offences. . "1 find it hard to believe that anyone who is concerned about the ordinary man and woman in Greece, who is concerned for their safety or their comparative safety and about their food and hopes for work~ can commit himself to the irresponsible arguments which we heard offered here yesterday. That was the speech made by Mr. McNeil, British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Secrétaire d'Etat. Affairs. 1 will now turn to the question of the elections. .In a speech he made a few month ago, Dans Mr. Churchill said: "In the shadows which M. have covered Europe, east of Berlin and Trieste, ont apart from Czechoslova.kia, Athens alone still Trieste, remains as an altar of liberty." Greece is the reste only country in which free elections have taken le place in the presence of Allied observers invited en présence d'observateurs for this purpose by the Greek Government.· par The fact is that two hundred and fifty teams of experienced observers, American, English and servateurs French, supervised the Greek elections which français, took place on 31 March, when Mr. Sophoulis, chez nous leader of the Liberal Party, was in power. des libéraux, Here is an extract from their report: "It is the considered opinion of the allied mission that bien The mission entrusted to these observ__,s grew out of the agreement concluded at Yalta by America, Great Britain and Russia, to help liberated countries set ùp demoeratic governments, followed by the agreement of Greek politicaI parties to seek such Allied help. America, France and Great Britain accepted the Greek invitation; Russia declined it. The elections were carried out in an absolutely regular and impeccable manner. The present Government of Mr. TsaIdaris was not at that time in power. It was in opposition. It did not therefore possess, even if it had desired it, the possiûility of influencing the electors. As regards the declarations of the British Member of Parliament, Mr. Solley, the truth is thl),t two persons were arrested at Callithea on 26 April for collecting moriey in violation of the lawof 1931. These persons were not molested. They were brought before the court, which condemned one of them to two months' imprisonment, the ûther hehïg set free. The delegates of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Ukraine have brought to our notice a protest made by the democratic parties in Greece to the Russian Ambassado!' in Athens. Both representatives have been the victims of their infOrIDers in this matter. It was the heads of the organizations of the extreme left and of the Central Committee of th.;; EAM, and not the leaders of the democratic parties, who went ta see the Soviet Ambassador. On the other hand, Mr. Sophoulis made the following statement to the press on 27 August: "No Greek can seriously maintain that Greece is today provoking frontier incidents, or that she is oppressing a numerically small minority towards whom the attitude of the Cireek Government has always been not merely tolerant, but truly paternaI. Whatever may be their political quarrels, the Greek people still have a very strong feeling for the right of other parties to their own opinions. Ow' outlook may possibly clliqer profound1y from that of tlie present Government, but this is a matter of internai policy and the Greek people will, we feel sure, overcome their present internal difficulties." The Greek Governme..nt, with the consent of the Pm'liament chosen at the e1ections, had fixed the date of the referendum for 1 September, after the revision of the e1ectorallists, which had been carried out satisfactorily, as attested by the British al1d American observers who remained in Greece at the request of the Greek Government to supervise the plebiscite. Thus the consultation of the people was carried out with complete orderliness, with every guarantee of authenticity and under conditions sùch as to render the people's dedsion unimpeachable. 1 do not wish to tire you by reciting a11 the incidents provoked by the Albanians in pursuance of their aim of exterminating the Greek population in Northern Epirus, and 1 would remind you that in my memoranda (documents S/123 and S/131) submitted to the Committee on the Admission of new Members to the United Nations~ 1 gave a detailed account of these incidents, which prove the culpability and responsibility of the Albanian authorities. Albanian attacks along the frontier have recentIy been redoubled. 1 have drawn up a list of aIl these incidents, incIuding those brought to my notice since the date of the second memorandum. 1 should add that on 18 August, at 10 a.n,., an aireraft of unknown nationality, marked with a red circle on its tail, flew over the Greco- Albanian frontier, penetrating five kilometres into Greek territory. Mter following the Grammos Line for a while, the aircraft turned back. The purpose of these incidents is cIear. They are intended to provoke the Greeks so that their retaliation may be used to influence world opinion and create the conditions necessary for the despatch of anarchist groups to Greek territory. The Court Martial of Janina sat from 5 to 8 August to try a band which had attacked the police post of Grammena, south of Jar" ,a. The enquiry, which was held in the presence of the Secretary of the British Embassy, left no Tdohubt as to the mission of these anarchist groups. e Greek soldiers, thanks to an iron discipline and great self-control, managed to prevent these The representative of the Union of Soviet Sacialist Republics has stated that the incidents on the Greco-Albanian frontier) for which he blames Greece) forro a strange accompaniment ta the Conference now sitting at Paris. 