S/PV.86 Security Council

1 would ask the representatives of Gi'eece, Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria to take theirplaces at the Council table. l am afraid that to pass the resolution aS pre- sented by the representative of the United States, without any modifications, would not bring the complete solution of the problem under discus- sion that we all desire. 1 think it is clear that a civil war rages in Greece--in Ma.cedonia, in Thessaly, in the Pelo- po~esus, and on the Islands. We see this from Mr. Tsaldaris' memorandum, from statements of Greek leaders, from reports of the worldPress and, 1 think, aIso from the facts which 1 had the ho!'.~ur to brÎI!g h::{ore this CounciI. TI the commission goes with ~tructions to investigate only the border incidents in Greece, this will not lead ta the removal of the roots of the evil. The representative of the United King- dom, Sir Alexander Cadogan, said "there is a smouldering fire" in this area. The representative of Australia used the same analogy. He said: "We would say that we can see smoke. Further than that, we can sense a very strong smell of something burning." Ex~ctly; but we must not fight the sparks or the smoke of the fire; we must find the heart of the fire. TI we go in the oppo- site direction, the fire will spread. This is similar to a case of a contagious disease. It is necessary to find the right diagnosis and the centre of infection, and not to try ta·fight the symptoms. In the case of a dangerous disease it is very harmful ta prescribe an a..'1tidote for the symp- toms rather than to trace the disease from the symptnms. We have a civil war in Greece. The causes are to he foun.d all over .Greece, not only on the border. My country is developing normally; the heavy consequences of war are being quickly removed; we !lave no civil strife; we have none of the symptoms whichaccompany a turbulent situation; we do not even have inflation. We have been accused by Ml'. Tsaldaris of Permit me to take this opportunity ta thank you for the courteous attention you have given to the presentation of my country's viewpoint; and since m)' plain speaking has oècasioned sorne criticism here, may 1 say that 1 have thought 1 could pay the highest respect ta this body and to its seriousness of purpose by speaking plâinly at aU tim~s? Mr. HYSNI KApo (Albania) (translated trom French): On 6 December 1946, the delegation of Albania submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations a list of twenty~one inci- dents which had occurred on the Greek-Albanian frontier between 10 September 1946 and'20 No- vember 1946.1 The Sectétary-General acknowledged receipt of this list by a letter bearing the reference num- ber 1204/4/4IJFC and dated 15 December 1946. l ask you, Mr" President, to see that thislist is included among th:e documents of the present proceedings. ... "Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics) (translated from. Eussian): The Secu- rity·Council has already heard the speech of the representative of Greece, in which he stated his case against Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, ànd also the speeches of the representatives of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and. Albania on the state:' ment of the Greek Government. Thus, we have heardcharges and counter-charges, and 1 think that we are now in a position to reach sorne prefunina;cy conclusions after the discussion which hanaken place.. The representative of the United States of ~erica and sorne otherrepresentatives have expressed the view that at present it would be difficult for the Security Council to arrive at any ~onclusions. l venture to disagree with·fuis asser- tion. Of course, if· the situation is not clear to anyone, he had better not speak or touch dn the substance of the question. It is better· to say" The. si'.uation in Greece is certainly an ab- u\'lrmal one. Serious events are taking place in tbat country, where something like civil war is going on. Everybody seems to be agreed on this, boththe representative of Greece whom we have h,eard here, and the representatives'of .Yuga- slavia, Bulgaria and Albania. According, to offi- cial reports which we have heard, military units are takmg part in the eventsin northern Greece, and hundreds'and thous~l1dsof peqple have been killed or wounded. Thus, aIl this has involved a considerable number of victims. ' What do we see in the SecurityCouncildur- ing the discussion' of the Greek Government's complaint? We are faced with a situation in which the, Tsaldaris Goverrtment is trying to clivert the attention of the' Security, Council and world public opinion from the true causes which have led to these events in Greece, and to ~uggest non-existent causes. We are facedwith an at- ternpt to ascribe the events taking place in Greece' to causesoutside that country. We have heard the statement of Mr. Tsaldaris, who tried to prove that the situation'which has arisen in Greece,'particularly in the north, was the result of foreign intervention, and who 'accused the neighbours of Greeee-Yugosiavia, Bulgaria and Albania-ofthis ,intervention. 