S/PV.84 Security Council

Are there any further comments? 1 ask all those in favour of the resolution please ta raise their hands.

In continuation of the debate of the last meeting, 1 wil ask the repr~en­ tative of Albania to make any statement he may wish. Mr. HYSNI KAPo (Albania) (translated trom French) : The Greek memorandum which is now before us consists of a series of unfounded and tendentious accusations against Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania. Nevertheless it is an important official document which reveals the proclivity of the present Greek Government for endangering peace in the Balkans. This was confirmed by the speecn. made by Mr. Tsaldaris before the Security CounciP The Government of Mr. Tsaldaris is endeavouring to support by ail possible means, even the mostcynical ones, the absurd territorial daims which it has brought fOl'ward without rhyme or reason against these ncighbouring countries. This unscrupulous policy is Iikely ta provoke serious disturbances. The peoples of the world have undergone dreadful suffering; for six years they faced the most terrible dangers in order'to destroy the fascist and nazi systems, abolish tyranny, and restore peace and freedom. The war is now over. The peace-Ioving democratic peoples have undertaken the' work of reconstruction and are endeavouring to.'ilring ta a close, once and for all, the tragic period. of the war. The Paris Conference' was a big step forward in this direction; the Council of Foreign Ministers in New York accomplished valuable work on behalf of peace. The General Assembly of the United Na:'ions, at this second part of its first session, has made it its main taskto consider the question of arnLaments and other important problems, the solution of whid~ will make a real contribution to the consolidation of peace and security throughout the world. 1 am speaking on bedalf of i:l. nation that has furnished ample proof of its devotion tofreedom, independence and peace. The Albanian people put up fierce resistance ta the fascist and nazi invaders. Tney made heavy sacrifices and contributed substantially to the common victory; their efforts, during. the war, aroused the admiratiOIi of ail the AlIied nations. Grave in,;. .justices have been done tri .rny country, although its rights as one oi the Al&es were confirmedby its participation as an active·member at the Albania crowned its victory over the Italian and German invaders and over the quislings within its midst by establishing a democratic regime and proclaIDûng the People's Republic. At the present time, in spite of fonnidable economic dLfficulties, our people are working joyfully for the reconstruction of their country which has be<'.ll appallingly devastated. It is most anxious that a just and lasting peace should prevail among all peoples, and that friendly relations should be entertained with its neighbours and with all other peace-Ioving democratic COlmtries. Jealous of its own indepeRdence and freedom, it scrupulously respects the independence and freedom of others. On many occasions since its liberation, the Albanian people has shown its· keen desire to contribute to the common task of peace and its confidence in the pacifie task of the United Nauons. It is in this spirit that we now propose to discuss the Greek memorandum. 'remis This is not the first time the Athens Government has accused Albania; it has already done so on two previous occasions: here, in the first place, and again at the Paris Conference. It now returns to the charge, makit!o Œit; of fresh accusations wbich, however, are very llimilar to the ones previously used; they have the same object in view. Nevertheless the truth can be seen plainly. Let us look at the facts more clooely. For the period from 9 September 1946 to 19 November 1946, the Greek memorandum mentions eight frontier incidents.· The' Security Council 1 had occasion to consider this question of Greek- Albanian frontier incidents when Albania's application for admission to the United Nations was discussed.1 At that time, the Albanian representative made it clear that the instigator of these incidents was Greece and not Albania. In 1945 and 1946, nearlyone hundred incidents were provoked by Greece on the Albànian frontier; these incidents, with· full det<t~, were brought to the official notice of the Secretary- ~eneral of the United Nations. J 'L.ope you have m.front of you the document we ~t:cently transnntted to the Secretary-General on behalf of the Aibanian .Go,vernment, which lists twenty-one new incidents, twenty-one acts of provocation by Greek armed forces on the Albanian frontier between 10 September 1946 and 20 November 1946. 2 When Greek soldiers enter Albania for the purpose of attacking our frontier posts and stining uptrouble and are killed or taken prisoner on Albanian territory, are such incidents !!il Since it came ta power, the present Greek regime has displayed an attitude of open hostility towards my country; a considerable number of Albanian war criminais have found refuge in Greece, while the A!hanian minority in Greece has been inhumanly persecuted, as testified by Mr. Hutchinson, a British Member of Parlianent. Furthermore, in spite of the war waged by our people against the Italians and Gennans, the common enemies, in spite of the official declaratians and international instruments de1initely establishing the status of Albania as an Allied country during the last war, the Greek Government takes pleasure in regarding itself unilaterally in a state of war with Albania. This fact, added to the imperialistic territorial claims made by Greece to two-fifths of Albania, explains many things. The constant acts of provocation CA the part of Greek soldiers on the Albanian frontier are plotted by the Greek G::>vernment with the obvious intention of paving the way for aggression in order to achieve its expansionist aims in Albania. These facts clearly show that the Greek Government is stubbornly pursuing a policy of hostility and imperimistic expansion towards Albania, a small peace-Ioving country against which it believes it can take any action it chooses, and they show that the Greek Government is stubbornly seeking to instigate a new war in the Balkans by creating a hotbed of strife and provocation. That is the basic reason for and the real nature of the Greek charges against Albània. In the Greek memorandum, the accusations are directed jointly against Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania. These arc new tactics, newJarg-escale manœuvres supported by agitators whose aim it is to stir up strife in other countries; they point to a lack of goodwill on the part of the Greek Government as regards the establishment of friendly relations with neighbouring cauntries. . 