S/PV.62 Security Council

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 ~ 40.

We continue our discussion of Item 2 on the agenda, and 1 wouId Iike the representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and of Greece to take their places at the table. reprenons jour et j'invite socialiste prendre blique socialiste soviétique dramis, à , Mr. DENDRAMIS (Greece) (translated from French): As regards the so-called oppression of the Albanian Moslems of Chamuria, these people, before the occupation, were living in complete freedom and enjoyed the same rights as other Greeks; being exempt from the exchange of populations on account of thlill" origin, the Chams have always maintained a hostile attitude towards the G1'eeks. During the Italian occupation of Greece, the Albanians of Chamuria committed countiess out- rages; they indulged in loc!ing and massacring and perpetrated deeds of violence of aIl sorts against the Christians. At the end, they hoisted the Albanian flag. With the heIp of the Italîans ~d the Ger- mans they set fire to the villages of Paramythia and Ighumenitza, and slaughtered the inhabi- tants. Mr. Hans Bickel, the envoy of the In- ternational Red Crc~, who travelled through these localities to distribute food reported !o Geneva as follows on 20 October 1943: "In this region there are sixty thousand Chrïstians and twentv thousand Moslem-Al- banian Chams. Before the occupation, these people lived on tolerably good tenns. But dur- ing the oé"cupation, Italian propaganda was busy sowing discord between them. "Far this purpose they armed the Chams who began to attack the Christian population. Old vendettas v. _~'e fanned by the Italians with the result that the Chams now no longer spared either life or the property of the Chris- tians. Since the arrival of the Germans, the Chams have been wreaking destruction upon the Christians; sorne of the leading Chams have succeeded in bringing the Christian population into disrepute with the Germans. A large part of the township of Ighumenitza was destroyed during the Greek-Italian war. The whole of the Christian population of Ighumenitza has left the town for fear of the Chams. The Chriftian inhabitants of the vil- lages of mixed population in the Ighumenitza area have shut themselves up in their houses, not daring to go out because the armed Chams kill them without provocation. These Chrîstians are in dire need and in danger of dying of starvation bf'Iore the winter. "Be.tween Ighumenitza and Pargha lies the village of Marghariti, the centre of the Cham 1 la de cupation, droits l'échange les hostile' envers Albanais nombrables et tiens. incendièrent d'Ighoumenitza et Voici 1943, tionale, tournée sur Such are the anti-fascists of Chamuria who have taken refuge in Albania. It is forgottèn, however, that a large number of refugees from neighbouring countries, terror- ized by the way in which so-called "democratic" principles are applied in their country come to our soil for asylum. It is aIso forgotten that the neighbouring territories have become bases for attack and centres of organized operations against us. Armed bands freely cross our frontiers to operate against the Greek authorities. Our army is not big enough to guard our frontiers. In the Grepll- frontier pro'\rinces large ·ba...~ds ~e nO\·l operating in which Greek ::m.arcbists co-operate with Bulgarian separatiste:; in extcrminating patriotic Greeks who are driven from their houses and their work to seek safety in towns. The representative of the Ukraine has tried to give the impression that the resistance move- ment in Greece was represented only by the EAM. Once again we must recall here what the word resistance means in Greece. For the large majority it is the movement which, from the very first, instinctively rallied aIl the classes of the Greek community against the invaders. In Greece, resistance was general and anony- mous. It was a solid core on which the enemy had no hold and wïthin which heroic acts of personal sacrifice took place. Resistance in Gree1: cûmmunist terminology means the monopolization of the movement by groups of EAM partisans who formed an alïIlY with the help of which the Greek Communist party endeavoured to usurp power in arder to impose a tyrannical regime on the country. 1t should be pointed out that while in certain countries the Germans succeeded in forming for- eign combat groups consisting of persans who were more or less volunteers, nota single Greek tonk seïVice under the swastika in· the <'''-caHed "defence of Europe". What is more, no country was more disinclined than Greece to recruit workers for Germany. The representative of the Ukraine has made an unwarranted charge. against Greek magis- trates on the strength of attacks by Ml'. Solley, tionnés condamnés quant mort. fiés l'Ukraine, servi son enfui de Orient. militaire ment participaient paravant, liaison et seil glorieuse il dans liberté Generals Vendiris and Spiliotopouios, who have been styled collaborationists bv the repre- sentative of the Ukraine, are distinguished sol- diers who have served their country well. The former, aI " doing his duty in the war against Italy, fled from Greece aI1.(l served in Egypt as Chief of the Military Staff of our army of the Middle East. The latter was appointed Military Governor of Athens by the democratic Govern- ment of Mr. Papandreou which contained six communists; previously, he served at Athens as liaison officer between the Greek resistance fQrces and the Greek Govel'nment-L'1-exile. General Gon.atas, Vice-Pre',ident of the Coun- cil of Ministers, is known among us for his dis- tinguished military career. During the occupa- tion, he was arrested by the Germans and spent seven months in a concentration camp. He regained his freedom :3.t the rime of the libera- tion. With regard to Mr. Tourcovassili, 1 contest the authenticity of the so-called letter to Alten- burg, but 1 can assure *e representative of the Ukraine on good authority, that the Germans regarded him as leader of the resistance among the employees of· the National Bank of Greece, and arrested and imprisoned him. The purge among the officers of higher rank was undertaken with a view to introducing younger e1ements. This step was taken by the Supreme War Council. During the month of August, one hundred and thirty-four people of the right-wing party and fifty men of the police·forces and the army were killed by "NOFI-communist" bandS. teste l'authenticité burg. sentant Allemands, résîstance de officiers, cadres. supérieur sonnes forces les In connexion with General Melissinos' order which the representative of the Ukraine has dis- tributed among the members of the Council as a particularly încriminating piece of evidence, 1 regret to have to disillusion hi..