The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1946 EYES ON JUGOSLAVIA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 15, 23 August 1946, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1946 EYES ON JUGOSLAVIA

PEACE in the troubled world of 1946 as a misnomer. The present condition of discontent, mistrust, and open violation of international rights is even more delicate than the momentous years of appeasement to Germany before 1939. Peace has not yet arrived to soothe away the racial uneasiness which is everywhere apparent, and even the efforts to consolidate the terms of tranguility by conference after conference appear to becoming more and more futile. The latest blatant incident comes from Jugoslavia where the entire code of international ethics has been outraged by the ruthless shooting down of a disabled and lost American passenger ’plane. The repercussions of so deliberate an action have yet to take shape, but behind it there undoubtedly lies the rugged personality of the disgruntled Tito, the erstwhile guerilla leader who feels that he has been so shabbily treated by the Allies with regard to adjoining Italian territories. Here is a danger-spot which should be watched closely by the peace-loving world in general, for unless the incident is nipped in the bud it might easily develop as a touch-off for a growing storm of disorders for which the unruly elements of the world are only too hungry at the present moment. The Jugoslav leader, is a fearless and head-strong individual, whose momentary rise at the time of his country’s greatest need, has virtually given him dictatorial powers among his own grateful compatriots. It is the result of these features of his nature that have led to

the closing of the frontiers of his country and the sullen attitude of the Jugoslav nation towards the efforts to establish international peace. A dangerous parallel reminds us forcibly of the rise of Mussolini, in chaotic Italy following the disastrous days which closed the last war. Jugoslavia’s veangeful attitude is largely due to the unsettled state of the Allied relationship, and her appeasement or reprimand will depend on the unbroken front shown her by the combined nations at large. Perhaps the greatest swaying factor in this respect is Soviet Russia.