1 Its aims are, on the one band, to attack the democratic regi.mes of those countries and, on the other, to create a diversion and sow confusion in people's minds with regar-d to the events that are now taking place in Greece. Mr. Tsàldaris' Government is endeavouring to justify . itself and elude the accusations with which it is' overwhelmed and shift the blame on to neig-hbouring countries. But the truth is .becoming apparent. Barely two months aga, GeneralVendiris, commanding the Greek3rd Anny Corps, mean~ of torture, imprisonment, deportation and, In many cases by means of the execution of democratic citizens." On 4 October 1946, Mr. Sophianopoulos made the following statemént: "The situation i.n Greece is growing steadily grec rieure ristiques l'humanité Grèce, battu sons ou destinés auront subies. le WOIS.e. The result of the terrorism imposed by 1 the Government, and, above aU, the result of t~e stupid large-scale 'mopping-up' operations directed against democratic cltÎZens who have fled to country districts, has been to strengthen the ranks of those who, in arder to save their lives and escape persecution, have sought refuge in the maquis." The Greek Government itself is therefore whoUy responsible for this.state of affairs. Both its domestic and its foreign policy reflect the characteristics of fascist regimes against which humanity has waged a ruthless war. In Greece, thousands of patriots who fought'bravely against the Italian and German invaders have been massacred, thrown into prison or deported to lonely islands where they are destined ta .die of hunger or as a result of the tortures they have undergone. Ta mention only one name, General Saraphis, Commander-ïn-Chief of ELAS, hero of the Greek Resistance,was among 1 Larissa, 3 July 1946 crSec?at Pmtocol No. 1498 "Ta the High Command of the Gendarmerie of Thessaly: "Take intensive measures to pursue the bands that attacked the gendarmerie post of Rachoula. Arrest the familles of recognized bandits. Their houses must be destl'Oyed by frre. The 41st Brigade is to reinforce the gendannerie. (Signed) FRANCIADAKIS, Calanel of infantry, Chief of Staff (For the Command of the 2nd Army Corps)" In Greece, collaborators and fascists are in power and highly esteemed. Stylianos Gonatas, who organized the Greek SS into "Security Battalions" of sinister memory, is Vice-President of the Government of Mr. Tsaldaris. On 26 October last, Ralis, the former quisling Prime Minister, died peacefully in bis Athens villa. His coffin was covered by the national flag, and at bis funeral, speeches were made by mcmbers of the present Parliament: Dimitratos, formerly Minister of Labour under Metaxas, and Tourkovassilis, well known for :bis servile attitude towards the Germans during the occupation. Several members of Mr. r:r:saldaris' Populist Party were present. This revival of fascism in Greece was confirmed by the state:rnent made in the House o,f Commons on 29 October 1946 by !vIr. Norman Dodds, a British Member of Parliament, who said: "1 am convinced from what 1 have seen in Greece that there is being created in Greece a neo-fascist State . . . 1 believe that in Greece we ~"'e 'ganging up' with all those elements which are opposed tothe democracy inwhich we believe. We are 'ganging up' with those people who have unsavoury records, who had collaborated with the Germansand the Italians, and that those who fought that gallant fight, the Resistance fighters, are being persecuted fi a country for which they fought so valiantly." l' could contmueindefinitely to quote from 1 reports dealing with the charact;er and policy of the men who' are now at the hem of things in Greece, •but this seems superf1uous, for tbe situation is as clear as daylight. Abroad, the Greek Governmentis pursuing a palicy of provocation and" territorial expansion directed not only againt Albania, but a1so against Yugoslavia and Bu!garla. The charges brollght a • these countries, before the Security Counend~avouring to provoke a v..'ar against its neighbours. It is necessary to send out a commission of inquiry, but it ShOlÙd be sent to Greece itself, to verify on the spot the situation created by the present rulers of Greece. If the Security Council is desirous of maintaining international peace and security, it must not allow such a situation to continue. It must act in such a way as to bring to an end the long martyrdom of the valiant Greek people and prevent {urther disturbances in the Balkans. Albania is anxiously following the develop-' ment of Greece's present policy. Albania ardently desires to see order and peace and the Greek people's sovereignty restored. She wishes to establish the best possible neighbourly relations with a democratic Greece, al1d to see removed, once and for all, the present Greek threats against her territorial integrity and her national independence. Finally, that is why, on behalf of the Albanian Government, we not ouly reject the baseless accusations made by the Greek, Government, but express the hope that this hotbed ofdisturbance and disorder in Greece may' be eliminated as soon as possible. Lieutenant-General STOYTCHEFF (Bulgaria): An important problem· for the peace of the worId and the Balkans has been placed before you for settlement. Its correct solution requires special knowledge of the eIements of which it consists. That is why, before I reply concretely to the aècusations levelled against my country, 1 should like to make a short factual statement. Ever since the Paris Peace Conference, the Bulgàrian people and Government have beèn subjected to a particularly vicious and slanderous attack on the part of the Greek Press. Dispatches emanating from Athens contain fantasticand ~alicious stories obviously