S/PV.64 Security Council

1 suggest that we follow the decisions of our preceding meetings: namely, adopt item 2 on the agenda and keep item 3 on the provisional agenda for later consideration. Item 2 on the agenda was adopted. The Council had decided to invite for participation in the discussion the representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet 80cialist Republic and Greece. 1 now ask these representatives to take their seats at the table. . et vite . 1 See Sùpplement No. 5, Annex 8, of the Official Record. of the SecurityCouncil, First Year, Second Series. Sorne of the representatives have already ex- pressed their opinions on the subject, and 1 want to know whether any additional representatives would ill ~ recognition in this matter. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): 1 do not know what the sense of the Council will be on this application from the Albanian Government. l hope the Council will consider the matter carefully an.d not do anything that is contrary in any way to the provisions and the intentions of the Charter and of the rules. AlI the representatives seated here have proba- bly got the text in their minds. Article 32 of the Charter is the one that relates to this par- ticular case, because it is under Article 32 that aState which is not a Member of the United Nations may be summoned to the Council table. That may happen, in the words of Article 32, "if it is a party to a dispute under consideration by the Security Council." What the Security Council is today considering is explicitly nClt a dispute. The representative of the Ukraine has brought attention, in his original communication which is before us, to consideration of the existence of a situation. Therefore, on a strict reading of Article 32 of the Charter, it seems quite clear to me that we could not invite any Albanian representative to come to the Council table. You, Ml'. President, and I think others, have referred to rule 39 of the rules of procedure, which says: "The Security Council may invite members of the Secretariat or other persons, whom it considers competent for the purpose, to supply it with information or to give other as- sistance in examining matters within its compe- . tence." . I do not think that that rule was meant to override in any way the Charter itself, nor can I think that its wording would warrant us in believing that it was intended that under it, a representative of a Government not a Member of the United Nations could be· summoned to the Council table. You will notice that it says: "The Security Council may invite . . . other persons . . . to supply it with information . . ." You will notice that rule 38, dealing with allied questions, says: "Any Member of the United Nations. invited, in accordance with the preceding rulë, or in application of Article 32 of the Charter, to participate in the discussions of.· the· Security Council may. submit proposais 1 thought that at the end of our last discus" sion it was agrecd ta ask the Albanian repre· sentative ta furnish the Council with informa- tion. n'était une prise

That was not a decision. One of the members made a proposai, but no decision was taken on that point. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): Of course, that would be entirely in order, but wOuld an interpretation of the texts justify our inviting the Albanian representative to take bis place at this table? Personally, 1 think nota (traduit rait terprétation le la pas. rais ment .n'avons de pendant, accorde nous nir sistance, La The PRESIDENT, 1 should like to explain the legaI position. According to Articles 31 and 32 of the Charter, we are not fret; ta admit a representative of Albania ta participate in the discus" sion. However, rule 39 gives us freedom to allow any persan we consider as competent to supply us with information or give us other assistance, as distinguished from participating in the discussion with all the rights which go with it. In the letter of. the Albanian representative, Wtlo have a request ta be allowed to present to us a factual statement. There is no request for participation in the discussion. As 1 interpret rule 39, it seems that it is entirely a matter of our opinion as to whether we think that allowing such a factual statement, or rather, inviting him to make such a factualstatement is conducive to the clearing up of our debates or not. 1 should like to explain further that in case the Council should decide to allow the Albanian representative to make the factual statement, this in no case would imply that he has the right to participate in the discussion or present resolutions, as stated in rule 39. Mr. HSIA (China): 1 find it very difficult to render a useful opinion on the subject. In the first place, as there is no dispute wè coulcinot very weIl invitè the representative of Albania to the table under Article 32, This is more or less agreed. There is no dispute, therefore there is no argument that the Albanian representative can come to the table under Article 32. The question then arises whether he could be invited under rule 39. It reads: "The members of the .Secretariat·or other persons . . .. ". "Members of the Secretariat" is very ckar. As The question arises whether the persan who cames ta the table under ruIe 39 is ta participate in the discussion, or whether, as the United Kingdom representative interprets it, he is ta supply information. 