BIRKENHEAD PROTESTS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 44, 21 February 1930, Page 9

BIRKENHEAD PROTESTS

PARMOOS'S 'PROMISE

SOVIET AND COMINTERN

Britlsli Official Wireless. (Received 21st February, 11 a.m.)

.EUGBY, 20th February

lv the House of Lords, the Earl of Birkeubead called attention to the resumption of diplomatic relations with

the Soviet Government and asked whether the Government had found it necessary to represent to the Soviet Government or to its representative in London that there had been a breach of the conditions or understanding upon which relations were resumed. He referred to the recent protest made in the House by the Archbishop of Canterbury against religious persecutions in Eussia, and to the Primate's desire to keep the protest from politics.. ■ ' Lord Birkenhead declared that he knew of no1 definition of polities which would exclude the topic with which the Primate had been concerned. The pledge of the Soviet Government to curtail propaganda and the activities of the Comintern had been broken. It was notorious that there had been no cessation of energetic action against us in India or Afghanistan.

Lord .Parmooi-; replying for the Government, said that if any statements were made by the Comintern, which rendered it necessary in tho opinion of the Government to break off diplomatic relations with ftussia, the Government would deal with them in the same way as if they had been made by the Soviet Government itself. The Government did not attempt to' define the distinction between those two bodies. But in the opinion of tho Government there had been n"b such breach as made it necessary to break off relations.