aiming at discreditmg the present Bulgarian regime, at crea1iing an unfavourable impression on the statesmen engaged in <kafting the peace treaties and thus at securing more favourable terms for Greece. histoir~grotesqueset manifestement actuel hommes paix It is true that our pro-German King and ms obedient ministers declared war on Great Britain and the United States of America; but it is equally true that, conscious of the real sentiments of the Bulgarian people, they had to turn down Mussolini's ouer for a simultaneous attack on Greece in 1940, when the tide of the late war was at its lowest ebb for the Allies, and that, in spite of repeated pressure by the Axis Powers, they did not dare to dispatch a single soldier to any battlefield against the Allies. The only fighting Bulgarians undertook was against the Germans and their "stooges", both underground and on the batdefield. It is likewise true that, by order of Hider, our pro-German Government occupied part of Thrace; but this act was aIso against the desires of the Bulgarian people, wmch has always wanted to find an amicable and peaceful solution to the problem of finding an oudet to an open sea; t.'lerefore'this occupation, though ac-. complished without any fighting, was 1 admit, a criminal mistake. But those responsible for this mistake were made to pay for it: the dynasty, with its very existence; the regents, among them a member of the fOyal family, aIl the Cabinet . ministers, 1 repeat, all of them, and almost all the deputies paid with their lives; they were aIl tried, convicted and executed. 'And in order to give even greater proof of its good will, the Bulgarian people handed over to the Greek authorities for trial and punishment a greatnumber of the officiais responsible for misconduct in Thrace, including the Governor himself. What greater satisfaction than this. can Greece desire from the Bulgarian people? And now 1.should .like ta. say a' few words regarding the immediate background of the Greek accusation. During the first haIf of September 1944, the Bulgarian people, inspired by the common cause of the Allies and their fight for justice and liberty in the world, succeeded, after a long struggle culminating in a general insurrection, in overthrowing the royalist pro~German regime; and, with enthusiasm and readiness for seH-sacrifice, Bulgaria joined its armed forces in the decisive' struggle against Germany. Subsequent to t~e defeat of the German forces of.occupation in the .Balkans, in the latter part of 1944, to the defeat of which the' Bulgarian armycontributed considerably by causing their rapid and dis· orderlyretreatfrom Greece and. Yugoslavia, large numbers of Greek political refugees came to Bulgaria.c . The Bulgariall Government, however, mast emphatically denies that any of the aboye-mentioned refugees were ever allowed to prepare for armed crossings of the frontiers or to carry out such crossings whether individually or in groups, and it pasitiyely rejects the accusation that they have been congregated in any special training centres for guerrilla warfare. The charges against Bulgaria contained in the Greek memorandum and in the statement of "-.11'. Tsaldaris consist of t\\'o alleged acts by smaJ. bands, in the l:ourse of wroch two shephel'ds were kidnapped and 350 sheep stolen, together with unspecified amounts of faodstuffs and clothing; two alleged crossings of the frontier by larger groups, in one case 170 persans occupying ;;ungarrisoned" frontier posts, and in the other, an unspecified number of men capturing a village; one instance in which a Bulgarian frontier officer refused to sign a protocoI, presumablydescribingthe above-mentioned crossing; a general and vague statement to the effect that inmates of a camp at Bulkes make frequent incursions into Greek territory by way of Bulgaria; a speech delivered by Minister D. Terpesheff; the existence of a training camp at Mandritsa; and a statement to the effect that bands entering Greece from Bulgaria comprised former members of the Bulgarian fascist police known as Okhrana. You have undoubtedly noted that the abovementioned charges are not only petty and trivial in character, but also that they are not substantiated by any kind of proof. My Government has no knowledge of any such violations beyond the frequent and insignificant cases of .sheep straying from one side of the frontier ta the other. It is, of course, physically impossible to seal frontiers hermetically in this particularly difficult terrain, and incidents in which individuals or small groups cross the frontier 'with the object of looting have frequently taken place. However, violations of this sort are never one-sided, and the numerous cases of Greek citizens Iooting sheep or other livestock from neighbouring Bulgarian villages have not been considered sufficiently important by the Bulgarian Government to warrant a formaI complaint. l shall be glad ta give you details about these and other more serious violations on the part of Greece, if l have the honour to be ad- As regards the accusations that the so-called bandits, after carrying out their raids on Greek territory, seek refuge in Bulgaria, 1 should like to call your attention to the fact that, according to information received by my Government, the frontier region on the Greek side of the border is largely in the hands of Greek partisans; that the Greek frontier posts have been evacuated by the Royal Greek Army, wmch has formed resistancc centres in the interior;that consequently partisans do not require refuge on Bulgarian territory. The statement that Greek refugees, presumably lodged at a camp at Bulkes, wmch is 10- cated in northern Yugoslavia, had attempted ta return to Greece via Bulgaria, daes not _seem either logical or sensible, as a casual examination of the map would indicate that they would not have chosen such a long and roundabout route. As regards the alleged speech of Mi..'1Ïster Terpesheff, of which 1 have no knowledge, by rejecting the chauvinist claim of "Bulgarian Macedonia", he has given prao! of the present desire of the Bulgarian Government to fmd a just solution to this age-long troublesome question in the Balkans. Concerning Mr. Tsaldaris' statement that Greek guerrilla bands contain