-n. When armed forces invade our territory with the intention of assassinating any non-communÏst peasant on this side of the frontier, is the responsible military chief to leave these peasants without defence? ls he to leave them exposed to attack when he knows that, owing to the shortage of rural gen- darmes, there is oruy one gendarme left in eacn village? 1 ought to correct another erroneous state- ment by the representative of the Ukraine. He said yest?rday that Mr. Theotoki, "Minister for Foreign Affairs", had told the newspaper Vra- dini that he had retumed from Thessaly where he had won an electoral victory by plebiscite. In the first place, Mr. Theotoki is not Minister for ForeIgn Afiaïrs, but Mhtister of Security. In 1935, Jean Theotoki was a minister, and not the present Minister of Sccurity whose name is Spyro Theotoki. In his statement to this news- paper~ he spoke of a victory for the re-establish·· ment of order againlJt anarchist bar.ds, and not of an electoral victory. As regards the allegation that Greek planes had flown over foreign territory, 1 would rather not stress this point lest the representative of the Ukraine should think that 1 wish to take advan- tage of the excitement produced by the receIit incident of the American planes in Yug~slavia. 1 The Government which had refrained from giving the Communist party a martyr's crown 50 long as it confined itself to speeches, was com- pelled to repress energetically the attempts aimed against public order. The e1ections, furthermore, brought out clearly what were the real numbers of this pa.'1:y which claimed to represent the great majority of the Greek people. Ml'. So- phoulis, hïmself, l'eferring to the Communist party's abstention from the e1eetions, called this decision a grave political mistake and a crime against democracy. The extremist party in Greece is ultimate1y aiming at the dictatorship, not of its followers but of those who have placed themselves at the head of the party by force. The party members are not even allowed to criticize. They are merely soldiers who receive orders. The few communists who have had the courage to disobey might have something to tell us of the consequences. Those who now repre'lent themselves in our country as communists are traffickers in ideÛ'" logies. Murderers, assassÎIlB and looters cannot he friends of the R, -' ms. The real friend of the Russians is the Gre...':' people, the entire Greek nation. Ideological differences should not l should like you ta glance at the pamphlet l am placing on the Council table, sa that you may get an idea of the outrages perpetrated by the EAM against women, children, and men. The EAM, ta which the representative of the Ukraine has alluded, is sedcing ta break the bonds between Greece and her great allies, and to esbblish in Greece a dictatorship contrelled from abroad which would deprive Greeks of their freedom. Greece and Yugoslavia fought side by side several times and suffered terrible trials as a re- sult of their defeat at the hands of the common enemy. National reactions like the flat "no" given by Greece on 28 October 1940 and Yugo- slavia's "no" in March 1941 are not easily for- gotten by peoples bound together even more closely by the frightful martyrdom suffered dur- ing the occupation of their country by the Ger- mans, L~e Bulgarians, the Italians, and by the determined fenistance which they both offered. For the Greek people any divergence of irleo- logical opiniGns or social Ideals is merely a pass- ing phase when contrasted with such strong bonds of blood, sacrificêand history. The Greek Government was, however, pain- fully surprised te see in the official orgal"1 of the Communist party in power in Yugoslavia, Borha, in its issue of 26 August, an editorial, with a map of "Aegean Macedonia", which conc1uded by saying that Yugoslavia could not remain indiffer- ent to the fate of her brethren who were opposed and who wished to be united ta the l'est of Macedonia within the Yugoslav Federation. On Il August the same newspaper wro',c: "There lS no doubt that the forces at presen1. in power in Greece, who fire on the Greek peop1~ and whose attitude is so faithfully reflected in the person of Ml'. Tsaldaris, are attempting to hide, under the pretext of establishing a greater Greece, the crimes they are committing agaÙ1st their own people." In addition ta this slanderous campaign in the semi-official organ of the Belgrade press, the whole of the Yugoslav press publli;hed an ac- count of the demonstrations which took place at Skoplje between 2 and 4 August when the Con- grcss of the Popular Front of the Macedonian People's Republic passed a resolution which was sent to the Paris Conference in support of an Aegean Macedonia. These demonstrations no longer represent polemical campaign but are the expression of movement directed against. the texritorial: in- tegrity of Greece. Marshal Tito is at liberty to grant autonomy to Serbian Macedonia but Greece is also free to defend Greek Macedonia against any attempt to usurp it. The whole Yugoslav press, which is under Government direction, is·showering insult.s upon Greece. Yet the Greek Government, while up- holding intact the principle o! the freedom of the Press, has passed a law providing perhaps excessively severe penalties. It is painfully sur- prised to see that the Yugoslav press offers hos- pitality to unioundeL; and malicious reports representing Greece as· a stronghold of fascism and her people as the victims of a terrorist Gov- ernment. The men in power in Greece are the target of slanderous comments in the Belgrade press, and form the abject of offensive carica- tures in it. RecentIy the semi-official organs of the Yugo- slav press have conducted a campaign against Greece's national claims which they represent as manifestations of an aggressive chauviniam, hav- mg its origin in reactionarf circles and endan- gering peace in the Balkans. The representatives of certain countries accus- ing Greece either in their press, or through their spokesmen, and rnaking common cause with their enemies of yesterday do not like the Greek Govermnent. That is their business. The Greeks bve !1"ver claimed that