What is Russian Aim ?

Grey River Argus, 5 April 1948, Page 3

What is Russian Aim ?

(Received April 4, 9.55 p.m.) LONDON, April 4.

Major-General Neville Brownjohn, British Deputy-Military Governor, said that he believed that the Russian traffic regulations were designed to make the position of the Western Allies in Berlin an untenable one, and also designed to demonstrate to the Germans that the Russians had power over the Western authorities. He said: “The timing fits in very nicely with the Italian elections. Frankly, I see no way out of the impasse, unless the Russians take a more reasonable view. We are not going to change out view in the present circumstances. We intend to show that we are not going to be bullied." A spokesman for the Russian Military Administration in Berlin said yesterday: “What we have decided on, border and traffic controls, will remain in force. Masses of spies are entering Berlin and the Russian zone from the British and American zones to spy upon the zone's economy, political situation and military installations. We cannot permit this to continue and, therefore, we are securing our borders.

“The Americans and British are also plundering Berlin, and thousands of Germans are coming from the Western zones with enormous sums of money to buy out and weaken the Russian zone’s economy, dumping their money here in fear of a currency reform. We shall prevent the Western German monopolists from misusing the protection of the British and American Powers”. The Soviet Deputy-Commandant (Colonel Yelizarov) made the charge that the Western Allies had robbed and plundered Berlin. He said that they had taken 1000 tons of copper, 1000 tons of ammunition, and a complete printing plant. He also accused the French of having stripped the whole of their zone W industrial plants. He shouted: “This has got to ston. I demand it”. The official Soviet newspaper “Taegliche Rundschan” flatly asserted the Russians are prepared to impose sharper restrictions to accomplish their purpose of “preventing the export of Berlin’s industrial assets to the West."

United States authorities at Frankfurt have placed a black-out on information, saying that the situation is no longer normal. A high army officer said: “Why should we tell the Russians what we are doing or what we have got?”