members of the former· Bulgarian police, the Okhrana, 1 should like tO'say fkst that this term is unknown ta me and ûratI,who had the honour ta be one of the conspirators against the former regime, and consequently found myself in frequent and unpleasant contact with the police, should at least Im.ow its n?.me. Second1y, ta my knowledge, not one of the former secret police agents, who were nothing but downright murderers, escaped capital punishment. If there are any such persans in Greece it is because they are fugitives from the present Bulgarian justice and have been admitted into Greece as political refugees, in spite of the fact tpat they are none the less guilty towards the Greek people itself. . n'a, In conclusion, I should Iike ta draw your attention ta the most valid fact, which in itself disqualifies the Greek accusations in their entirety; I am referring ta the present status of Bulgaria. You are aware that, in spite of our efforts on beha!f of the Allies, and regardless of our 32,000 casualties in the fight against Germa11y on the battlefields of Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria, and another 29,000 casualties in the underground struggle against .the German oppressors, ever since September -1944, Bulgaria has been, and continues to be, under the direct supervision of an AIlied Control Commission, which, by means of numerous organs, effectively exercises direct, absolute and And last, but emphaticaUy not least, when 1 hear the Greek Prime Minister complain that Greece has not even obtained a few square miles of Bulgarian land which she considers essential for her security, l should say that at least we, the contemporaries and participants in the terrible war that has just ended, should have realized that even hundreds of thousands of square miles with most modern fortifications are not always sufficient to stop an aggressor. It .isnot by shifting its northern frontiers a few miles' farther to the north that Gteece will find security in the future; she would sooner find it in the new spirit.oÏ the young Bulgarian Republic. It is a spirit of conciliation, a spirit which has ruled out chauvinism, a. spirit of understanding. and sincere co-operation with aU Balkan peoples, inc1uding the Greeks. Mr. TSALDARIS (Greece) (translated from French): .Before replying to the speech we have just heard, 1 should like to refer to the statement made· by the representative of Yugoslavia at the beginning of the meeting concerning the interview given by Marshal Tito ta the' New York Times correspondent. 1 have no difficulty in ~plaining that,.in the speech 1 made on Thursday last,l 1 was referring to this interview as reported from Belgrade. If the transmission was not accurate, 1 am happy to take note of this correction. A1low me to point out, however, that in the statement made by.the headof the Yugoslav Government, AegeanMacedonia and alleged persecution of so-called Yugoslav minorities were expressly mentioned., 'l'hecorr~tion made to the state- 1 li:otened ve..ry carefuIIy to the speeches made by the representatives of Yugoslavia, A1bania and Bulgaria, in the hope of finding sorne indication of peaceful intentions and good will. 1 expected that'even at the eIeventh hour those who control the destinies of these three countries would reaIize the thrèat to international peace and co-operation represented by the systematic support given to anarchist bands for imperialistic ends. 1 hoped that the Yugoslav leaders would remember the sufferings inflicted for nearly half a century upi>n the inhabitants of their southern provinces through the criminal conspiracies of the Bulgarian comitadjis; 1 hoped that the memory of our common misfortunes would lr.!dnce them to adopt a good-neighbouI' policy towards their Greek aIly. For one moment 1 thought that the New York spirit, so rightly.extolled by the four Foreign Ministers, which is a synthesis of Wilsonian idealism and the positive realism that has emerged from the sufferingS caused by the last world war, would override indefensible and inadmissible designs. 1 was cruelly disappointed. We have placed before you many proofs of the support furnished to anarchist bands. A very smaII part of this evidence would have sufficed to earn the title of aggressors for those States which give their support to these bands. As inconvertible praof of this fact one need but refer to article II, paragraph 5, of the London Agreement of 3 July 1933/ which bears the signature of Yugoslavia. 1 shall. read it to you: "... the aggressor in an international conflict shall, subject to the agreements in force between the parties to the dispute, be consid· ered to be that State which is the first to commit any of the following actions: . . . (5) ... Provision of support to armed bands formed in its territory which have invaded the territory of another State, or refusai, not"- 1 witbstanding the request of the invaded State, 1 .notre It would be easy for me, were l not afraid of taking up too much of the Council's time, ta enumerate thousands of newspaper articles completely refuting the allegations contained in the extracts read out by the Yugoslav representative. We are not afraid of criticism; we accept it; l might even say we encourage it. The concept of free criticism forms part of our political code, and, to my mind, it is the corner-stone of any democratic system. We therefore listened quite calmIy to the groundless charges brought against us, which are strangely reminiscent of the daily attacks in the Greek communist Press. I said "quite caImIy" because these attacks are copied from the same well-known and somewhat tarnished mode! as those wehave just heard. Does anyone really believe that it is in accordance with democratic principles to forbid foreign information services to deal with press matters and to allow UNRRA representatives to find the doors of the "refugee camps" hermetically closed against them? How are we ta reconcile with sound democratic practice the fact that, two year~ after the events of December 1944, we are still unable to obtain any information whatsoever concerning the fate of those· people v-ho were forcibly taken to YugosIavia and Albada by the instigators of the revoIt? For the edification of the world, and of the Security C011ncil in particular, it is highly desirable that the representatives of the press should he allowed tp enter our neighbours' territories with the 'Same freedom as they enjoy in ours. We have neVelf "(plied to insults and mockery, and we are not g'Jing to stan: now. We prefer toallow the facts to speak for themselves. We do' not wish to forget, even for one instant, our allies the Yugod;,w people, that chivaIrous and heroic people ,,;v"ilcse close· ries with the Greek people have lasted for a thousand years and have ~~- In bis spef the representative of Yugoslavia asserted lIlOSt .emphatically that Yugoslavia did not threaten the territorial integrity of Greece. He' was good enough to add-these are bis own words-that "neither the Yugoslav Goœmmept, nor the National Front organization in &Koplje' in Yugoslav Macedorria has made any territorial daims against Greece in any fcrm whl:ltsoever"." again.