1 naturally feel it rather clifficuIt ta accept this interpretation of ruIe 39 as one that gives the right ta the representative of Albania. ta come ta the table. However, if some ruIe or meL~cj can be found ta enable the Albanian representative ta be heard, 1 have no objection. If the Council makes an exception, passes a vote ta make a special case, 1 have no . objection either. TQ sum up, it is our opinion that the rlght of the Albanian representative ta come ta the table of the Security Council is not clearly provided under the Charter nor under rule 39 in the ruIes of procedure. But, if some method or ruIe can be found ta enable the representative of Albania ta come ta the table, 1 shall be glad ta hear him. Mr, VAN KLEFFENS (Netherlands): 1want ta say that 1 do not think that this is a situation which is provided for either in the Charter or in the ruIes of procedure. The letter of the Albanian representativc is based on Article 32. 1 do not think that Article is applicable, because we are again confronted with what has been caIled in the Uki'ainian letter a "situation". Article 32 refers ta disputes. Article 39 of the ruIes of procedure aIso does not seem ta me ta be applicable, because my experts tell me that in .drafting that, we were thinking of experts, and the representative of Albania does not announce himself in bis letter as an expert but as the "delegate of the People's Republic of Albania and Minister of State." Therefore, he is in an official capacity as the representative of bis Government, which is a different thing. 1 think, as a matter of common sense, it is the primary duty of tbis Council ta ascertain the facts, and if we have here an interesting witness, 1.do not see, if there is no provision either in the Cht.rter or the ruIes that is opposed ta it, why we shouId not hear him. The only thing which worries me a little is that in sa doing we shouId clearly give ta Albania a privileged position ta this extent: aIl our Governments, and in fact aIl the Governments of the Members of the United Nations are bo:und ta abide by whatever findings will be made by this Council; Albania, as a non-memher, is not Surely, if there is a dispute wmch endangers or may endanger the peace, and if a non-member is required to accept such an obligation, it surely should have bis acceptance. It will have this great advautage: a non-membel" who makes this request to the United Nations in the Security Couneil for this purpose is not placed in a position which, as compared tQ that of a Member, is a privileged position, in that it is not bound by our findi.,gs. Mr. HASLUCK (Australia): It seems to me that we should be guided not only by our rules of procedure but also by our experience and the practice that the Council has set up in previous cases. It seems to me that if we look at previous practice, we find more than one precedent to guide us. If we recall the case of Spain when we were asked to consider the situation there, we did hear statements from a non-member Government; namely, from the Spanish Republican Government. The machine.ry by which that was brought about was that we took certain steps for the investigation of the situations and in the course of that investigation, through the medium of a sub-committee, we allowed a nonmember Government to come forward and to make statements. It seems to me that that experience may possibly be of sorne value to '3S in the present situation. The ..c\lbanian Government is not only a non-member of the United Nations but is in a rather peculiar position as regards the matters now before us. It is not one of the complainants; it is not one of the defendants, if 1 may use those terms which are, perhaps, not the best terms for this situation, but which illustrate more clearly than other terms that there are different States who are bringing complaints and different States who are defending themselves againsc those complaints. Albania is in neither of those positions. If Albania were bringms' complaints, presumably Albania would have acted under Article 35, paragraph 2. 