1 think that the Security Council, even with- out having thefindings of anycommission which has investigated the situation, is in a position to get an idea of whoisreaIlyin the right and who is to blarne. If the Security Council reaIlywishes to form an objective and seriousestirilate of the situation' which has arisen in Greece, it should . principalement The Security Council lias repeatedly' been informed of numerous facts which show that, whereas den.ocratic parties and organizations in Greece are excluded from participation in the government and the government apparatus, the latter harbours a good many people who collaborated with the enemy. These facts are incontestable. Thus we fuid in Greece a situation in which the democratic forces of the COUlitry take no part in the govemment or'in the machine:ry of tp,e government. This fact sets its mark on· the whole politicallife of the country. In discussing the complaint of the Greek Gov- ernment, the Security Council cannot fail to take into account the existing conditions in Greece, if it really wishes to form an objective estimate of the situation in Greece in general and in its frontier regions.in particular. Events cl.re taking place in Greece which are not due to external causes originating with her northern neighbours~ Theevents taking place in Greece are due to other causes, which derive their origin from, the sav.:i.ge terror that is raging in 'Greece against'aIl democratic parties and 'organizations, democratic workers and trade unions, and in particular against the people who carried on an hel'oic and self-sacrificing struggle against our common enemy.. This refers above' all to the ,true heroes of the Greek resist~c.e, ELAS, and the forces grouped arounCl tliat or- ganization. The terror is directed primarily against these forces. Even in the American Press . you may read a good many reports on the way in whichthe Greek police and the Greek Aimy are treating'~hese peoJ>le: 1 will not go into details on this subject. The Security 'Council has already had occasion in the past to be acquainted with numerous instances of such foreignintervention, and is sufficiently well infonned in this sphere. But in -appraising the present situation in Greece, and in examining the complaint of the Greek Government, we cannot fail to give atten- tion to this fact, since foreign intervention by countries ather than those bordering on Greece is one of the most serious causes -which have brought about this situation. If conditions in Greecè were evolving in the direCtion of the inclusion of the deinocratic parties and organizations in the government of the country and in the government machinery, the_situation would of course improve, and it is quite possible that we might not be faced with a position in Greece such.as that which eJtists there at the presenttime. However, eventsare not evolving in this direction; The situationis becoming increasingly aggravated, and the terror against democratic organizations and parties, Greek democrats, and Greek tradeunions' is being .constantly intensified. It is not surprising that'J,ID.der these conditions matters have reached SOID.ething like.a civil war in Greece, .particularly in the northem;regions of that country. ~ 1 do not think that the measures takenoy the. Greek GovermIlent are likely to'raisethe prestige of that Government, either at home or abroad, or to iinprove the general situation in Greece. 1 do not think that·world public Opiiùon-nor, 1 hope, the Security Council-will agree with the Tsaldaris Govemment regarding the causes of the situation in Gteece. The TsaIdaris Government accuses Yugoslavia, Albània and Bulgaria of helping to foment the stmggle taking place in northem Greece. It quotes .a numberofcases which are said to have taken place and tobe taking place, of violations of the Greek frontierby individuals àndgroups from Yugos'lavia, Albania and Bulgaria. But we have heard the representativesof Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and AIbania brip.g forward a far greater number of facts regarding the violatio,n of their frontiers by Greek tr/.:lps. 1 have a list of instances of the violation of the Greek-Yugoslav, Greek-Albanian, and Greek" Bulgarian ··frontiers· both by aeroplanes and. by' IIlilitarx_um~andgroups{rom· Gteece.Tsliall . notquote all thèse facts, whichcome from official sources. Many of them have been quoted here in the. speeches of the representatives of Yugo- . slavia, Bulgaria'and Albania. 1 shaIl nierely in- dica,te a few by wayof illustration in order to show that the Greek-Yùgoslav, Greek-Bulgarian and Greelt-Mbanian frontiers are indeed being There have been numerous violations of the frontier between Bulgaria and Greece. The Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria has re- ceived many reports from the Bulgarian Govern- ment and Bulgarian autho~ties, informing the Control Commission of frontier incidents insti- gated by the Greeks. Thus, for inStance, on 16 September 1946, between 10 and 11 o'clock, a military recou- naissance aeroplane flew over the town of Sta- sitsa. On 18 September 1946, at 'about 11 0'dock, a British three-engined aeroplane ftew across the frontier near the village of Singelovo Go&hevo. ' , ' On 24 September, at about 10.30 a.m., a Brit- ish bomber flew across the frontier by the River Mesta, near the village of GaitanlniJvo. 