~ these continuous and systematic attempts to interpret our resistance Il10vementin an arbi-/ trary fashion. It has now beenestablished that the ·:oe{;tarian activities,in whicha very small minority engaged,. struek a ~eavy hlow at the . wholeéauscof Gr~ek.Re8istahcet()theinvader .. and1llade it ab$ôftitely impOssible for it to liberateG!'eeceb.efore October!944.. .' The.· out-and-out resistance offered to the invader is.one Of the most striki1lg features ofthpconstitue magnificent $'Uggle thllt began in Greecc;a~: s004astheseccndworldwar'brokeout fu 193~', andwhicII.iithough thatwaris nowove:;··,.J1~ not yetcoIIleto.meqd.> Onlymolie who re~N~g ! i':;-;truehWtorical significancetookpartir;"th'~'; stfuggle withoutanY PQIiticalmotive;· 'md. were In my opinion this persistent interference in the internai affairs of Greece supports the argument we expounded jn our appea1 against the assistance afforded to the anarchist bands. Wnuld not any impartial obsèrver reach the obvious conclusions when, instead of hearing an attempt to refnte the documentary evidence offered against iIl.dividuals guiIty of common law offences, he hears a freshpaneg ric in their honour exto1]ing them as heroesand martyrs? Let us take, for instance, the complaint-it is only one of many-regarding the seizure of nine Greek fishing boats and their crews on Lake Doiran. The representative of Yugoslavia stated that bis Government had rejected this mmplaint as unfounded, because these fishing boats had penetrated 300 metres into Yugoslav territorial waters. He added-these are his own wordsthat "the Greek Legation then sent a note in which it admitted the possibility that the events had actually taken place in this way".1 What are the actual f~cts? In its note, No. 2296, sent ta the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 8 October 1946, the Greek Legation at Bèlgrade notonly refused to acknowledge that the fishing 'boatshad heen seized in Yugoslav territorial waters, but,stressed comme pêche tuellement ligné ~he fact thatthey had beeIi seiZed at a distance of 300 metres on the other sicle of the boundary line. l have dwelt on this incident inorder to show the spirit vlith which the Yugoslav authorities are imbued, and wmch causeS them· toat;rest poor .fishermerr without any reason whatsoever andçonfiscate theirboatsforaperiocl of more than *.wenty days. Tt was that same spirit wmch led them to 1946; :ec~ their Mînister Plenipotentia.~ from Athens III .August 1946.Itis th~t sa. spirit which ammates the speeches made by w: presentative of Yugoslavia and bis Albanian and Buigarian colleagues. .It .is, alas, that same spirit v )i~h If you look at arrows 6 and 7 showing the points at which bands enter from Bulgaria, you will see that their aim is ta separate eastern Macedonia from western Thrace, dividing it into two portions, by striking at the joints of this ann of Greece (Strymon river valley) and its e.xtremities (Dydimotikon area). The mist which surrounds the precise facts put before you in our petition 2 and in the speech which 1 had the honour to make at the eightythird meeting of the Security Council,8 must be dispelled. We must keep to the facts. Allow me to summarize them, mcntioning only the most outstanding ones: . 1. Contrary ta the allegations made by the Albanian Government and its representative, not one of the frontier incidents that occurred during the last few months took place on Albanian territory. Generally speaking, it may be asserted most categorically that the whole of thïs criminal activity takes place in Greece and at the expense of Greece, and it is supported and encouraged by Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria. The few minaI' clashes that occur from time ta time on the provocation of communist elements in other parts of Greece are merely intended ta divert attention from the main source-and nature of all thisactivity and ta ~ead public opinion. 2. The representative of Yugoslavia has as~ serted hefore you that his Govemment was .not threatening the territorial integrity .of Greece. As the .•head· of a freely elected Government, 1 am glaq ta seize this opportunity ta assert, for mypart,. tha~Greece, faithful to the,$pirit by ~lbid._Supple7Hent No. 10; Annex 16<lnd Supplement :No.ll, Anr.,e,."t 20. 31bid. Nee5.No •.• ~, _._•.=._=••.• -•.•_== •••....-.••:•.•--. .. -- -_ ..__ . -- -y-:-c.. tlemen~ and it would be most helpful to hear the views of others than the parties directly concerncd. The PRESIDENT: Does the representative of Yugoslavia wish to speak againll Mr. KOSANOVIC (Yugoslavia): 1 could ans\\;er Mr. Tsaldaris, but 1 think it wOuld be preferable for me to have a prepared statement. May I, however, add just a few remarks to my previous. speech? .... Tshould onlY like to mention here that Mr. Sulzberger, the correspondent of the New York Times, did not send the staternent made by ~arshal Tito to New York fromBe1grade, but fr?m Athens; and 1 feelthat Mr. Tsaldaris' good , . f~th was not particularly well shown by the fact ·that he omitted to mention>a newspaper as .im-. portant as the New York Times, and thename of a correspondent as important as Mr. Sulzberger. ' 1 I do not know if you think l could answer sorne of these allegations made by Mr. Tsaldaris at onee; 1 t'ather thillk it would he better, for me to ]>re2are a reply for the next meeting ~. _~-J-!I!t' Lieutenant-General STOYTCHEFF (.Julgaria): 1 should like to answer just sorne of the things M__ Tsaldaris has said. l apologize for my English, and 1 ask your permission, Mr. President, to continue in Frenc.'b.. (The representative of Bulgaria continued his speech in F1'ench of which the following is a translation.) 