1 would aIso recaIl what has been our customary practice in other cases; namely, that we usually hear first of aIl a statement of broad issues. In this case we have done that. The representative of the Ukraine has made a lona It seems to our delegation that the first decision which we must make is what we are to do next. If and when we decide to examine this complaint which has been brought before us, and if and when we set up the machinery for so doing, then I think, quite properly, and without any pl'Ocedural difficulty at aIl, we can rece<'Te statements from the Albanian Government, or from any other Government or persan who may wish to make such statements. Therefore, on behalf of our delegation, I would suggest that we defer this question of whether or not the Albanian representative should be heard by this Council until we have taken a-prior decision as to how we are to handle this situation which has been brought to our notice. As ta that, 1 have instructions from my Government at the appropriate time to make a certain concrete proposaI to this Councilregarding the examination of this case. . If we can assume that the initial statement of the complaint and the initial answer to that complaint have not been completed, then I suggest that we proceed to make tbis next deeision as to how we are to examine the complaint, and when we have made that decision, we will be in a hetter position, with aIl fairness to Albania, to decide when and in what mann~r the Albanian representative shall be heard. I would, therefore, suggest deferring the decision on the Albanian letter until we have completed the next stage in our business. Ml. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic)) (translated trom Russian): I already expressed reasons at the last meeting of the Securit)" Council in favour of inviting the' re.. presentative of Albania. Therefore, I will not repeat myself. It seems ta me that nobody will understandwhy the Security Couneil refuses to permit the representative of the Albanian G0'V'" ernment not only to I,articipate in the disc"lssion of the present question, but also to make, a statement concerning the factual side of that question. It seems to me that nobody will understand why' the Security Council refuses to satîsfy the legitimate request ,of the representative of the Albanian Government, and if the Security Council takes' a negative decision regarding that request, that emphasizes once again that the majority of the members of theSecurity Council do .not desire that t.herepresen.tatives o.f countries ., affected by the present question should supplement the numerous facts whichhave already tant la droit Gouvernement rité la pas . la nombreux Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Re publics) (translated trom Russian): 1 want to say a few words concerning the last proposaI by the representative of the United Kingdom. 1t seems to me that if it were actepted the Security Council would not he displaying a ver"y generous attitude towards the Albanian Government, for even so, it is common knowledge that . any Government whether it be aState Member of the United Nations Organization 0:- a non-member, may submit any' statement or any document to the Security Couneil at ~my time. That is a known fact whether any deci~ sion is taken or not. The representative of the Albanian Government has submitted the request that he be permitted to make a statement at a Security Council meeting concerning the factual side of the question. listes drais nière Il seil de sécurité ne vers besoin ment aussi tout gouvernement peut curité quel sion tant qu'on sécurité, glais): technique et domaine, de Royaume-Uni, que l'Albanie est dans part, indiqué sieur le autorisé questions ou à forme mÎJ.ier, être est son limitations cées répéter. Mr. JOHNSON (United States of America): 1 think thaton a technical and strict iaterpretation of the Charter and of the relevant mIes of procedure, although 1 am not an expert in those matters, 1 am inclined to the opinion that Sir Alexander Cadogan is correct, ,but 1 believe that the admission of the request of the representative of Albania is within the spirit of the Charter. 1 do not think, as you have already suggested in a statementto the Council, Mr. President, that he should be permitted by the . Council to ask any questions or to bring forward any proposaIs in any form for the consideration of the Couneil, but simply that he be permitted to make ms statement. 1 think that that is in the spirit of the Charter, and 1 would support bis coming to the table with the limita- , tions that you outlined in your statement to the Cauncil, and which 1 have just repeated. Mr. PADILLA NY.RVO (Mexico): 1rrespective of the importance of the question of whether or not the representative of Albania will be called to the Council table, 1 believethat there is another question of a general nature that is aIso very important. That is the general principle, l'anglais): question sera crois géIl;éral For these reasons, taking into consideration these concrete circumstances as weIl as the generaI principles to which 1 have previously referred, 1 am of the opinion that the Council should invite the representative of Albania to sit at this table. 1 shall ask the Council to decide whether it desires to invite the representative of Albania to come to the table for the purpose of making a factual statement.

1 shall ask the representative of Albania to come to the table to make a factual statement. 1 aIso want to advise him that this does not imply the right to partieipate in the discussion.

