CALLING BALKAN BLUFF

Chronicle (Levin), 14 August 1947, Page 5

CALLING BALKAN BLUFF

.(N.Z.P.A,

— Reuter,

Move That Might Mean Use i Of Arras

Copyright) \

Received Wednesday, 7 p.m. NEW YORK, August 12. ; The sub-eommittee which the Security Council appointed to t'ryi to find an acceptabie agreement on the! Balkan issue involving Greece, Bul garia, Yugoslavia and Albania, todayreported back to the council that it hau ( faiied entirely in its efforts. | •Colonel Hodgson (Australia) a^aai: j pressed a solution under which the j eouneil would label the Balkan situa- j tion a threat to peace, call ,on the fom Balkan Governments to cease acts oi ; provo'eatioh, send United Nations' ob 1 servers to the scene and r.efrain froiu blaming any of * the Balkan Go ver nments. Colonel Hodgson said: "The Security. Council cannot announce to the world that we are impotent to -act on this matter. That would be disastrous. " Dr. Joza Vilfan (Yugoslavia) who attended by invitation, accused thc United States of deliberately misrepresenting the condition in the Ba'lkans to justify "American interferenc.e" in Greece under the Truman doctrine. He said the United States endeavoured to create the impression that the serious situation in Greece was the conse quenee of aJleged interferen.ee from Greece 's neiglibours. Mr. Herschel Johnson (United States) submitted a new resolutlou wThich states that Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia ha-ve continued to aid the Greelc guerrillas, says this con stitutes a threat to peace, and ealls on Greece 's three nortliern neiglibours to cease such actions. The Balkans resolu tion further direets the subsidiary group of the Security Council 's Balkan Inquiry Commission to report on tho iompiianee of Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia with this order. Mr. Johnson said: "If Security Council action is blocked by a So viet veto we are conlident the Genei-al Assembly will exercise its f'ull powers for the protection of Greece. The United States would be prepared to eooperate with likeminded members ot United Nations in taking any steps which might beconie necessary within the terms of Assembly recommendations dr within the provision of tho charter. ' ' The Associated Press says Mr. Johnson 's remarks indicate that United States contemplates ultimately taking action under the Charter, article 51, which provides for colleetive selfdefence against aggression "until thc Security Council has taken the measuiv necessary to niaintain internationai peace and security." The New York Times' United Nations correspondence described Mr, Herschel Johnson 's resolution1 in the Security Council as foreshadowing a series of drastic moves which inight aulminate, as a last resort, in the use oi armed forces by the United States and other countries for the .protection of Greece if the Soviet continues to block action in the Security Council. Mr. Johnson introduced the American r-esolution by declaring tfiat Greece was in grave peril and the time for appease ment to avoid a Soviet veto had passed. The correspondent said: "If the American resolution is vetoed by the Soviet which has already vetoed n ■milder American prpposal providmg for a frontior commission to watch foi new incidents, United States will send the whole issue on appeal "to the General Assembly in Septeinber. The General Assembly 's divisions on such questions rate only as recpnunendations out Mr. Johnson made it plain tha't the 'Iniled States would not let it go -U that, by saving "continued failure of the Security Council to take effective action in thi)> case cannot, in the Unit ed States Government 's opinion, pre clude individual or colleetive action by states willing to act, so Long as they' act in accordance with the general purposes and principles of United Nations'. "Mr. Johnson declined to say, after the meeting," whether the United States intended to invoke article 51 to gi^e positive effect to an Assembly recoiuuiendation but his stateinent regarding individual or colleetive action was identical with that used in article 51 and other delegates were eonvincej that this is what the Qnited State.has in mind though possibly only as j last resort."