1 should like to reply to the speech made by Mr. Tsaldaris. So far as War criminals are concerned, 1 think it is common knowledge that, among the so-callt:d collaborationist countries, none has so thoroughly punished. thase who sold their country to Germany as has ours. As far as the war criminals claimed by Greeceare concerned, 1 do not know the views of the London Committee, but 1 cau state categorically that it is not true that the Inter-Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria considers the Bulgarian representative in France te he a war criminal. -Mr. Marinoff was jn command of a division at Bitola in Macedonia, and had nothing to do with the occupation of Thrace. As a member of the clandestine movement against Germany in Bulgaria, 1 wa8 in contact with several officers'~ho were active1yemployed at thattime, and 1 must say thât General Mar-, inoff, who was then -a colonel-he was made a gèneral at the end of the war-was by no means a collaborator with the Germans. On the contrary, he was ready, at aIl times, to assist the Bulgarian .resistance movement. Unfortunately, 1 cannot give the exact figures with regard to the officiaIs placed at th€,: dis- :posal of,the Greek courts of justicè. But jt is well known in Bulgaria that several members .of the BuIgarian administration in Thrace were handed over tothe Greeks. Among them was the Govemor-I do not know his exact tide, but the word governoT corresponds to the Bulgarian words okrajen pTavitil~ meaning a regional chief. This man, Kletchkoff, was a notorious fascist, and he was handed over to the Greeks.He was publieIy shot .at Drama in Bulgaria. The repr~entatives of Yugoslavia and A.L: baniahave considered it nec~ar)T to ask tb~ Council tocarryoutan enquiry in Greece itsdf. ~eh=~e~:e;~:;ntt::~~e~~ ~:t~~e~~l ,~~;:=c:•.•~~tÊC:~;~I~~j:~~~~~:W:k~~ "~m~:P~a~:o::e~~:~~e-::s~:~~~m:~j-

We have now heard the statements of the representatives of the four Governments which are directly involved in the case before us, and preliminary cOUùt1er-statements made by those representatives, with the exception of the representative of Albania. Before throwing this question open for general discussion, 1 feel that we ought to 'settle the preliminary quesâon of procedure regarding the future participation in our discussions of the representatives of Albania and Bulgaria, in accordance with the third paragraph of the resolution which the Council adopted at its meeting on 10 December.1. Several members of the Council felt, at that time, that before hearing what the four Govern- ' ments directly involved had to say, it should be decided whether the Council should invite· all four Governments to participate in its discussion of this matter. It is my personal view that we are now in a position to make such a decision. At its meeting on 10 December, the members of the Council discussed this question at considerable length, and a number of different view:; were expressed with regard to the meaning and jntent of the Charter. 1 most earnestly hope that we cau avoid further technical discussion ofthis question,..and reach a conclusion in accordance with the spirit of the Charter. It· seems clear, from the statements we have heard, that the case beforethe Council is of a nature which makes it. appropriate for the Council t(} ir....ite Albania and Bulgaria ta participate, without vote, in our future discùssions on the matte:!;. Charges have been made against. these Governments"and these Governmentshave cone·', tested these charges and made coun~er-chc:rges. It seems ta me that the principle contained in Article-32 of the Charter is clear- .. namely, that when non-members of ·the United .Nations areconteSting charges' made against them bef6re the Security Council, equity and sound practice require that they "be invited ta participatewithout vote in the discussion" of the CounciI. 1 suggest that the case before US comes within .the spirit apd meaning of Article 32, whether or not it is technically labelled a sitlJfttion or a dispute. " .' as~st the members of· the Couneil in reaching an appropriate settlement of the case. 1 earnestly hope the Council will agree to sucb an invitation, without feeling it necessary to enter upon a technical debate concerning the bas~s of its action. If the Couneil agrees with this proposaI, it will desire to consider what condition it deems just to lay down for the participation of these States which are not Members of the United Nations. 1 suggest that the mostappropriate condition for the Council to lay clown would be the one suggested at our· previous meeting by severa! members of the Council, namely, that Albania and Bulgaria should accept in advance, for the purposeS of the case, the obligations of pacifie settlement provided in the Charter. If the Council is prepared to accept this suggestion, 1 will undertake to issue invitations in accordance with·this proposal to the representatives of AIbania and Bulgaria, as soon as the Secret~y­ General has received from them a letter accepting, on bcl1âlf oftheir Governments, for the purposes of this case, the obligations regarding pacificsettlêmentprovideâifi·the·Châtter. Are there any objections to this procedure? Mr., !IAsLuCK (Australia): The Australian delegation is not raising· any objection to the course you· have proposed, but 1 should like to have a, little clarification aS to the meaning of the phrase you have used: "accept the obligations' of pacifie settlement". l asstimethat tms would JP.ean that thëy accep~the obligations, 'whereverthey are found in the Charter, in' respect topeacèful·.sett1emeI;lt, and not mere1y the obligations· contained in. C~apter VI. To make mymeàning quite c1ear, if memberS WIlI'look at Article 2 and Article 55, it seems to me that these are both relevant and shouldbe .included in the obligations which are accepted by any State taking part in these discussions.