1 shalI ask the representarive of Albania to express lus statement to the Council. Colonel JAKOVA (AlbaIÙa) (translated Jrom Albanian): l would like ta thank the Security Couneil for this opportunity to express the point of view of my Government in connexion with the discussions that have taken place on Albania at the meetings of this session. First of all, 1 want to make known to this Couneil that the Government and the people of Albania have been greatly disappointed that Albania was not accepted as a Member of the United Nations. We believe that our people, the first victims of fascist aggression, who for six long years in succession shed their pretious blood in the struggle for a common cause, justly claim 1neir right to membership in the United Nations. We are at.a loss to understand why the Albanian people have been demec;l their deserved place side by side with other nations despite the fact that in their war of liberation, 28,800 of them were killed, 12,600 wounded, tens of thousands languished in jails and concentration camps, and that 46,000 of their homes were bumed by the fascist and nazi enemies. More than one billion and a quarter dollars in wealth was stolen from them. However, we trust that the Security Cauneil will not long ignore the bloodshed and supreme sacrifices of this small people who were loyal allies in the common war for freedom and who will continue to contribute to the maintenance _Regarding the present discussion on Albania and ~e Baikans, l wnuld like to express briefly the .Alb<"'Tlian point of view. l have heard many accusatiolli~ and vilifications levelled against Albania by the representative of the Greek Government. l shall not take up your precious time by devoting further attention to these groundless accusations and vilifications, because they deserve no answer. l shall confine myself ta the true situation between Albania an':! Greece, for l am sure the Security Council 1& interested only in the realities of the situation. The Greek representative, Mr. DendraJ!'Js, in his memoranda and statenlents before the Security Council, has again and again insisted that Albania is in a state of war with Greece. Why does he insist with such unheard of stubbornness on this point? Does not this show that he wishes ta keep the door open for trouble between Albania and Greece? We have already r.efuted, and here and now refute once more this ~bsurd Greek charge. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania is not and does not wish to be in a state of war with Greece. Albania is a small peace-Ioving nation. The Albanian people have never been aggressors, but have always been the victims of foreign aggressions, even victims of Greek aggression. In 1939, the Albanian people had the misfortune to become the first victims of fascist aggression. Our people, with little power at their disposal, fought fiercely against the fascist aggression of April 1939, and during all the years of occupation never laid down their arms until they finally drove the last German forces out of theirland on 29 November 1944. During the war, we collaborated, in fraternal harmony with the resistance forces of the people of the neighbouring countries, in the struggle against the common enemies. We never failed to. give unseHish aid to each other in the most critical periods. We have shed blood together in the same trenches. We have bound each other's wounds, and the heroic sons of the Albànian people aI!d the Greek people, who fell in battle while aiding one another against the common enemy canbe found1oday, buried side by side in the same graves. This illustrates our friendship for each other. That is how the Albanian people have cemented the bonds of fdendship with the Greek people and the Yugoslav people. But, unfortunately, after the WÇl.r, the changed situation in Greeœ wa~ not to the advantage. of the Greek people. r do not wish to speak about the internal affairs of Greece. l ·would merelylike ta emphasize that because . 'Ihe results of the activities of the present Grm Government are as follows: (1) The Greek provocations an the Albanian barder; (2) The system~tic extermination of the Albanian minority in Greecc; (3) The absurd Greek daims ta Southern Albania; (4) Accusations, fabrications and unbridled lies agaînst Albania. The:; Greek representative spoke before you far several hours. Even if he had spoken for days and weeks without interruption) he could never have circumvented the truth) nor could he have hidden the aggressive aims and acts of the Athens Government. Terroristic bands and ships of the Greek Government violated the territory and territorial waters of Albania more than one hundred i:ime;. .At the request of the Security C::ounci1· Commit· tee an the Admission of New Members, 1 have already submitted to that Committee two long lists of frontier provocations caused by Greck terroristic bands which have rf..5ulted in many Albanian victims. Since the Council aIready has those lists, it is not necesSary ta repeat them here. 1 have just been in{ormed by my Government that new provocations have taken place whik the Security Council was discussing Albania's application far admission ta United Nations membership. The new list has not yet reached me. Albanian villagers close ta the frontier have grov.'n uneasy as a result of the ever-increasing number of victims which Greek terrorists have taken, and their honour, theù· lives, and their property are in constant danger. As far the Albanian minority in Greece, the barbarous acts 'of the Greek Government can never be forgiven. Mr. Dendramis attempted ta 1 whitewash the indelible stains of this tragedy in two words by saying that the Albanian refugees of Chamouria îled into Albania because they were afraid of the crimes they had committed against Greek Christiàns when Italy occupied Greece. This is another fal.."ehood. The whole people of Cha..