1 could quote further:examples..1 have aIready pointed out. that 1 have a: long list of sinillar violations of t1?-e frontier by Greek aeroplanes. Systematic violations of the frontier have taken' place not only by aeroplanes, but by Greek anned units and groups. M'hen the Ukrainian communication wa:: ae- fore the Security Council, ttumerous examples of the violation of the Greek-P.Jbanian {rontier ' ' byGreece were reported to the members of the Councïl. 1have some additionàl reports, received from official sources, wmch corifirm the fact that the violations of the Greek-Albanian frontier did not cease after the discussion.of the Ukrain- ian statem;:.:nt by the Security CouD:cil. System-' atic violations of the Greek-Albaru:;îÎrontierby' individüm .milifary umts ànd sections of the Greek Armyare taking place. The saIne'ma:y be saiâ of violations of the Greek-Yugoslav Irontier on the part of Greece. During the lastfew months, August, September, October and November, numerous violations of the frontier by Greek military ünits and groups have taken place. 1 . The situation on the Greek-Bulgarian frontier pas frontière slav~ Greek-Albanian and Greek-Bulgariall fron- tiers on the part of Greece~ both in the air and on land. Hence it is clear that the arguments brought forward by Mr. Tsaldaris are uncon- vincing. The Greek Government of Mr. Tsaldaris has supplied the Security Gouneil not oilly with documents~ by which they have atten:lpted and are attempting to substantiate their complaints against Yugoslavia~ Albania and Bulgaria~ but with otheT material evidtà"lce, such as two sub- machine-guns and other objects packed in a trunk. l think that the Yugoslav representative attending the Security Couneil could have sup- plied not oilly a trunk full, but a whole truck full of material evidence, if indeed such things as submachine-guns~ clothing, etc.~ may serve as evidence. Plenty, of material evidence of this kind might be collected not oilly in Greece~ but in other countries~ particularly if we bear in mind that the countries in questiû:u were occu- pied by the enemy~ that battles were fought against this enemy on their territory and that as a general rule the armies and military units of various countries and nationalities were there. 1 wish to draw the attention of the Security Council to the fact that since the Ukrafuian statement was considered by the Security Coun- cil, the Greek Government of Mr. Tsaldaris has not renounced its former policy toward Albania. It is essentially aD. aggressive policy~ since the Greek Government of Mr. Tsaldaris has not oilly spoken of its daims to Albanian territory at the Paris Conference and elsewhere~ but continues to support these claims by provocative military acts on t.'lIe Greek-Albanian frontier. Therefore~ in examining the question now raised by the Tsaldaris Government, we should not forget the nature of the present policy of the Greek Govern- ment towards it'l neighbouring countries. As the matter stande, the accuser should become and is in fact the accused, as this discussion in the Security Council has shawn. Despite the attempts of the Greek Government ta repr~sent itself as the victim of neighbouring States, the actual facts show that it is not Greece or the Greek Government that is the victim of unfrierrGly and hostile activities on the part of neigh,!?ouring States, but on the contrary, that the neighbouring States are the victims of hostile activities 011 the part of Greece and the- political regïme now prevailing in that country unde1' the leadership of Mr. Tsaldaris. Tu I.:omplete the pieture, the Sècurity Council should hear not only the official representatives of the Greek cont~in fads incriminatingTsaldaris and bis Gov- ernment. ït is noticeable that statements coming from Greek democrats in Greece are published with reluctance. Neverthe1ess their voice is heard, in spite of the fact thât very little space is de- voted to it in t.~e newspapers and journaIs of certain counmes. The Security Couneil should listen ta the voice of the Greek democrats if it reiilly wishes to decide who is right and who is wrong with regard to the present situation in Greece. Yesterday we heard the representative of the United States of Amer;ica, Mr. Johnson, who declared that the Security Couneil was not yet in a position to reach any conclusions. He also stated that, for the time being, we should deal onIy with the procedural side of the questiqn. This statement is very siguificant. At least, it indicates that the United States Government is not ready at the present time to support the case of·the Greek Government. This is the conclusion to be drawn from the state:nent of the United States representative. This conclusion was aIso arrived at by the representative of the United Kingdom, Sir Alexander Cadogan. It would be incorrect, however, to suggest that we should restrict ourse1ves for the time being to the pro- cedural side of the question. The Security Coun- cil has sufficient information to enable it to arrive at certain conclusions, even though they may be provisional ones. These conclusions are that the complamt of the Greek Government, as the facts have shown during this discussion, is not sub- stantiated, and that the Tsaldaris Government is trying to divert worId public opinion from the causes of the present situation in Greece, which are to be found in Greece itself, and is trying to prove that the causes of the· Greek situation are external and are to be fOlmd in the neighboudng countries. These attempts are unconvincing and unsubstantiated. 