In making this suggestion to the Council, 1 h~dhoped that, by avoiding anyspecific reference,·it would assist the Council to keep away from a technical discussion on this proposal. 1do not wish to convey the impressioncuss~on that the obligations of Bulgaria and Albania would .be in any way limited, but thatthey w6uld be bound to accept theobliga.tions, :'\Vhereverfound itfthe Charter; for pacificsettIe- """méll't," ana. that ..theywould.be .in,•.. n~. rnorel1adfiQlle "';'ÎavouraDle=p-dsÏtion-malï:··'the "other twù "fjafties"""esf tothis case which areMembers'oft"fie United Nations.. For that purpose, they should peon terms of equality.. Irealiz,ethat. th;e proposaI that·I have madeis one.~ithatcouldbçsûbject " to t~clmicaldl':bate,and la~expressthehope .. ., ..... 'th~t :thecCouncil.willnottind.itIlecessa.ry to •.. go~~ Ml'. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Sccialist Republics) (translated from Russian): Ml'. President, it appears to me that Article 32 of the Charter justifies us in rnviting representatives of .Albania and Bulgaria to participate in the discussion' on this matter until its consideration is cCJmpleted. I would emphasize that Article 32 clearly gives us tb1s rlght. SA far as Article 35 is concerned, it does not fully meet the present position. Article 35 mentions States which are not Members of the' United N:atiom and which appeal to the Security Council. In this particuIar case, Bulgaria and, AIbania did not appeal to the Security Council. Strictly speaking, therefore, Article 35 is 6flittlehelp ctdüs.Paragtap112 ofAtticIe 35 in fact l'uns as follows: ., \ "A State which is not a Menlber of the United Nations may bring to the attention of the Security Council or of' the General Assembly any dispute to which it is a party if it 'accepts in advance, for the'purposes of the dispute, the obligations of pacific settlement provided in the present Charter." sécurité~. ne le Conseil nie c'est Ainsi, Cqnseil présentants fonder sur l'Article qu'en Membres à tion. It is therefore a question of States which apply t6) the Security Council. It was neither Bulgaria nor Albania, which .applied to the' Security Council, but Greece. Thus it appears ta me that the justification for the Security Council's decision regarding 'the invitation to be addressed to the representatives of Bulgariaand Albania is to be foundin Article 32; which direc~y states that, if there is a dispute, States' which are not Members of thèUnitedNations can he invited to participate in the discussion of such and snch a question. " Mr. HYSNI KApo (Albania) (translated fram French) : The Albanian Government has aIready on seve~al occasions,applied for admission. to the United Nations. It has signified its accep,. tance of aIl the obligations of the Charter. ment adressé Unies. gationsde nous On ,behalf Qf my Gùvernment, I would state that we are prep..red tG accept an the obligations ,coming within the framework ùf the United Nations.Charter. :-,::--- ç~dre ~SSAN Pasha (Egypt): 1 apologize for entenng the discussion of the Articles which have glai$.)): ~een mentioned, bnt 1 feel that it is my obligad~~ Mn te> state oUr point of view on this question. mais ,._._. __.. ' "'.,_,._, ~ "~_,'" vtJ.e~§lU'Ç.ett~_qu~tion. "A State which is not a Member of the United Nations may bring ta the attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly any dispute to which it is a party if it accepts in advance, for the purposes of the dispute, the obligations of pacific settlement provided in the present Charter." 1 think iL is a matter of deduction that the sa.me conditions that are required in Article 35 should apply in the case of Article 32, for 1 see that if Article 35 does not apply specifically, in this case, ta Albania and Bulgaria, it is nevertheless an indication for the Council, enabling it ta see what are the principles or the conditions that. we deem just for the" participation of a State which is not a Member of the United Nations. That is my interpretation of the case.