î1:ouria cannot be guilty, whatever isolated events may have occurred during the Italian occupation. The Albanian minority in Chamouria fought side by side with the resistance forces of the Greek people. Herewith 1 submit to the Security Council what has actually happened to the Albanian minority in Greece. The Albanian 1lÙÎ1ority har been, and still is, savage1y and most inhumanly persecuted. On 22 June 1944, the forces of General Zervas massacred at Paramitka fouI' hundred men, women and children, and raped countless women and girls. In July 1944; EDES troops of the 1Dth Division, commanded by Such intolerable events forced the people of Chamouria te leave their homes and Hee for safety into Albania. When the ELAS forces entered Chamouria, the people retumed to their homes. Later, the ELAS forces were disarmed and replaced by certain Greek armed bands from Corfu who shot thirty-six persons at Vanara of Filati as soon as .they arrived in Chamouria, and dishonoured the women of the village of Koska. These are massacres en masse. Isolated cases are still undete-.rmined. During these barbarous massacres, the Greeks bumed sixty-one villages ,"ith 5,80b homes, stole 17,000 smalllivestock, 1,800 head of cattle, and carried away all the produce of the land, which amounted to nùllions of gold francs. Twentytwo thousand people of Chmnouria, terrorized by the savage bands of the Greek Government, l,ad no choice but to fiee into Albania. More ;-ban two thousand of these persecuted Deoole d1ed withinseven weeks from-hunger and côld while seeking shclter during the hard WÎnter in Albania, wmch had already been devastated by , tboe invaders. Nearly twenty thousand of the unfortunate people live in misery and are now being kept aIive by the bounty of the people, the International Red Cross,' and the agency of UNRRA. The protests ofmy Government and the pleas of the people of Chamouria to recelve guarantees for return to their homeland have not as yet yie1ded fruitful results. On 6 April 1945, the British Military Mission 0 in Tirana, Albania, informed the Albanian Government that the British Embassy in Athens had sent a detachment of British troops to Filati, in the district of Chamouria, to check up on the atrocities there. But the situation rested there. 0 Mter the tragic fate of the people of Chamowia, the propaganda of the Greek Government, maintaining a straight face, as if nothing of consequence had happened, has unleashed a series of fanciful inventions in which the Albanian We ask, therefore, that the Security Council, acting in accordance with the regulations of the United Nations Charter, put an end to this situation by obliging the Greek Govemment to cease her provocations on the Albanian border, so that there will be no more innocent victims among our a1ready martyrized.people. The Greek Government must stop her in· human persecution of the Albanian minority in Greece 50 that twenty thousand Albanian refugees of Chamouria, men, women and children, who are destitute in Albania, may receive a definite guarantee for their safety after they re,. turn to their homes. Their lives, honour, md property should be made safe from violation. Weask that' this Council demand that the Greek Government let us settIe our affairs in peace so that we may continue the work of re· construction of which our devastated country is so muchin need. 1 close this statement with the eamest hope that the Security Council will judge this problem in all its serious aspects.

1 thank the representative of Albania for the statement he has submitted to the Securivl Councll. (Colonel Tuk Jakova, representative of Albania,left his seat at the Council table.)

We have heard the state,. ments of the representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Greece and the United Kingdom. 1 again open the discussion on the merits of the case which was presented to us in the letter of Foreign Minister of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. • Mr; DENDRAMIS (Greece) (translated from French): 1 will be brief, but 1 do not want the members of thé Councll to be left with the ~pr~ionthat the lltatement to which they have Just listened represents a true, picture, particularIy as the representative of.Â1bania used somewhatharsh language in regard to my country. He made some rathergratuitous assertions, accusing us of all kinds of excesses. The only The Council has listened to the statements of representatives of the Ukraine) Greece) United Kingdom, USSR and Albania. From these statements, it may be observed that in general, there are three major questions about wmch there seem to be conflicting allegations and opposing views. First of these is the question of incidents along the Greek-Albanian border. The second is the treatment accorded to national minorities, and the third relates to the presence and activities of British military forces in Greece. My Government regards certain other specifie Ukrainian charges as lacking basis in fact: These are: (a) that the Greek elections,and referendum were falsified; (b) that Greece is threatening the peace because she claims that a state of war exists with Albania; (c) that Greece is threatening the peace because she has put forward claims for northern Epir~s; and (d) that unbridled propaganda (~ the Greek monarchist extremists is endangering the peace. In the view of the United States delegation, these charges may be disposed of from the beginning as not having been substantiated. l would like to say a fe\\, words to the Couneil with respect to the Ukrainian representative's charges that the elections and the plebiscite in Greece have been falsified, and that they do not represent, in their results, the will of the qreek people. My Government fcels a special responsibility before the Council concerning the Greek national election and plebiscite, because my Government, together with the French and British Governments, accepted the Greek Government's invitation to observe the voting. 