VEHEMENT DENIALS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26634, 3 December 1947, Page 5

VEHEMENT DENIALS

COMMUNIST AFFILIATIONS EUROPE’S SOCIALIST PARTIES N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 11 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 2. Reports from Antwerp, where representatives of 18 Socialist parties of Europe, Britain, and the United States are in session, agree that the conference faces the identical ideological divisions which appear to divide the Big Four in London and elsewhere. The representatives- of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other Eastern European countries protested vehemently that they were not under the domination of Communists-, whereas a number of Western European nations, led by the Dutch, are vigorously campaigning for a clean break with the East and aggressive measures to counteract the activities of the Communist Cominform. This section of the conference is being strongly supported by the American delegate, who is present only as an observer. The British Labour Party, on the other hand, has been endeavouring to fill the role of mediator and prevent an open break.

The real issue splitting the conference was emphasised when the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party applied for admission. After a protracted argument as to whether the Bulgarian Socialists were, in fact, an independent party, this was refused by nine votes to eight. The Bulgarians thereupon issued a declaration thanking all those who voted for them and strongly criticising the British and Dutch because their countries possessed colonies. The conference agreed, however, in condemning anti-Semitism, which it described as “ a danger to democracy and peace.” The conference inevitably showed a sharp division of opinion on the question of the Marshall Plan. The final resolution carried was that, while it “ recognised the need and appreciated the usefulness ” of American aid, it added a rider that no aid which carried with it any political or social subordination, or which threatened the chances of Socialist reforms, could be accepted. A message from Antwerp says that the Congress carried a resolution stating that present circumstances were not favourable for the reconstitution of a Socialist International. The conference appointed a committee to ensure the continued - co-operation of Socialist parties between conferences. The conference admitted the German Socialist Democrat Party as a full, member.