FULL TEXT OF AGREEMENT ISSUED

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22521, 1 October 1938, Page 17

FULL TEXT OF AGREEMENT ISSUED

Occupation of Sudeten Areas By

Progressive Stages

COMMISSION TO CONTROL TRANSFER OF POPULATIONS

Great Powers Take Responsibility For

Fulfilment of Terms

(uinTM rasa* coptbto«t.>

(Received September 30, 7.30 p.nf.)

MUNICH, September 30. . The full text of the official communique is as follows: “Germany, the V nited Kingdom, France, and Italy, takikf into consideration the agreement already reached in principle for the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory, have upon the following terms and conditions which shall govern the cession and measures consequent thereon, and by thw agreement hold themselves responsible for the steps necessary to secure their fulfilment:— (1) The evacuation of the territories shall begin on October-1. (2) Britain, France, and Italy agree that the evacuation shall be completed by October 10 without the destruction of any existing installations, and. that Czechoslovakia shall bear the responsibility of seeing that the eyaciiation is carried out without damage to the aforesaid installations. (3) The conditions governing the evacuation will be down in detail by an international commission composed of representatives of Germany, the United Kingdom, France. Italy, and Czechoslovakia. (4) The occupation by stages of the predominantly German territory by German troops shall begin on October 1, the four territories marked on the attached map being occupied by German troops in the following order (Jt then sets out dates for occupation from October 1 to October 7, viz., the first territory, October 1 an d O«tober 2, the second territory, October 2 and October 3, the third territory, October 4 and October 5, and the fourth territory, October 6 and October T). (5) The commission referred to in (3) will dete £""“® ASE territories in which plebiscites are to be held. These will be occupied by international bodies until the Plebiscites are completed. The commission will also fix the cpn<utions for P holding the taking the Saar plebtecite as the basis, and will also fix a date-not later than Novem ber 30 for the plebiscite. '' (g) The final determination of frontiers will be cleared up by ' the commission, which will be entitled to recommend to Britain, Germany, France, and Italy, m certain exceptional cases, minor modifications in the strictly ethnological determination of zones to be transferred without a plebiscite.

(7) There shall he a right of transfer into and out of the transferred territory, exercisable within six months of the date of this agreement. A German-Czech commission shall determine the. details of the option and consiper ways of facilitating the transfer of populations and settle ■ questions of principle arising out of the transfers.

(8) The Czech Government within one month of the agreement will release from Its military and police forces any Sudetens so desiring, and will also release Sudeten political prisoners.

In an annex to the agreement it is statedthat Britain and France entered into an agreement standing by their offer of Paragraph 6 of the British-French proposals of September 13, relating to an international guarantee for the new boundaries of the Czech State against unprovoked aggression.

The annex adds that when the questions of the Polish and Hungarian minorities are settled Italy and Germany will give a guarantee to Czechoslovakia. If the Polish and Hungarian minorities problems are not settled within three months by an agreement between the respective Governments, they will ,be reconsidered at another Four-Power Conference.

A supplementary declaration says: “All questions arising out of the transfer of territories shall be considered as coming within the terms of reference of the international commission.

The commission referred to in Clause (3) will consist of the German Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the French, British, and Italian Ambassadors in Berlin, and also a Czech representative.

CHARGES AGAINST CZECHS GERMAN ALLEGATION OF FALSE RECORDS MUNICH, September 29. It is expected that Herr Hitler will make charges that the Czechs

are preparing to falsify the plebiscites, based on reports from a German news agency that Czech gendarmes confiscated records at toWn halls. A Nazi spokesman said: “The Czechs are mistaken if they think they can obtain success by destroying the records. No Czech who cannot prove that he was a resident of the Sudeten areas before 1918 will be able to participate in the plebiscite.”