'Fhe Coun.cil will recall that at t}le Yalta Conference, the United States, United Kingclo:m,,'and USSR agreed to the so-called declaration on liberated Europe in which they declared their readiness, The three Powers at Yalta agreed aIso to facilitate, where necessary, the holding of such elections. In accordance with this agreement or in its spirit, the USSR was aIso invited by the Greek Government to observe the Gl'eek elections. However, in spite of the Yalta agreement, the USSR declined. With regard to the election held last March, 1should like to calI the attention of the Ukrainian representative to the report of the Allied mission which observed the Greek election, copies of which 1 am distributing to members of the Couneil today. My Government feels that the casual manner in wmch the Ukrainian representative has cast doubt upon the way in which this election was conducted is uncalIed for and can stem only from a wilful disregard of the facts set forth in this report, which has been available since 10 April 1946, to anybody who would take the slightest trouble to read it. 1 should like to quote from the conclusions made by this mission and embodied in their report, two sentences whichl believe may be of interest to the members of this Couneil. On page 21, the mission states: "It may be said in general that the Greek election of 31 March ranks well as respects peace, order'and regularity of proceedings on election day, when compared with earlier national polIs, and that as respects public decorum, law, obedience and orderly bal· lnting, it can stand comparison with conditions which prevail in France, Great Britain and the United States on election days." On page 27, the mission gave its final conclusion as follows: "The mission therefore concIudes that, notwithstanding the present intensity of political emotions in Greece, conditions were such as to warrant the holding of elections; that the electionproceedings were, on the whole, free and fair,' and that the general outcome represents a true and valid verdict of the Greek people." .The· Government of the United States of America supports this conclusion of the mission in which it was represented. My Government was similarly represented during the plebiscite which took place on 1 September. There has not been.time for receipt of a final report, but United States officiais who participated in'that· undertaking havereported that although isolated cases of intimidation by supporters of the monarchy and by their oppo- My Government, therefore, entirely rejects the unsubstantiated charges of the Ukrainian representative. 1 regret that h~ has made such serious charges without substantiation in regard ta the internaI affairs of another Member of the United Nations. 1 must reject emphatically, in passing) two daims which have been made during the course of these discussions: that Greece's clainl that a state of war exists with Albania, and that Greece's dainl to the territory of Northern Epirus are evidence of aggressive intentions. It seems to me that these contentions are little short ùI absurdo Both of these.Greek daims are, it seems to my Govemment, made in good faith. It is not contendt~d that the Greeks, during the past year, have attempted to justify armed attacks on Albania on the ground that a state of war existed between the two countries. It is a new idea that the statement of a legaI position can become evidence of aggressive intent. As to the dciïm for Northern Epirus, 1 can think of no more appropriate or peaceful method for Greece to follow than to do as she has done in presenting this dainl to the Peace Conference now assembled at Paris. The Conference itself has accepted this procedure as approprlate. There is no evidence yet brought before this Council to indicate tha:~ the Greek Govemment would not acquiesce in whatever decision will he made on that question. It may be noted, in passing, that a former enemy State at this very moment is daiming parts of Grecian Thrace. 1 have noted, too, that the Ukrainian representative objects to what he calls the "unbridled propaganda of Greek monarchist extremists." 1 share his dislike for unbridled propaganda. 1 feel, however, that there is an important difference between unbaIanced statements made by certain organs of a free press whose proprietors are not subject to dictation, but who represent no opinion other than their own, and the equally unbridled propaganda of newspapers ançl broadcasting stations in .countries· where speech and press are controlled and made an adjunct of govemmentaI power. This has been the case in nations aIong Greece's northern boundary and possibly in other regions of the earth. This matter was thorouglùy discussed in London at open meetings in the Security Council. At that time, the United States representative said, and this is still the position of my Government, the' following: "The Government of the United States of America is satisfied, after thorough consideration, that there is no reasonable ground for belief that the presence of British troops in Greece, under the admittedly unhappy circumstances described by the representatives of the United Kingdom and of Greece, can be regarded as constituting a situation which is likely to endanger international neace and security." .. My Government, therefore, does not see that any useful purpose is served by goinginto this m~tter again. 