'nous le Gouvernement de Tsaldaris tente de détourner l'attention causes Grèce, même de Gouvernement. convaincantes The case put forwarci by the Greek representa- tives in the Security Council sounded extremely weak. Their arguments and facts were very in· effective. This was no accident. Apparently the Tsaldaris Government has very-little ammunition with which to support its case. The real facts are contrary to the· statements put forward by Mr. Tsaldaris and refute the aIlegations which the au ments portée. que le Gouvernement de Tsaldaris ne dispose pas d'éléments fondé daris accusations devant le Conseil. ~reek Government has placed before the Secu- 11ty Council. The represeiltative of the Urrlted States of America has submitted for our discussion a ciran resolution, proposing that the Security Council should establish a commission of inquiry to visit Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania and nous la mission Yougoslavie, ~immg a commission, sending it abroad, and imtructing it to investigate the facts and study the ~\tuation on the spot in Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgari.~ and Albania. Let us hope that this commissicm will enable the Security Council to r~ach the xight conclusions conceming the actual :onditions in Greece and the causes of the tense situation which has arlsen there. 1 have a few amendments to the resolution put forward by Ml'. Johnson. In particular, 1 should like ta suggest that the paragraph defining the terms of reference of t'he commission should be worded somewhat differently. 1 refer to the following paragr&.ph of tlle United States text: CCThat the commission shaIl have authority to conduct its investigation in the area, in- cluding such territory in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia as the commission con- siders should be included in its investigation in order to facilitate the discharge of its func- tions, and to caIl upon the Governments, offi- ciaIs and nationals of those countries, as well as sucb other sources as the commission. deem& necessary, for information relevant ta its in- vestigation.ml Instead flf tms paragraph, 1 suggest the fol- lowing: ClThat the commission shaIl have authority to conduct its investigation in Greece, and also in the frontier disvicts of Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, and ta caIl upon the Gaverr.- ments, officiaIs and nationals of those coun-, tries, as well as suc:h other sources as the commission deems necessary, for information relevant to its investigation." . 1 have yet another amendment to this resolu- tion. 1 suggest that the last paragraph, which reads: "That each representative on the commis- sion be entitled to select the personnel neces- sary ta assist him and that, in addition, the Security Council request the Secrctary-General ' to provide such staff and assistance to the commission as ît deems necessary for the prompt and effective fulfilment of its t~sk" ~~ be replaced by the following te.xt: . "That cach rcpresentative on the commis- sion be entitled ta take with' mm one or two assistants, and that, in addition, the Security Couneil request the Secretary-General to pro- vide the necessary number of technical assist- ants from his staff." 1 consider that these amendments ta the United States draft resolution will improve the text and make it more precise. In my opinio~, the Security Council will act rightly if it takes a decision to establish a commission to investi- gate the situation on the spot, as provided for in l believe we have made it clear from the be~ ginning that we wnnted the truth, and we wanted justice for aIl the parties concerned. Ta this effec'\:, we insisted that all 'the parties concerned, even those who are not members of the Security Couneil, should be present from the beginning of the debates, in spite of the fact thàt sorne of us said that it was contrary ta the Charter, which makes no provision for such a case. But we believe that justice and common sense must pre- vail in cas~ where the Charter is silent, as long . as there is no text to the contrary. NO'VI that aIl the parties are present, now that we have heard the case, 1 must confess that, as a former judge, 1 am unable to form a dec.ision concerning the substance. 1 am, however, con- vinced that an investigation, as suggested by the United States del~gation, will be most helpful. Not only is it legally sound, but we believe that it is the only practical way possible ta give us a true picture of the situation on the spot. 1believe it is in'the interests of aIl the parties concerned that such an investigation should take place. If 1 have followed correctIy what has heen said htre, aIl the parties concerned are agreed on the principle of investigation, but not on the details. It is for the Council, therefore, to decide the nature of this investigation. It has been sug- gested that this investigation should take place in Greece itself. 