these countries should be governed as some people would like them to be. Greece does not need protection in her struggle for democracy because her conception of democracy is different from that of certain other countries. AIl that Greece asks is that certain Allies should not give their protection and sponsorship On 2 June a detachment of gendarmerie near Florina came to grips with an armed band of five persons whom they exterminated. On the dead bandits were found certain docuIr.ents proving beyond doubt that the NOF orgmiza- tion is seeking the autonomy of Macedonia. !ts headquarters is in Yugoslavia. The b.ands are armed by the Yugoslav ~uthorities or, at least, with their tacit consent. They receive detailed instructions to spy on the Greek and British forces. -The documents confiscated included the fol- lowing: (1) a ·licenèe in Slovene from the Staff of the -Macedonian popular defence division, issued to the bandit Dimitri Stelkovski author- izing him to carry an automatic weapon and 200 bullets; (2) an authorization issued to Dimitri Sirovski and to Trajan Steflnovski by the Staff of the 21st frontier sub-sector of sector No. 50, giv'.ng the said individuals full free- dom of movement between Monastir and Germa (Kastoria), and·the right to carry arms and particularly daggers. The form is signed by Captain Stefan NIkits and bears the seal of the 4th Battalion of the Mace- donian Defence Brigade; (3) a note in Slovene from the Yugoslav sentry-post of Brot 58-54, addressed to one of the bandits who were killed and containing the following statement: "We shall shortly he having sorne arms"; (4) a type-written note in Slovene, marked "strictly confidential" containing instructions for the organization of a spy net in Greek Macedonia on the basis of a general plan drawn up by the Staff concerning the Greek and British Armies. nov; été la Dans leur armées venant part l'ELAS niens slaves. Vevi, bande soumis, cette slave. traversa On 12 JuIy Demetre Tsakpînis and Angelos Dongas were a..-rested in the region of Ni"liounov and sentenced to death for high treason by the Special Military Court of Yannitsa. In their defence they stated that armed bands coming from Yugoslavia were penetrating into Greek territory, and they further stated that they were in communication with ELAS refugees in. Yugo- slavia and with Slav Macedonians. On 29 July Theodore Tsoutsoulov, a member of the Nisiounov band, was arrested in the Vevi area. The cross-examination to which he was subjected revealed that the headquarters of this band was situateo :n Yugoslav Macedonia. It appeam from the documents found on him that he crœsed the frontier on severa! occasions According to official reports, about three thou- sand persons speaking a Slav tongue took refuge in Yugoslavia after the Varkiza agreement. It is probable that they were formed into three Mace- donian brigades recently orgaIIized under the command of Gochev (Elie Dimakis) which were to penetrate into Western Macedonia. The headquarters of these brigades is at Kaimaktsala near Steristerungas. According to official estimates, members of ELAS in the Voulkes (Voivodine) camp number five thousand. Three hundred of them chosen from among the younger people were recruited to foun the Nikolas Zachariade's brigade, which has been detailed to repair the Brtsko-Banovich railway. The same camp contains hostages who receive the same treatmentas the members of ELAS. They are estimated at two thousand but the exact figure cannat be ascertained. The Greek Legation in Belgrade asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia to intervene and to secure the liberation of these hostages, but received ouiy a categorical refusal in reply. The representative of the Ukraine has asserted that any idea of propaganda was far removed from bis mind. Mter listening to him, 1 have no hesitation in' telling him that his charges and his speech pursued only one aim: to encourage the Greek anarchists in their subversive campaign, and to intimidate the Greek Government and the patriots who do not wish their country to be ·destroyed. If the representative of the Ukraine was sincerely attached to the cause of peace as his words would seem to indicate, all he has to do to give sorne words of advice in the proper -quarters. In that case 1 can assure mm that incursions into Greek territory would stop plication pose de sécurité afin que celui-ci n'ait de son prestige, les il alors cistes pays dente" glais: Grèce mena.cent In conclusion, 1 think, first, that the principle of Tes judicata should also be applied to ques1;ions whichcome before the Security Council so that there should be no need for the Council, at the expense of its prestige, to intervene every six. months in a eountry's internal affairs. Secondly, it is fantastic to accuse Greece of fascism when it is remembered that she offered armed opposi- tion to the Italian and German fascists at a time when other countries piderred to follow a more prudent "wait and see" poliey. Thirdly, there is an English saying: "It takes two to make a quarre!." If Greece is accused of being op.: of the parties endangering peace, where is the second party? et tend, pas If Yugoslavia as weU as Bulgaria and Albania are really prompted by peaceful intentions, as they are supposed to be, there is really no danger to the peace. No country stands so greatly in need of peace as Greece, and it is therefore natural that we wish not only to place no obstacle in the way of strengthening peace but to make every effort to achieve that aim. Greece in no way represents a stumbling block to the collaboration of the great Powers, and the fundamental principles of its traditional foreign policy, adopted by all politiea; parties îr. Greece, do not conflict with a :sincere desire for friendship between the Greek people and others. Gr·~ce. non forcement toutes sens. la lignes traditiùnneHe, ques les à pays soit non lien est de plébiscite effet. The Greek people sincerely wish their country to be, not a cause for quarrel, but a link between the Anglo-Saxon world and the Russians. They are convinced that the re-establishment of order and normal,life through the elections and the recent plebiscite are the preliminary conditions thereto. teur et Néanmoins, fondement Nations solides tranquillité observés coupables actes nête Greece fosters the hope of becoining the prin- cioal factor of tranauillitv in the Balkans and in the eastern Medite~ane~. But she is of the opinion that there is no better foundation for in- ternational relations, which the United Nations wish to place on a solid basis in arder ta ensure the happiness of peoples and the tranquillity of nations, than the simple ru1es of conduct ob- served among honest people, namely that the guilty must suffer the consequences of their ac- tions, and those who behave decently and loyally deserve respect. ner tionale. auront le honnête. la paix. These are the only principles capable of giving authority to the Charter of international security. Only in this way will people be convinced that good conduct in the international field is sound poliey. The peace of the future can only be built on such foundations. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): The representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic has raised fuis question and has beep able to exercise bis right to be called to the Council table by invoking Article 34 of the Charter of the United Nations. That means that he calls our attention, in the words of the Charter, to a "situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or situation is like1y to endanger the maintenance of :uternational peace and security." The "international friction" arises from the fact that, in bis words, "Greek armed units, with the connivance and encouragement of the Greek authorities" are causing "numerous bor- der incidents on the Greek-Albanian frontier." ls this a retort to detailed Grt,;ek complaints of Albanian raids across the frontier, wmch he may think had sorne influence on the decision of the Security Council not to admit Albania, at pre- sent, to membership in the United Nations? In these cases of charges and counter-charges, it is, of course, difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong. 1 can ouly say that 1 cannot accept the doctrine of Mr. Manuilsky's infalli- bility. 1 do not, of course, know the sources of bis information. As 1 thillk bis Govemment has no diplomatic relations with Greece, 1 cannot t~ they are as good as ours. , He includes in bis paper immoderate denun- ciations of Greek treatment of minorities. Rightly or wrongly, the peace settlement, so Lar as it has gone after tbis last war of 1939-45, has not provided for any system of protection of minori- ties. Mter the 1914-18 war there were certain obligations laid on certain States prescribing con~ ditions that must be observed in the treatment of minorities and placing on the League of. Nations certain responsibilities in connexion therewith. Mter G!- long and painful experience, 1 think the conclusion was reached that, on bal- ance, this was disadvantageous. While it might do sorne good, it notoriously did a certain amount of harm in encouraging the irredentism of dissident elements. Minorities are often to be itied. But they are minorities. If, as is the case What does Mr. Manuilsky know of the treat- ment of minorities in Greece? What can he hear but the staries of refugees from over the frontier? What do we know of their activities before they found it heaIthy to transfer their domicile over the frontier line? He writes about "fanning national hatred.» That is what 1 fear is being done by those who cross the frontier. 1 would not deny that there may be cases where extreme persecution of a minority might produce a dangerous international situation. AIl 1 do maintain is that Mr. Manuilsky has failed to produce the shadow of a proof that such a case does exist in Albania. But even if he hadj is that a matter for the Security Council? The Security Council has no direct responsibility for wJ..."lorities. The General Assembly, 1 think, has, and the respect of "human rights" is, 1 be1ieve, in its province, and perhaps primarily in that of the Economic and Social Council. Mr. Manuilsky goes on to deal with "the un- bridIed propaganda of Gr~ek monarchist ex- tremists" who put fo~ar~ demands for Alban- ian territory. What is "unbridIed propaganda"? The Greek Government is prepared ta submit claims; backed by evidence and argument. Actually, 1 understand a decision has been taken at the Paris Conference ta refer the - Albanian-Greek frontier question to the Council of Foreign Ministers. That does not, 1 suppose, debar the Security Council from considering it, though ÂrtÎde 33 of the Charter seems ta lay on the Security Council the obligation to try other methods of settlement. These Greek daims are no new daims, trumped up at the eleventh hour as Mr. Manuil- sky would seem ta suggest, to justify a policy of provocation and aggression. Ta use Mr. Manuilsky's own phrase, "the whole world knows" that the Greeks have had these claims for decades and 1 do not see why the Greek Governmerit's desire that these daims should be ,hèard by a responsible tribunal, should be re- garded as "sinister repetition" and proof of But if Mr. Manuilsky speaks of unbridled propaganda in this connexion, he must not re- sent my using the same phrase te characterize his document and bis statement. There are certain characteristics by which one has grown accustomed, during recent years, to recognize propaganda when one comes across it. One of .hese is the constant repetition of slogans or catch words, the object of which is to drum into the ears of one's hearus the impression that the slogan represents the trut4 without the need of any further proof or evidence. In this case we heard repeatedly of the "faIsified plebiscite," or the "so-called" plebiscite. With equal insistence Mr. Manuilsky spoke again and again of "ag- gressivt., monarchists." 1 can assure him that the two words "aggressive" and "monarchists" are. not necessarily synonymous. This sort of thing may he ail very well !.