1 will now mention charges which, if substantiated, would be of concern to the Security Council. The Ukrainian Government, on the one hand, claims that the Greek Government has aggressive intentions against its northern neighbours in carrying out armed attacks in Albanian territory with the object of provoking conflict with Albania, that it is persecuting national minorities in Macedonia, Thrace, and other places, with the object of fanning national hatreds in preparation for aggressive action. The Albanian Government has supported these charges before thë Council. The Greek Government, on the other hand, has made certain counter-charges, through its representative, before this Council. It alleges that its northern neighbours are carrying out a war of nerves against Greece, and that.if there is a threat to the peace in the Balkans, this threat cornes from her northern neighbours. Mter careful consideration of the statements which have been made before this Council, my Government feeIs that the accusation that Greece has aggressive intentions against its northern neighbours has notbeen substantiated. We believethat the Ukranian representative has failed to substantiate those charges. We are asked to believe that Greece, a very small country, wartorn and still half-starved, is seriously contemplating recourse to force which would involve a conflict with its northem neighbours, whose present. standing armies are at least five times larger than that which Greece possesses. My Government rejects this contention as entirely beyond the realm of credulity. Mr. R<\SLUCK (Australiaj: The Australian Government is' chiefly aware of the responsibility of the, Security Council for the maintenance of international peaée and security, and interprets The Ukrainian Government has presented a statement which is apparently designed to show that Greece menaces the peace. The way in which that statement has been presented leaves sorne doubt, and in this 1 speak quite frankly, it leaves sorne doubt as to whether the real pur':' pose was.to bring peace or to make things uncomfortable for a Member of the United Nations. The Albanian representative has also made certain a1legations; but again, the way in which those allegations have been presented seeln8 to us to leave tbis Council very little opportunity for settling whatever differences may exist between Albania and Greece. Those differences, if they do exist, have been presented to us in the form of accusations and have been met by àenials of equal force. Although this Council may perhaps be able ta find a settlement of an· intef.:lational situation which is clearly presented to it, the possibility for action 1 seeln8 to our delegation to be extreme1y limited when a case is presented simply as an accusation not supported by substantial evidence, and when it is brought in a manner which does not allow us to describe c1early, for our own guidance, the nature of the difference between the countries concemed. There is one way {men to the Albanian Government under the L.arter. There is also an· other way open ta the Albanian Government, and from statements which have been made at this Council, we understand that the subjeet of the differences between Albania and Greece, such as they may be, are in fact under discussion at this moment before another conference in Paris. Having regard to that fact and having regard to the manner of presentation, the Australian Government doubts whether the bringing of these matters to our notice was rea1ly intended to lead to a settlement of the differences. Was it not intcnded to lead, and would not our further discussion of it lead rather to an accentuation of the differences and promotion of discord rather than harmon)"? Furthermore, the Ukrainian representative has made certain allegations against Greece as weIl as against the United Kingdom, which sent troops to Greece at the request of the Greek This is not the first occasion on which this particular aspect of the situation in the Balkans has been brought beforc the Security Council. The matter was dealt with at some length during the first sittings of the Council in London. On that occasion the charge was brought forward by the representative of the USSR, who demanded that British troops should be withdrawn from Greece forthwith. After full discussion in London, it was clear that the overwheIming majority of the Security Council rejected the allegation that the presence of British troops in Greece endangered the maintenance of international peace and security, and the Council in. L~ndon, therefore, agreed that the matter should be regarded as closed. Now, some six months lat~, the representative of the Ukraine, whose Government must fairly be regarded as expressing views at lea:;t similar ta those of the USSR, has raised this matter again in the Security Council, and the Ukrainian representative, on this occasion, has goneso far as to allege direct intervention by British military representatives in the internal affairs of Greece, and has said that that intervention was on behalf of monarchi~t clements. He has aIso stated that Greece has now been turned into a monarchy through the continued efforts of former collaborators with Germany, supportcd by British troops. The statements which have been made in support of that charge have, in our opinion, very little or no evidential value. It would appear to us that the Ukrainian representative is disappointed with the results of the recent plebiscite in Greece, which was held to give the Greek people an opportunity of deciding for themselves their own form of government. Yet, as both