TERMS REVIEWED IN FRANCE

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27410, 24 July 1954, Page 7

TERMS REVIEWED IN FRANCE

“Cruel Situation” Reflected

PARIS, July 22. “The terms are cruel, but that is because they reflect a cruel situation. I have no illusions, and I ask you all to

entertain no illusions about the conditions of the cease fire agreement.”

Mr Pierre Mendes-France, the French Prime Minister, said this to a packed National Assembly today, when he made his statement on the IndoChina settlement.

“During my conversations,” said the Prime Minister, “I came to the conclusion that the French forces in IndoChina would have been exposed to great peril if no armistice had been concluded, and this, even if conscripts had been sent to Indo-China. or at any rate during the period before they could get there.” Mr Mendes-France said he had succeeded in fulfilling the task he had undertaken within a very few hours of the date he had fixed. This had been called a gamble, but it was, in fact, only a solemn warning to the adversary. “Had to Keep Silent” Mr Mendes-France said that when he took office he had to keep silent on the precarious situation of the French exSeditionary force, because otherwise e would have been weakening the French bargaining position. At the beginning of June, when the Laniel Government was still in power, the talks between the military experts of the Vietminh and of the Vietnam Government showed that the adversary was willing to enter into a general settlement.

Describing the terms of the cease fire agreement, he emphasised that the United States had undertaken to respect the armistice terms and to draw certain conclusions if the armistice were violated.

He said the terms of the armistice provided that all prisoners must be freed within 30 days. At the beginning of the negotiations, said Mr Mendes-France, the Vietminh representatives wanted all French troops withdrawn from the Communist zone within three months, and they wanted general elections to be held in six months. Furthermore, they wanted a control commission of four members, two of which would be representative of the Communist nations armed with the power of the veto. Mr Mendes-France confirmed that according to the agreement reached the forces of both sides would be withdrawn progressively over a period of 300 days.