~ you are adàressing an audience unaccustomed to think for itself; but fl'ank1y, it is not, in itself, enough for those of us who have had rather more experience. It should not be enough for the Security Council. Here 1 come to the principal point of my remarks. Mr. Manuilsky says: "The principal factor conducive to the situation in the Balkans, as created by this policy of the present Greek Government, is the presence of British troops in Greece and the direct intervention of British military representatives in the internal affairs of this allied country on behalf of aggressive monarchist elements especially in the prepara- tion of the referendum set for 1 September 1946, which is to determine the form of govern- ment in Greece. The holding of the referendum under such conditions when there are foreign troops in the country is contrary to the war aims prodaimed by the Allied Powers both during the war and after its termination, as weil as ta the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter, in particular ta paragraph 2, Article of this Charter." So here you have it: His Majesty's Govem- ment in the United Kingdom is responsible, not only for all that may have gone wrong in Greece, it is responsible for the oppression of minorities, it is inciting Greeœ ta attack her much more powerful neighbours; it bas just "'faked" a plebiscite. It bas violated the Charter of the United Nations. That is Mr. Manuilsky's original charge. Quotations from Greek newspapers, and we have had some from Mr. Manuilsky aIso, do not impress me unduly. Accustomed as 1 am in my 1 country to a free press, 1 am not surprised to find e...xpressions of very varying opinion. Mr. Gromyko may find this an unusual phenome- non, but 1 think that all my colleagues whose r.ountries enjoy freedom of the press would not thjnk very much of the argument that bases itself on the opinion of a selected newspaper. Mr. Gromyko's h tllllp card seemed to be that the plebiscite had been held in Greece while that country was under che occupation of for- eign troops; and that if that did not cor.stitute foreign intervention, he didn't know what did. But is Greece the only country in which dectiOl.. 01' a plebiscite have been held while foreign troops were on its soil? 1 seem to have heard of other cases. Mr. Manuilsky aIso made great play with this argument. In fact he was :so impatient to use it that, writing on 1 September, he spoke of the "terror" under which the plebiscite had been "implemented." Mr. Manuilsky has a very rapid intelligence· service, and for that reason he seerns to reach hasty conclusions. As regards the polic)' of His Majesty's ('.ov- ernment, that bas been explained more than once to the Soviet Government whenever we have had the opportunity of discussing it with them, at Yalta, Potsdam, and on the last occa- sion in Moscow in December, 1945. On none of these occasions did the.sGovernment of the USSR have any proposai ta make or objection to raise. And yet, at this Council, the Govern- ment of the USSR gives its fullest support to the unsubstantiated allegations of the Ukrainian rep- resentative. Most of these charges were brought against us by the Government of the USSR in London early this year. Let me quote Mr. Bevin on the occasion of the conclusion of the discussion oi these charges: "Mr. Vyshinsky says that we are endangering peace. If 1 heard him rightly, he talked about attack on neighbouring côuntries. 1 would like to ask him what neighbouring countries Greece is going to attack. When there were incidents on the frontier, 1 proposed a four-Power commission; but 1 had no r€Sponse from the Soviet Government saying that they would join that commission ta învestigate." 1 continue with Mr. Bevin's statement, which 1 know represents exactly what he feels today, in regard ta charges levelled by the Soviet and Ukranian representatives. He said: "1 have great difficulty in believing, and 1 am in the habit of being fairly frank, that this is brought forward because of what we are doing in Greece. 1 cannot help feeling that there is a deeper reason for it·than that, which can only be known ta the Government of the USSR. It is difficult ta underst1'lnd why there is this propa- ganda and incite~/;ntgoing on all over the world day by day, with regard ta a country that is try- ing to re-establish itself. The danger to the peace of the world has been the incessant propaganda from Moscow against the British Com:rnanwealth and the incessant utilization of the Communist parties in every country in the world as a means to attack the British people and th Uritish Gov- ernment, as if no friendship between us existed. This is the déj.nger tù the peace of the world which sets us one against ·another. It is this suspicion: which causes misunderstanding and makes one wonder what is the motive behind it." There are Mr. Bevin's wards. The case now brought by Mr. Manuilsky is simply a rehash of the case brought in London by the Soviet repre- sentative. Towards the end of the hearing of that case Mr. Bevin :!laid: "1 am glad ta note fr~m the statement we have listened ta that the original demands of the'Soviet ùelegation are no longer insisted upon.' Nowa word about British troops in Greece. These troops have an honourable, indeed a glori- ous record. They went into that country first~ and they sacrificed a llumber of lives and a quan- tity of material, in an attempt to defend Greece against the fascist Hitlerite hordes, some months before the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Ukraine for that matter, was forced into the war at aIl. At that time the Ukraine and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were in friendly relations with the main enemie<; of thcse who were bearing the brunt alone in the fight against the fascist Hitlerite hordes. That inter- vention of ours in Greece almost certainly post- poned the Hitlerite attack on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Our heroic attempt failed, but later, in happier days, we returned. What was the hisrory of that retum? A Greek government of all Greek parties was formed as a result of a conference in tht:. Levant in the autup~ of 1944. This included EAM. EAM Iater Ieft the government. But the govern- ment containing EAM had bet''1 appointed by the King. The King subsequently appointed a Regent, sothat the Regent later appointed other governments. Mter leaving the goveôment, EAM organized a revoIt causing civil war. The present Government is ilie legitimate successor of the aIl-party government l have aIready re- ferred to, sinee it won the ciections aud there- fore replaced the government in powerbefore the elections, which, as shown above, was the legitimate successor of the aIl-party Government. EAM boycotted the e1ections. That is no one's fault but their own. We asked the Russians to _ join in supervising the elections. They reiused, and they thus put themselves out of court. They have no Iight to criticize from a distance. But it is this legitimate Greek government, and aIl successive governments, that have begged us to remain in Greece. Ml'. ManuiIsky has appealed to paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Chapter. It must be a long time since he bas read it carefully. He said) 1 think, that