the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States pointed out, if the USSR, of which the Ukraine is a constituent republic, had really cared ta accept the invitation extendeçl to the Government of the USSR ta send observers to Greece, the fullest opportunity would have been given ta its representativoes tù report on any irregularities in polling which they might have noticed. This invitation to take part in the observation of Greek elections was not accepted. One might reasonably ask why it was not aceepted. l would aIso ask directly: does any Member . of the United Nations really believe that British troops have deliberately inteIfered in the internaI affairs of Greece, and that their presence has really endangered the maintenance of peace anè security in the Balkans? For its part, the Aus- . tralian Government rejects both allegations. One may weIl ask why the charges have been brought against Greec~ on two occasions, in London and in New York. Itis apparently Yet ir..... spite of the contribution of Gr~ece to the allied cause, and in spite of the he1p given in Greece itself by British Commonwealth forces, Greece has twice been charged before the Security Cc. ·lcil almost as if she were an exenemy country. Twice aIso it has been aIleged that forces from part of the British Commonwealth who retm-ned to Greece to throw out the Germans and thus advance the common victory, are now endangering the maintenance of international peace and security. In these circumstances, one is compelled to ask whether the charges brought are real or whether they are to be regarded merely as a species of propaganda designed to place the Greek people and British troops in an unfavourable position, i~"fespective of the real merits of the case. 1 shouid like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Charter which reads as fol1ows: "AIl Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfil in good faith the obligations asSumed by them in accordance with the present Charter." If the Security Council or any other organ of the United Nations is to retain the respect cf the world, it is essential that the matters brought before it should be brought in good faith. Otherwise the activities of the Council will be ~o.ciated in the minds of everyone not with Justice, but with the travesty of justice; not with facts, but with propaganda. We have studied very carefully the ..charges made by the representative of the Ukraine and his supporting statements and our stucly shows us that the new evidence which has been adduced is slight and unsubstantial. Indeed, thê case which has been made by the representative of Greece suggesting that the danger to peace in the Balkans cornes from countries other than Greece seems to us to be far stronger, and may weil deserve separate investigation. This latter question, of course, does not a.ri..se at present. It is open for the Greek or another Government to bring these matters formally before the Security Council if it so desires, and ask for investigation or action under the appropriate Articles of the Charter. But as these matters have not been formally brought before us, for the present, we will leave them to one side. When one examines the charges made by thè Ukrainian representative and the language in which thesecharges are couched, one is reminded of similar charges and similar language in other places; for instance, at the Paris Conference and over the Moscow radio. One is led to the conclusion, therefore, that a line of policy has been decided upon in relation to the course of events in Greece, in pursuit of which every conceivable opportunity is being used, irrespective àf the precise facts or the actual merits of the case, to di.scredit Greece and the British troops who helped to throw out the German invader from Greek territory. In these circUIDS\.ances, f~he prestige of the Security Council is endangered. It has beerr the view of Australia throughout that matters brought before the Council in appropriate form should be admitted to the agenda, and that once on the agenda, full investigation of the facts should normally precede the Council's decision. In British courts of law, however, when a plaintiff brings his case, there is a procedure uncler which the defendant can seek to have the case struck out on the grounds that it is frivolous or vexatious. This e1ementary protection should be denied neither to an indhidual citizen The dangers of any other L ,urse are obvious. If, on appropriate occasions, a stand is not made along these lines, no country will be secure from calumny and unfair attack. Sorne Members of the United Nations may even begin to fear that unless they conform il"l their policy, and in their public utterance of such policy:. ta a pattern wlùch would please sorne other governments or groups of governments, they may well be subjected to a persistent propaganda campaign and coJntinuous attack in every international field, inc1udÏJ.îg the Security Council. If once we start in that train, reprisals would he bound to follow, because the nation which alleges the existence of a mate in the eye of another must not be overcome with surprise if counter-allegations are made that it suffers from a beam in its own eye. In other words, there must be greater respect for the rights and dignity of Members, particularIy those who have made heavy sacrifices in the war and who should be encouraged to adopt democl'atic freedoms and should not be subjected to a barrage of public criticism and condemnation during a period of special crisis in their history. For reasons wlùch 1 have given, it is the view of the Australian Government that the Security Council should now pass to the next item of business on the agenda. The meeting adjourned at 6.15 p.m.