1 have not sa far had time ta study the proposal of the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but 1 believe that the resolution which has been presented by the United States delegation will caver aIl the as- pects, because at the present time 1 have nôt ~ot sufficient data ta justify a separate investiga- tion. In case it results from' the inquiry that the internal situation in Greece contributes ta the frontier incidents, 1 beIieve, and 1 am sure'that the commi':lsion which will he appointed, and will include most members of this Couneil and particularly the five big Powers, will state this in its report to the Council. And therefore, prima . facie, without carefully examining the proppsal of the Soviet Union representative, 1 feel tha'i; the points raised by mm are already covered by the proposal of the United States dclegation. accep~ the establishment of a commission of Ùlvestigation provided for Ùl the United States draft resolution. My Government, howf.ver, wouId be glad to see the amendments to tlùs draft resolution propœed by the Soviet Union represen'Cative adopted as well. It would further- more like to see one representative of each of the countries concerned Ùl the present dispute- Greece, Yugoslavia, j\Jbania and Bulgaria-ad- mitted as members of the commission of Ùlvesti- gation, without vote. As 1 suppose the Couneil will have to give the members of this commission some general Ùldications as to how ta proceed Ùl order to attain our final objective, wmch is to eliminate an dangerous conditions and to create a peaceful atmosphere, 1 shouldIike to draw your attention to the fact that an inquiry wmch merely intends i.o, establish bare facts regarding frontier inci- dents would not be sufficient to cure the evil, fOf, as the representative of Yugosla\ria, Mr. Kosanovié, stressed just now, an those incidei'1ts are me..'"e1y symptoms, not the disease itself. The frontier incidents mentioned by the Greeks in their àccusations, as wèn as those brought for- ward by us against Greece, would he almost unimportant, if normal friendly relations existed between Greece and her northern neighbours. In sucb circumstances, they could easily have been settlcd through regular diplomatie channels. What makes them a matter of discussion in this Jouncil is the lack of a spirit of uqderstanding ;,Id conciliation by one of the parties. . . 1 consider, therefore, that the principal aim of the investigation should be to find out the real causes of the conditions. In order to reach a correct conclusion and to be in a position to present a conclusive report, the commiSsion should take note of the. difference between the past sentiments prevailing in our country and the existing sentiments in some regions of Greece. As far as my own country is concerned, 1. should like to say a few more words, in order to he helpful in thïs situation. The statement made by the Greek Prime Minister at the 84th meeting,l expressing senti- ments of regret that the former collaboration between Greeks and Serbians against the so- called Bulgarian komitadjis no longer existed, explains, in my opinion, the fundamental reasons for the dispute placed before this Council. It betrays a complete lack of understanding of the changes th<;tt have taken place in the Balkans, the profound signmcance of which Ml'. Tsaldaris and bis Government have failed to appreciate. Who, in reality, were the BuIgarian komita- djis;~ They were, some consciously, some uncon- sciously, mel'ely the tools, the gunmen of a terror- istic organization which had gradually succeeded in donnl1ating the Bulgarian l 'olitical scene. This organization was in itself an instrument of Ger- man imperialism, and had as its alleged aim the Iiberation of Macedonia; but its Mal purpose was ta create discord mnong the Balkan peoples, chiefi}r between Bulgarian~ and Serbs. The dis- cord bred war and the eD.:lUing mutual weakncss paved the way for German e."pansion and for the famous Drang nack Osten. United, the Balkan peoples would have bdJ.'"'Ted the way to the Ger- mans; divided, they all beçame their prey. The activity of '~is organization was greatly facilitated by the (,r.ynasty in Bulgaria, which was nothing but a Gr.:rman agency. The3e two fac- tors were respù.nsible, on the Bulgarlan side, for the interminable Balkan fends. Through most despicabic means, the monm:chy eliminated the best citizens from the politicallife of our country. By assassinations, the Macedonian gunmen med . to eliminate aIl noted Bulgarians who refused to co-operate, and thus spread te.rror in Bulgaria. This shameful alliance het\'Veen a royèll ffLl-m!y and a gangster organization is unprecedented in l history. The Bulgarian people struggled for forty years against tbis policy of .chauvinism and hatred. It was against .those Macedonian terrorists who enjoyed the support of our pro-German kings that our struggle