itdenied to any State the right to intervene in the internaI affairs of another State./ " What it actually says is: "Nothing contained in Then there is the ccfaked" plebiscite. AIl those who lose plebiscites always qualüy them as a "swindIe". The elections were called a swindIe. We did our best to provide that they shouïd not be. In that we had the assïsta"1ce of the United States and French Governrnents. We invited the Soviet Government to join us in this task. The" refused, as 1 have alrea9-Y said. 1 think the report of the Allied COInmissions has already. been published. There are no secrets; we did our best. We have done our best aIso in con- nexion with the plebiscites. Most of the gloomy prophecies have not been justified. And 1 sim- ply do not accept wild allegations of "terror". They cannot be, and have not been, substanti- ated. 1 listened carefully to Ml'. Manuilsky to hear whether he had any substantiation of bis charges. He began by referring te and, in fact, reading out of the text of a secret order and showing, according to mm, that the Greck ex- tremist monarchists, with the help of British authorities, were setting up monarchist bands which terrorized the whole population. He gave the text of the arder, wmch he said came from the Fourth British Indian Division. 1 have just been able to obtain a report on this, from which it appears that this dîstribution of arms was in fact made. This was done in May, 1945 by the Seventh Indian Brigade at Kavalla, at the re- quest of the Greek General Mellssinos, com- manding the fifteenth and sixteenth brigades at the time when the gendarmerie was not func- tioning, and vinages in eastern Macedonid. and Thrace were being attacked by right wing bands. Arros were restricted to six weapons per village and were issued against receipt. When the stage of emergency was over, an order was issued on 16 June 1946 for the recovery of the anus and all were in faet recovered. - Ml'. Manuilsky seemed to imply that we di- rected "punitive expeditions" in preparation for the plebiscite. With a great flourish he produced a photograph, the exact significance of wmch 1 failed to grasp. 1 do not know whether my col- leagues understood the full significance of that photograph. To me, it appeared to represent a party of rat..~er disagreeable, mean-Iooking in- dividuals, with, in the foreground, what might be taken to be a British officer. In the photo- graph, the British officer appeared to have ms hands tieà behind bis back, but that may not have been the case, and one of the lesser agree- able figures in the background seemed to be cov- ering ':~'1l with a tommygun. 1 do not know what that means. Ml'. Manuilsky referred to a declaration of 6 August by the Deputy Cmef of the British Military Mission. He did not give the text of it. He quoted Ml'. Warby. Mr. Warby is always quoted. He quoted the American paper PM. On tOO flimsy foundation Mr. Manuilsky tries to build up the case that His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is backing monarcOOt extremists, is conniving at the ill- treatment of minorities and is inciting Greece to attack her much more powerful neighbours at a time when we are looking forward to the day when we may be able to withdraw our troops, in the hope that the end of our task may be in sight. 1 submit that the Ukrainian representative has failed entire1y to make a case. As regards the situation in Greece, 1 do not claim that aIl is periect and tranquil there. Cer- tainly aIl is not perfeet by Soviet standards. AlI is not perfect even by British democratic stand- ards. My Government never claimed that'it is. But two faets 1 rio claim, one is that conditions in Greece are nOe nearly in such a sarry plight as in certain other European countries whose situation'> have not, as yet, been investigated by this Council; and the second is that conditions in Greece would be better than they are if it were not for Communist pressure and propaganda inside her territory and along her borders. What Greece now needs is to be left alone. Hel' record during the war lS second to none; and if'the records of aIl the countries formerly under enemy occupation are to be searched, there are several statesmen now in power in The Greeks, by the elections in March and by the plebiscite on 1 September, both conducted in a manner which trustworthy impartial wit- nesses have described as fair, have shown clearly what regime the majority of the Greek people desires to have. The internal politics"t>f this re- gime may or may not command the sympathy of other Members of the United Nations, but that is no affair of the Security Council or indeed of anyone except the Greek people itself. While Greece is exposed to incessant attacks from the press and radio of her northern neigh- bours and from Moscow, and while forme~ enemy States are en.couraged ~o make baseless daims for Greek territory, Greece :annot enjoy "freedom from fear". 1 have spoken hitherto in I~buttal of the charges light-heartedly brought against the Gov- ernment of the United Kingdom. 1 should like ta add, in conclusion, one or two words in my capa- -ity as a member of this Council. The proceedings which are now in course, like a number of others that have preceded them, do not, it seems ta me, come properly before this august body. This is not the way to use the Security Couneil. It was always intended that if difficulties, or difIerences of opinion, were to arise between certain Members of the United Nations, such Members should seek to settle them in the first instance directIy between them- selves or by an agreed procedure. No attempt has been made to do tllat, and what happens now is that a Member of the United Nations suddenly, and without warning, and 1 would add, without due cause, flings down an accusation on the table of the Council. He, if he is not a member of the Council, is given ail facilities for availing himself, temporarily, of such membership. He makes inflamtnatory speeches which receive all the publicity afforded by the United Nations, he produces bits and pieces of evidence, and spares no effort to trap and trip up' the delegates of these Member States against which his accusations are directed. That is what 1 mean when 1 speak of propa- ganda. That is not how it was hoped that the United Nations would work. And if this procedure is followed further, the Security Council will be brought into disrepute and the purpose of the Charter of the United Nations will be defeated.

