BRITAIN OPPOSES SOVIET PROPOSAL FOR DISARMAMENT

Grey River Argus, 13 October 1948, Page 2

BRITAIN OPPOSES SOVIET PROPOSAL FOR DISARMAMENT

PARIS, October 11

In the United Nations General Assembly’s Political Committee, which is discussing Russia’s proposal onethird disarmament by the Big Five, Britain called on the Soviet to endorse the Western majority views of the United Nations Commission on conventional armaments. In a resolution tabled before the committee in opposition to' the Soviet resolution. Britain stated that a large majority of the commission agreed on the general principles on which a system of regulation and reduction of armaments could be based. The resolution said: “The refusal of the minority to negotiate on the basis of the majority view jeopardises the future activities of the commission”. It added that Britain recognised that a general reduction of armaments could only be put into effect in an atmosphere of international confidence and security, and that any system of disarmament must include an adequate system of safeguards. A CHINESE VIEW

Dr Tsiang (China) urged the establishment of an international force to control disarmament. No scheme of disarmament would be acceptable to China, unless it gave due consideration to the requirements of domestic security. Yugoslavia’s Foreign Minister, M. R. Kardelj, and the Czech Foreign Minister, M. Clementis, supported the Soviet proposal. Mr Lionel Chevrier (Canada) expressed Canada’s strong support for the British resolution, and described the Soviet proposals as “meaningless”. Mr Chevrier asked: “Why should we bo asked to pool our security with a nation which will not reveal to the world what it is doing?” M. Parodi (France) rejected the Soviet proposal as “over-simplified and unrealistic”. Pie passionately appealed to the Soviet Union and associated countries to show a spirit of co-operation in United Nations work. On the proposal of M. Manuilsky, who said he wanted time to reply to the points raised, the committee adjourned until to-morrow.