1 regret to have to say that these incidents, as and when they occurred (and they began sorne time aga), were broughtta thenotice of the allies and friends of Greece through the appropriate channels. No one can continue to believe certain of our neighbours and their spokemnen who, with one voice, denounce the so-called persecutions of the Slavophones, that very small minorlty in Greek Macedonia. Every one now knows that the thousands of so-called refugees who have crossed the frontiel' between Greece and a neighbouring country are either Slavophones guilty of criminal 'co-operation with the Bulgarians and the Germat"1S, whose retreat they followed, or Bulgarians brought from Bulgaria by the Bulgarian authorities during the occupation, or else, and above aU, anarchists who call themselves Greeks and who work. openlywith the enem.ies of Greece, or partisans of the EAM charged with common law offences. On 7 January 1944 Dimitrov, the Bulgarian who nine years earlier humiliated Goering in so startling a manner, made a dramatic appeal to bis compatriots over the Moscow radio. He called upon them to banish the Germans from their territory while there was yet time, but they took little notice of bis appeal. They did not ask for .an armistice until the victQnous Soviet al'mieshad entered Bulgaria. The date, 5 September 1944, shauld be noted. The accusations made by Dimitrov from Moscow agaipst bis compatriots read as follows: "Bulgaria has become a base for the Germans in their criminal war against the liberal nations and, above alI, against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. She is allowing the Germans to consolidate their position and take possession of the country; she has handed over the whole town of Varna and its naval base to the Germans; she has allowed its army to be placed under German control; the Germans pretend to be specialists, but in reality they are Hitler's agents. Bulgaria has allowed her troops in Yugoslavia to take part side by sidewith the German armies in military operations directed against the Yugoslav Army of National Liberation. She is a vassal of the Axis and an accomplicein Hitler's èriminal war and blatantly and triumphantly declared war on England and the United States on 12 December 1941 ; Bulgaria believes that she would be able to enlist the help pf the Allies if she changesher policy at the last moment." cow~ contained the following statement: "The Bulgarians, allies of fascist Gennany, pretend to be innoc&ut. They daim that they defend their own territory and do not seek ta occupy foreign lands. But what is their own territory? They lay claim ta Thrace and Macedonia, which they occupied in the spring of 1941 when they stabbed in the back the peoples of Greece and YugoslaviR, who were fighting heroicaIly, and prepared the way for German hordes. The Germans, with Bulgarian detachments, are fighting against the Greek guerrillas. What is the reason for this? Does the national UlÙty of Bulgaria caU for brigandage, plunder and devastation of Greek territory? Bulgarian armies are stationed on the Greek coasts of the Aegean and Salonika. Everyone knows that Bulgaria is the military base and hideout of the Germans. How can there be any question of Bulgarian 'national unity', when the neighbouring peoples of Greece and Yugoslad.a witness, with justifiable hatred, the Bulgarians acting as Hitler's myrmidons?" Thus wrote Dimitrov, leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, in the official organ of the Slavs in Russia. In March 1943, '0 Senator Claude Pepper, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the American Senate, said: "The American people have followed with indignation and horror the policy of the Bulgarian Government in this total struggle of free men against tyTanny. The massacre of 15,000 innocent Greeks in Thrace and Bulgarian-occupied Macedonia and the fact that the Jewish population of Bulgaria was handed over ta the tender mercies of the Nazi brutes, constitute inhuman acts which adcrl a new shame to the debit of Bulgaria. The United Nations takes note of these crimes committed by the Bulgarian satellites of Nazism. On the day of victory, sanctions will be inflicted on the criminals. The United Nations will not forget." In Bulgaria an the party leaders followed the Axis and had behind them the solid mass of the Bulgarianpeople. No other country can be compared to Bulgaria, which recentIy thought fit ta prove its anti-Axis attitude by executing pro-Germans, thereby completing thepicture of its revolutionary scene. No other country had so many pro-Germans. Thirty-:five thousand skilled Bulgarian workers were sent ta Germany. AlI the Black, Sea ports were placed at the disposaI of the Germans. Today the Bulgarians are changing their tune. What they could not get from Hitler, verbawt juillet, Luce dans à de pondance: 1 have before me report No. 150 of the records of the American Congre-~ dated 29 July containing a dispatch taken from the New York Times which Mrs. Clare Booth Luce connnunicated ta the House of Representatives with the request that it be inserted in the report. Allow me to read you a few excerpts from this dispatch: . "Observers who returned from Albania earlier this month describe it as a one hundred per cent Communist State where private enterprise has been thoroughly smashed. The c1ergy are being annihilated, individual freedom does not exist and militarism is rampant. The number of persons jailed since the end of 1944 is estimated at 10,000 ta 15,000 with at least 3,000 either killed or missing, including twe1ve members of the Cathopc clergy. 1 "It would appear that Russian military 1 engineers are directing the building of a road from Kukus, a town north-west of Scutari, on the Yugoslav border, to Peshkopeja, as a link with the already existing road leading to Koritza on the Greek border, through Pogradetz and Elbasan. The strategie value of the road becomes obvious when it is recalled that troops could former1y move only along the coastal road which leads to Scutari from Tirana and then veers north-west to the Yugoslav border. With the new road, troops coming from Y~oslavia could more speedily reach the Greek frontier on an almost straight line and without using the coastal road, which would be exposed to naval bombardment. ''Valona Bay, protected by a line of fortifications, has the geographical prerequisites for becoming one of the largest naval bases in the Adriatic. "In addition ta building fortifications, the 'Russians have reorg.:mized the Albanian army, which last June amolluted to 50,000 troops and 12,000 officers. Tllli: army is being fully equipped with new unifOlms (khaki-coloured for