1 have received a letter signed by Colonel Tuk Jakova, representr cive of the People's Republic of Albania and Mlnister In the hope that the voice of Albania will have an opportunity to be heard before the United Nations Security Couneil, 1 beg to remain ...." Then there is the signature. The letter has been distributed. The legal rules wmch must guide us in the consideration of this letter are the following: Article 31 of the Charter says that Members of the United Nations "may participate, without vote, in the discussion of any question ... whenever the Council considers that the interests of that Member are specially affected." Article 32 says that bOth Members and non-members may participate in the discussion iu the case of a dispute. tribuée. dans l'Article des yote, chaque les affectés". et participer férend. le publique qualifié, termes que comme appliqué. ment peut toute fournir tance compétence. au sonne formations cela cussion. doivent lettre.. question l'article vitation demande leur The case before us wmchhas been brought by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic has been classified by him as a situation under Article 34. Accordingly, unless we classify the subject as a dispute, Article 32 cannot be applied. However, rule 39 of our rules of procedure says that the Security Council may invite members of the Secretariat, or other persons whom it considers competent fol' the purpose of supplying it with information, or to give other assistance in. examining matters within its competence. My interpretation of rule 39 is that it gives the Council freedom to invite whoever it chooses to supply it with information or other assistance, as distinguished from participation in the discussion. These are the legal rules wmch must guide our consideration of this letter. FrOID what 1 said, it fol1ows that the matter has to be considered on the bàsis of rule 39. According to rule 39, the invitation must come from the Council. 1 should like to hear the members of the Council express their opinion. Mr. HASLUCK (Australia): On behalf of the Australian delegation, 1 would like to sayat the As we see the position at the present moment, a situation has been brought to our attention. It has been admitted to the agenda and at the first stage we have heard statements from the State bringing the complaint, and from the representatives of the two States who have been directly mentioned in the complaint. It has been customary on previous occasions to regard such statements as the first stage in our handIing of a situation. It seems to our delegation that 'we now ap- proach the second stage in which we are obliged to carry out our responsibility under Article 34 regarding the investigation of the situation. We have heard the situation described from both sides. It is now our responsibility, under Article 34, to decide whether or not we will investigate. Article 34 says the Security Council may investi- gate any situation which may lead ta interna- tional friction. The next stage in our proceedings is to decide whether or not we shall undertake such an in- vestigation. It wouId seem to me that if we apply rule 39 in regard to the making of the statement of the representative of Albania, we should apply that ruIe after we have made up our minds whether or not we are going ta in- vestigate this complaint. We cannot make a decision at this moment. In order that we may reach an agreed and reasoned decision under Article 34, our delega- tion wishes to propose at an early opportunity, without stifling the present discussion, that the CounciI should adjoum the discussion of the Greek situation perhaps for a period of two, three or four days in order that representatives may consider the statements that have been put be- fore them, in order that they may consult their Gove.rnments, and that they may come to our next meeting ready to make a prompt decision Before closing, however, 1 feel bound to re- mark thàt the letter wmch the representative of Albania has presented to us daes not appear ta show proper understanding of the functions of this Council. In two places in that letter, the Albanian Government refers to "charges" against Greece. In view of the fact that "the Security Council has before it the 'charges' that were brought against Greece," he wishes to make a statement "in order to shed more light on the just and correct charges against Greece." 1 think that those phrases reveal a complete misunderstanding of the functions of this Coun- cil. We are not a body of criminal jurisdiction to try any State in this world, particularly not to judge accusations brought in the ferm of . charges against any of the Members of the United Nations. We are here to consider the situation in order to achieve means of pacifie settlement. 1 think that the only excuse for the representative of Albania using such language in a communication addressed to this Council is possibly due to the fact that Albania has not yet been admitted to Membership in the United Nations and is unfamiliar with the worlcings of this body.

The represèntative of Australia has spoken about bis proposai to adjourn the meeting, but 1 did not understand him quite clearly, and 1 should like ta know whether he meant to make a motion to adjourn. , Mr. R-\SLUCK (Australia): 1 am prepared to move a formal motion for the adjournment of the discussion of this question. ln doing 80, of course, 1 reaIize that such a motion takes precedence, under rule 33, and 1 would not like my motion to preclude anyone from speaking, ü anyone wishes ta speak. Subject ta that, 1 would movea motion fOr adjoumment. .Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translation trom Russian): It seems to methatthe request which the representanve of Albanja addressed to the Security Council is a justone. What is the meaI1fug of this request? It· means."that inàsmuch as·the questionraised in.the Ukrainian statement has a direct.bearing on Albania;adecision to hear the rèpreseIitative ofAlbania would be.quite. naturaI. Indeed, the members of the Council who have already spokeIi. mande représentant quoi que la l'Albanie, le du ~ MM ~~~~~~~··~·~~;-~·!·""l!·p~···,!,,,,~~!'1'1f'!'~.~1'I'i~~~""~<:'~~,": The representative of Australia says that to invite the representative of Albania would mean that an investigation has aIready begun. I think this is a mistake. The investigation to which the representative of Australia refer~ Céln only be a result of examination"of this question by the Security Council, and not a prerequisite. What is it the representative of Albania requests? He requests that before taking a decision, whether it be a decision to investigate or any other decision, the Security Council should hear the point of view of the representative of the Albanian Government. Thus, the representative of Australia is confusing two absolutely distinct things. He speaks of an investigation which can only be the result of a decision of the Security Council. But the Albanian representative raises the question of his participating in the discussion or, at least, of expounding the Albanian Government's point of view during the discussion of this subject, before the Security Council takes a decision. In general, 1 must say that 1 think the methods ernployed in the discussion of such questions in the Security Council are rather strange. 