In my statement 1 made no reference ta Article 35. 1 purposely avoided making reference ta any Articles except ta Article 32. 1 invoked the spirit of Article 32 and the spirit of thé Charter and,' without saying where it came from, l borrowed language Jrom Ar.. tide ,35 which, as the Egypti'?~ representative has sa jùstly pointed out, should be incorporatçd inany ,proposal which 'would give a nation the right ta come ta this table under the terms of Article 32. If we go further into the discussion of the téchnical meaning af'the Articles, we shan get nowhere. We shaU get into the same impasse in which WB have always landed. In my opinion:~ there are certain imprecisionsin the Charter, there are" certain omissions whÎch the Couneil has not yet had an opportunity of working out, either by recommendation ta the Assembly or tl.uougI:! îts own Committee of Experts. This is pré,;isely what 1 am trying ta avoiçl, so that we can get on with this case. ,Every member of the Council' at this table wishes, to see justice done on an impartial basis iri this case. 1 am merely ,proposjng that we make use of .the magnificent spirit, of our Charter" ask thesc gentlemen ta pa::ticipate in our discussions, give them'the same .:Iimitations, obligations and privileges which are open ta the. othe. two par.. ties ta the dispute, in the spirit of Article 32, and without irivoking other Artiel'es of the Charter. That is the only one 1 have l...-'entioned. sentant que fins règlement Charte, ment comme Bulgarie l am very happy to note that the representative of Albania has' aIready declared that bis Government is ready to accept, for this purpose, the obligations of pacific settlement provided for in the present Charter, and 1 sincerely hope that the Government of Bulgaria will agree to do the same, just as 1 hope that, in the near future, Bulgaria will also be 3. Member, of the United Nations. . glais) r première suite non à aux des la que, représentant et ~ quelles délégation il obligations Membre tide conviennent sions présente MI'. HASLUCK (Australia): Mr. President, the Australian delegation agrees with the statement wmch you made in your fust speech after our previous intervention, to the effect that the non-members of the United Nations which participate in the discussion should be subject to exactly' the same conditions as the Members of the United Nations. My oilly reason for speaking again is that 1 think, in faimess both to the representatives of Albania and Bulgaria, and in fairness to the Couneil, we should be quite cer-, tain that the two non-members know whatthose obligations are. To our delegation, it seems that one of the most importantobligations of a Member 'in this case is the one contained in Article 25. Article 25 says that "the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Securîty Council in accordance with the present Charter". Our delegation has .'~ ':oubt that both la obligation certains une bres. 'faut est malentendus à Al~ania and Bulgariaare prcpared to accept that obligation along with theother obligations. We are quite sure, that they do not wish to set themselves in any differ;enr position ftom Members. However, we do thil?~ that it should be made quite dear that this obligation is stipula~edin the C.harter, lest they should have any nusunderstanding on that point. l, apologize for pressing the point. 1 agree completely with the very eamestappeal which you have just made, MI'. President, but, 1 do feel that this is one occasion when we' must have precision, and 1 thinkthat precision is.'in ' the interests of the working'of the COunciI. entièrement de pense précis l'intérêt des travaux MI': PADILLANERVO (Mexico): ," MT. President, l just want toSt~tethat 1 am in complete agreement with' the pr()cedure you have sugl'anglais) simplement dire que Therefore, Ùl my opinion, the orny obligation that they have, without trying to define it at tbis moment, shotùd be that which was stated by the President at the beginning of bis statement, and there should be no mention of Articles of the Charter. Mr. !IASLucK (Australia) : 1 am afraid there has been a misunderstanding of what 1 have said. My intervention did not in 'any way bear the meaning of the interpretation given to it by the representative of Mexico. l,simply meant that, as 1 understood the positic:..~,we are asking the non-members toaccept, at the present cime, the obligations of a pacific settlement. If, in the course of that procedure of pacifie settlement-I repeat, in the course of that procedure-the Security Council does take a decision,as it may weIl take a 'decision, under Chaptel' VI, then, in that case, the non-mèmbers will b~ expected to accept and carry out that decisiôn. There is no question at all that they' will be expected to accept and carry out decisions made under any other process except that nf pacific settlement. 1 hope 1 have made that point clear, becaw;e 1 think it is quitea sound one. We are orny asking them to accept the obligations of Mem:.. bers in respect to pacifie settlement. . One oLthe things that may happen in the <:~urse of th,e process of,pacificsettlement, under Chapter VItis that the, Security Council may reach 'a, decision.' If it does. reach a decision-' and that is orny one of the possibilitiesopento u~in that,case, 1 suggèst that Article 25 does apply, and that non-members,. as weIl as Mem- -t See Official Reco,.ds, of ,the Security Council, First Vear, Second Series, No. 24. Mr. HASLUCK (AustraIia): 1 quite agree. Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics) (translated trom Russian): Mr. Presi- dent, 1 think we all agree' that Article 32 provides the justification, and the right, to invite the Albanian and Bulgarian representatives to participate in the discussion and thus complete the consideration of this question. It seems to me that, since we aIl agree, this closes the matter. listes le d'accord autorise sentants part permet me cord, ,repré,'ltant s'applique l'invoquer L'Article des As regards the reference to Article 25 made by the Australian representative, 1 do not think this applies to the case in question; and indeed, 1 think that its quotation introduces confusion. Article 25 in fact deals with States which are Members of the United Nations.

If there is no further discussion, then l will dec1arethis proposaI of the President adopted. a proJ:>0sition

1shall request the Secretary- General ta communicate with the representatives of Albania and Bulgaria in the sense desired by the Council. dem~llli,;r rapport la' Bulgarie, le We have to decide the question of our next' . meeting. 1 am taking account of the presence quant. in New York of the Prime Minister ôf Greece, compte and of bis expressed desire to retum to Athens Ministre as soon as possible. de There are, however, certain complications which cannot be~avoided. One is that Commitne tee 20f the Atomic Energy Commission is de . meetL.'1g, and· members of this Council are likeet; wise repl'eseDtatives .on that Commission. That membres Commissiçn has a deadHne for its work; itis dispose directed to produce a report br Jinuary. We déposer son cannot, therefore,attemptto telescope these two donc meetings too clo.sely. 1 'previously promised the des "rf,presen'~:itive of Egypt, who had long ago représentant arranged for a very large reception to be givc::n temps, tomorrow afternoon, that 1 would not caU a réception meeting on Tuesday afternoon; :: ' de The AtomicEnergy Commissionis meeting in .the moming. Weshall thereforehave our next réunit meeting onWednesday at 10.30 a.m., if that is chaine agreeable. to the Council.· n'y