winter and light linen for summer), automatic rifles, light and me.lium anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. "Of Albania's 1945-46 budget, totalling 1,016,000,000 Albanian francs, 600,000,000 were apprapriated for military expenditure. This is considered out of aIl proportion to the national economy, particularly if it is borne in mind that official statistics set the Albanian currency circulation at 320,000,000 francs. "In the course of trials which resulted in a number of executions, eye-witnesses present marvelled at the readiness with which the Certain friends of those who are protesting and crying out in horror, are banishing hundreds of thousands of people from their territory, while at the same time representing as victims a handful of Bulgarian sympathizers who, up to the very,last moment, collaborated closely with the German occupying authorities. If those collaborators had been on their own soil, they would undoubtedly have been got rid of by the well-known summary methods employed by the Governments of their respective countries. The alleged persecutions of Slav minorities, which do not -:-XÏ8t in Greece, were denied by the British Minister for Foreign Affairs in bis speech of 21 August 1945, when he said that the investigations made on the spot and the reports of the military authorities in Macedonia ~d not in any way confum the charges made over the Belgrade radio. Greece, on the other hand, has tried in vain to obtain the repatriation of thousands of hostages taken away by members of ELAS in December 1944, concerning whose fate the Yugoslav Government has never seen fit to furnish information to the Greek Govemment. In a speech made on 7 July 1945, Marshal Tito stated that the Greek people had the misfortune to be governed by reactionaries who oppressed not only the Slavs in Macedonia but also the Greeks; that Greek aggressors had opened fire along the frontier without any justification in order to provoke Yugoslavia. Marshal Tito added that thousands of Macedonian and Greek refugees had taken shelter in Yugoslavia. What was the true situation in Greece at that time? Mr. Merentitis, the Greek Governor- General of Macedonia, described it in a telegram The Greek Government did not reply to this note because the so-called victims of persecution have never been recognized as eitIier a Yugoslav or a Bulgarian minority. The same opinion was also shared by the United States Government, the Greek Government having drawn the latter's attention to the seriousness of this démarche. The Director for Greek Affairs in the U. S. State Department, in the course of a conversation with our Ambassador in Washington on 2 August, read out to the Ambassador the following note from the State Department: "We do not consider the Greek Macedonian provinces less Gteek than any other Greek province nor do we admit the right of a third party to intervene in questions concerning Greek citizens of Slav or any other origin." Mr. Stevenson, Blitish Ambassador at Belgrade, acting on instructions from his Govern- ~ent, proceeded to make representations to Marshal Tito regarding the Belgrade' Press and radio, which were engaging in "premeditated propaganda" for the purpose of stirring up Yugoslav public opinion against Greece. With the reservation mentioned above, the United States Government proposed the setting up of a commission of Russian, British and American representatives to investigate the matter. The Greek Government stated that it agreed to the proposaI to set up a fact-finding commission, provided that its investigations also covered Yugoslav Macedonia. The Greek Government's reply to the United States Government was given in letters dated 5 and 9 September. No answer was received from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, nor was any reply given bythe Yugoslav Government as to the scope of the commission's work. The British and' French Governments approved the establishment of the proposed commission. ~mplified, aims at three objectives: (a) to prepare the groundwork for a coup, internally engineered, for the incorporation of Macedonia in the Yugoslav Confederation. The long-cherished dreams of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria in tPe Aegean Sea would thus be realized. Tlùs plan is unlikely to have any chance of success so long as the Greek Government remàins the authoritative body and so long as British troops rernain in Greece; (b) to produce a sufficient state of chaos within Greece so that British and world public opinion would demand the withdrawal of British troops; (c) to produce the temporary postponement of the plebiscite in order to strengthen the Left. "It would appear that the armed forces of the EAM, disbanded under the Varkiza agreement, are being reorganized. Various reports show that there are officers wearing the EAM insignia at the head of armed bands in the North. "The Govelnment is alarmed at the line of Leftist strongholds running from the Yugoslav border as far as the sea, on the West. "The geograplùcal features' of the Greco- Yugoslav frontier make it easy to smuggle arms from Yugoslavia. The Greek Government has seized considerable quantities of arms found in Leftist hands." "There is at present a Macedonian movement in Northern Greece wlùch has the support both of the Greek Communists and of the Macedonians born in Greece; Kutzo Vlachs have aIso joined it recentIy. This movement has ample funds. It. gets propaganda support from ~koplje, Belgrade, Tirana and Sofia. If the British armies are withdrawn from Eastern Macedonia, it is doubtful whether the Greek Government could prevent a Leftist coup in tlùs region."

1 want to ask the Greek representative whether it would be agreeable to lùm to adjoum, or whether he prefers to finish his speech now. • Mr. DENDRAMIS (GT.eece) (translated trom French) : 1 willingly agree to continue my speech this afternoon. The meeting rose at 1.10 p.m. SIXTY-SECOND.MEETING Held at Lake Success, New York, on Thursday, 5 September 1946, at 2.45 p.m. President: Mr. O. LANGE (Poland). Present: The representatives of the following countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Union of ~