1 say "strange", and 1 must say beforehand that 1 use the weakest epithet that can be employed in this case. Indeed, in discussing the question whether or not the Ukrainian statement should be placed on the agenda, the representative of Australia said that the Ukrainian statement was not sufficiently substantiated, and he did not vote for its inclusion in the agenda. And this was said by the representative of a country whose de1egates at the San Francisco and Paris Conferences, or at any international conference, have always maintained the point of view that the representatives of governments, who have anything to say when a dispute or a situation is under discussion, should always be given the fuUest opportunity to state their point of view. But a few days ago, we saw how the representative of Australia even resorted to such methods . as interrupting the statement of a member of the Security Council, who was bringing forward sorne facts that were unpalatable to certain members of the Security Council. 1 must say that such methods as interrupting the speeches and similar methods, for instance, objecting to a statement under the pretext of the language or the fonu, may be good enough for provincial high schools. 1 think they are not even suitable for a college. They are quite outof place _~ the Security Council. The Security Council is far too serious an international claration me d'une cette déclaration 1 wish to say that 1 would not have dwelt upon the statement of the representative of Australia, if 1 had not realized that the point of view reveals a certain tendency. 1 am speaking only in connexion with this. Otherwise, 1 would not have spoken about the statement of .the representative of Australia. It seems ta me that we have already passed one stage in the discussion of our subject. We have now reached another stage. One of the countries involved in this situation has requested to be allowed to expound its point of view; it is precisely this second stage in the consideration of this question that is now taking place. It seems to me that we cannat sa lightly approach the matter and refuse the request of the representative of Albania, especially as it would establish, 1 think, an unpleasant and incorrect precedent for the future. With this in view, it seems to me that we should, in the first place, comply with Albania's justified request, in accordance with ruIe 39 of the rules of procedure adopted by the Security Couneil. In the second place, we should not adjourn the discussion of this question for four days, as suggested by the represeiitative of Australia. . What reason is there to adjoum the discussion for fourdays? 1 see no reasons whatever. At least, there are no apparent reasons. Perhaps, the Australian represemative or the representaltive of sorne other country will supply sorne convincing argument or other. But 1 have not heard these convincing arguments. 1 do not think we should he guided by inttûtion. Sorne members of the Security Couneil may not agree with the assertions contained in the Ukrainian statement, but itis the. duty of the Security Council, whether they wish it or not, 1 repeat, it is their duty to examine the statement with all seriousness, and not ta stick up in front a barrage of words. They may be good fine words, but it is a .barrage of words that hides the substance of the question. A barrage of words will not he of any use, even if we employ American slang, which would provide us with a richer supply for the barrage. 1 use the expression "American slang" in the best sense, without implying anything. 1 like it. But it is out of place here. une sommes des mandé seconde qui ne du ce fâcheux faudrait demande de de ne tion sentant de l'Australie. jours? tau\. peut autre cants entendu vions du cord communication du d'examiner communication de serIent ne si fournit pression sens "slang". M.t. PARODI (Fra.nce) (translated trom the 1 French): 1 should like to support the proposaI of the representative of Australia which appears to me, as indeed do aIl the proposals emanating from that delegation, to be both based on a desîre to apply the provisions of the Charter and extremely' objective and wise from a practical " point of view. proposition me générale délégation, plication a Sovi~t Socialist Republics against Australia to a future date, and if 1 may borrow from my United Kingdom colleague a word which he applied to the Ukrainian complaint, 1 would describe it as "light-hearted".

We have a motion fe:- adjournment. According to rille 33, such a motion shall be decided without debate. 1 think 1 do not overstep my rights by saying, as President, that 1 second this motion, and that the motion for adjournment should be interpreted as a pure1y technical rille without any implications, simply because it is now almost 6 p.m., and most of the representatives, 1 understand, are rather anxious that we do not establish the custom of fmishing our meetings late in the evening. For this reason alone, 1 second the motion of the Australian representative. Unless anybody objects, 1 shall adjourn the meeting. Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Smiet Socialist Republics) (translated trom Russian): Mr. President, will you ple,~.st ",;,plain the !ollowing. If we hold a meeting .;:;f the Security· Council tomorrow on a different question, as 1 have heard, and if the meeting ')f the Council on the present uestion is on Morday, since apparently it is

The proposal which 1 want to make and which 1 have discussed with the representatives ïn.formally during the lunch hour is that tomorrow we call an executive meeting . ta be held in private, devoted to the report to the Genèral Assembly. Mr. PARODI (F' :e) (translated trom French): 1 am meI\..., suggesting that, in the course of these few days, we should ask the representative of the Albanian Government to give us a written summary, for oui" convenience, of the remarks which he may wish to submit; then we would h•.ve.. as early as next Monday, an overall survey of the arguments on wmch we shalI have to reach a decision,

The representative of the Ukraine wishes to speak on à point of order. Mr. MANUILSKY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (translated trom Russîan): As Minlster of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Sùcialist Republic, 1 am occupied at the Paris Conference, where r. am defending the interests of my country. 1 arrived here on 28 August,. jn response to a telegram. Various reasons were put forward in order ta postpone the meeting, and it was evensugg~.sted that I.should rest for a few days. 1 have already· r~i:ed enough, and l have to he at my post, at the Paris Conference. If there is ta be no .l.<lceting tomorrow, 1 beg to request you, Mr. President, to make arrangements that would enable us to continue the discussion on Monday, as it is very difficult for me ta stay on owing to the work Ïlll wmch 1 am engaged. Il'equestyou in advance ta put me 02 the list of those. who are to speak. suffisamment mon il au les· débats très qui scrire. dès qui Mr. DENDRAMIS (Greece) (trl'lnslated trom Fre';1,ch): 1 should Iike to say a few words on the Frenchproposal. Unless 1 am rnistaken, the decision which has been takell amounts ta an adjournment. No decision has he~n taken on the Albania~ application. 1 therefore think J1at the proposaI of the reprf'..sentative of Franceto request the Mbatù.an dplegate to subr.'lÏt seme observations already constitutes a preIiminary dèdsion. I.should Iike toask th~..representative of France not to prC'..8S bis proposal until the Council hasreacned a decision on the substance and Arlmi~'.libilityofthis application. cfue ji: l'ajournement. la que de ckn prd:n:rinaire. France de ne pas insister sur sa proposition que recevabilité