BRITISH PROTEST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20914, 14 October 1942, Page 3

BRITISH PROTEST

GERMAN ACTION CHAINING OF CAPTIVES STATEMENT BY PREMIER (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) (11 a.m.) RUGBY. Oct. 13. Referring to the chaining of British prisoners of war by Germany, the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, in the House of Commons, said the British Government had never countenanced any general order i'oi the tying up of prisoners on the field of battle. “Such a process,” he said, “may necessary from time to time in t stress of circumstances and may, in deed, be in the best interests oi safety of prisoners themselves. The Geneva convention on the treatment of prisoners of war does not attempt to regulate what happens in the actm fighting. It is confined solely to the treatment of prisoners who have been securely captured and are in the responsible charge of a hostile Government. Both the British and German Governments are bound by this convention. “The German Government, b\ throwing into chains 1376 British prisoners, for whose proper treatment it is responsible, violated Article II of the convention. They are thus attempting to use prisoners of war as if they were hostages upon whom reprisals can be taken for* occurrences in the field of battle with which the said prisoners could have nothing to do. The action of the German Government has' offronted the sanctity of the Geneva convention which the British Government * always anxious to observe puncticiousl.y. Therefore, it approached the protecting Power and invited that Power to lay before .the German Government our solemn protest against this breach of the Geneva convention and to urge it to desist from it, in which case counter measures of a similar character, which the British Government felt itself forced to take in order to protect prisoners of war in enemy hands, will immediately be withdrawn.” Awaiting Reply to Protest Mr. Churchill added: “Until we learn from the protecting Power the results of the protest, I have no further statement to make and would strongly deprecate any discussion which might be prejudicial to action by the protecting Power, and consequently, the interests of prisoners of war of both belligerent countries. As soon as a reply is received, a further statement will be made to the House. ’ If the negotiations carried on yesterday are successful, the reprisals race in the treatment of war prisoners may be avoided and Germany may countermand the order to chain the Dieppe war prisoners, says the diplomatic correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. The German High Command’s silence, which has lasted since Thursday, was significantly maintained yesterday. General consultations between the 'Dominion Governments have taken place since Germany first announced her decision to chain the prisoners. Complete agreement existed among the Dominions from the beginning on the necessity for taking retaliatory measures. The Danish newspaper Politiken published a private message from Berlin to the effect that the Germans at noon on Saturday fettered approximately 6000 British prisoners, making about 8000 in all. German Radio Reaction

The German radio announcer said to-day that it is genuinely to be hoped the German Government will be satisfied with the British explanation, because it is extremely regrettable that innocent people should suffer as a result of the British military authorities’ barbarous and clumsy methods.

The' Times, in an editorial, says: “To the German mind British prisoners, like the French, are an asset so far unused and now to be exploited. Any occasion could be found or invented for the purpose. The answer to this policy is not in competitive reprisals. The answer to the policy is military. The right answer is to give the strong surge of indignation sweeping this country its rightful outlet in the waging of relentless war. The Berlin radio to-night switched the allegations of dll-treatment of war prisoners from Britain to Russia and declared that a Russian military surgeon, who was captured, admitted that all German prisoners were shot at Sebastopol under the Russian commander’s orders.