was directed for many long years; this was the struggle of those of my countrymen who were not prepared to accept the Germans as protectors, friends and brothers, but knew them for what they really were: our worst and most dangerous foes. Mter tremendous efforts and bitter sacrifices, the fight was brought to a victoriou::: end. The Bulgarian people suc- œeded in uprooting not only the criminal organ- ization, but aIso its whole political ideology, if it ever had one at all. Conscious of the sins of their former rulers, the Bulgarian people started on a· new road, a road, as 1 have already said, of understanding and sincere collaboration 'withall Balkan peoples. In the spirit of this new orientation, we extended a friendly hand to all our neighbours. The peoples of Yugoslavia ,understand us, in particu- lar the Serbs, who had sùffered most cruclly from the Bulgarian chauvinist and pro-German policy in the past, in the name of which sa rilUch blood has been shed in fratricidal wars and feuds; they cotdiaIly accepted our hand. In this connexion, however, 1 wish ta add that not all Greeks have the same attitude. In all occupied countries there were people collaborat- ~lg and people fighting the invadel's. It was the same in Greece. And 1 should say that the vast majority of those who resistednazism and fascism in that country do not share the opinion of the Government expressed here in this Cou..'1cil. '. 1 can say this because 1 well remember how, on many occasions, during the battles with the Germans, young Greek partisans came frorn the Macedonian and Yugoslav mountains to my headquarters. In groups of five or ten, sometimes in groups of even fifty or a hundred men, they came and offered their services to fight the com- mon enemy, the German hordes. They were all fine youths. 1 can still see the fire in their eyes, their. wonderful fighting spirit, their readiness :::nr sacrifice in the cornmon struggle against a common enemy. Now, it seems to me that these gallant boys are being labelled bandits and anarchists. And the very thought that the msur- rectionists, slandered in this way by the Greek Government, areprobably those sameboys whorn 1have seen, :fills my heart with sorrow and indignation. 1 wish to repeat: 1 feel certain that. the road chosen by the Greek Government is not the road which will lead to pacification of the Balkans. On the contrary, only an understanding of the thorough change of spirit in Bulga.ria 'will be able to create thebasis for frienilly and sincere collaboration and, hence, to.open the gateway to happiness and progress. 1 should like ta present a motion for an amendment ta the Unit~d States draft resol~tion. This amendment is the following one: "The commission of investigation will have as an objective of particularimportance, be;;' sidesthe other tasks assigned to it by the Council, to find whether any of the Govern.. ments of the countries involved in the present dispute has given proof of international good- will in its domesticpolicy, or" on the contrary, has promoted through various means. a spirit of distrust and hate towards its neighbours, thus preventing establishment of frienilly, neighbourly relations amQng the Balkan peoples." EIGHTY-SEVENTH MEETING fIeld at Lal.è Success, New York on Thursda,', 19 December 1946, at 2.45 p.m. Pre~ident.. Mr. H. V. JOHNSON (United States of Amedea). PreSe1Jt: The representatives of the following countries: Australia) Bra?J.1, China, Egypt, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States of America. 109. Contifiuation of the discussion of the Greek complaint concerning the situatiton in norihern Greece Th~ PRESIDENT: 1 invite the representatives of Greece, Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria to take their seats at the table. Mr. LANGE (Poland): As there seems to be pretty general agreement in favour of sending a commission of ip.vestigation to the spot, 1 do not intend to go into the merits of the case which is before us, and I shail limit myself entirely to a few technical observations concerning the reso- lution which has been presented about the com- mittee of investigation to be sent to the places concerned. Before 1 do so, how.;ver, 1 should like to point out that the proposai to carry out an investiga- tion seems to me most desirable, and this for three reasons. First of ail, as, at leastamongsome of the representatives, certain doubts exist re- garding the facts of the situatio:p. or dispute before us, an investigation on the spot is the only way to solve these doubts and obtain the facts which we lleed in order to make further ded- sions. Further, we have aIready had an experi- ence with a committee of investigation 'in the case of the Spanish question, :and 1 must say that this experience was highly successfu1. That. com- mittee of investigation C!UIle to conclusions which were unanîmûusly 3.dopted byaIl its members, although these rnembers represented very differ- ent shades of national interests and political opinion. And yet we were !,tble to produce a unanimotœ document which laterreally proved to be a docUii1~nt of great historie importance, because it 'became a basis not orny for our own