STRONG EXCEPTION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 February 1943, Page 3

STRONG EXCEPTION

TAKEN BY GENERAL DE GAULLE

TO EXISTING POSITION IN NORTH AFRICA.

DEMAND FOR DEMOCRATIC REGIME.

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON. February 9. “It is now the beginning

of the fourth month of the operations in North Africa, and it seems only natural that the Frenchmen who served the cause of France should at least be free; yet there are still 15,000 French prisoners, there,” declared General de Gaulle at a Press conference.

“Almost all the nationals of other countries have .been freed, because the authorities wished to please the Governments concerned. Those who remain in prison are Frenchmen who wish to continue the fight against Germany,” he added? The Fighting French were not consulted during the preparation of the Allied landings, General de Gaulle said. “We were left outside, and that was one of the causes of the subsequent confusion,” he observed. “A great moral and material force was absent from the very ground where it might have been most useful for France and the Allies’ common cause. “Events in North Africa will provide a test of the way in which the Allies intend to carry out their aims. There has been a tragicomedy mixed with a little blood, but I do not regard the position as grave provided that in future the proper importance is given to the dignity of France and the aims for which the Allies are fighting.” General de Gaulle said that all the officials who are at present in North Africa were there during the life of the Vichy Government, and that “some de Gaullist officials have been imprisoned since the arrival of the Allies.” UNION OF EMPIRE SOUGHT. General de Gaulle gave his views on the possible basis of an agreement with the authorities in French North Africa and how to achieve his aim of the union of the empire of France. He said that General Catroux, the French Commander in the Middle East, had gone to Algiers at the instance of the National Committee to arrange means by which liaison with General Giraud’s administration could be maintained. Discussing his meeting with General Giraud, General de Gaulle said, “The main question is not one of agreement between two generals, but one of greater seriousness and importance—that of the urtion of the empire and the liberation of France within a framework chosen by France. The aims of France are to drive the enemy out of the country, re-establish the Republic and assure'the triumph of the ideals of the country. “It would be impossible to realise that on the basis of an agreement between two generals. What we want is something much wider. We must agree on a minimum, and that must embrace the fundamental aims of liberation in the wider sense.” Asked on what basis North Africa could be brought within the empire, General de Gaulle said, “If in North Africa, as in the remainder of the empire, the laws of the Republic were brought back and reinforced, and if the fundamental principles of liberty were restored, that would bring about the union.”

Though he spoke with great moderation, General de Gaulle was obviously dissatisfied with the conditions in North Africa, which he described as artificial and only temporary He said that by the application of French Republican laws he meant government by the consent of the governed, freedom of speech and of the Press, and the restoration of individual liberty. He denied that General Catroux had accepted any sort of appointment under General Giraud. REFUSAL TO COMPROMISE. “We refuse to comprokiise with the Vichyites, who are only coming over to us now because we are strong,” said Captain G. Tilge, staff officer of the Fighting French, in a speech at Liverpool. He added that Admiral Darlan’s appointment in North Africa had caused amazement to the French people, because his name meant traitor. “There is no doubt that General Giraud was all for resistance against Germany, but we cannot make a complete pact with him as long as Vichyites are all round him,” he said. “If we did we would betray the people of France.”

Illustrating the French resistance to German occupation, Captain Tilge said that 2000 wagons of food were destroyed in one month and between 70 and 80 railway engines were put out of action in one night. “The French are ready to fight from the word go,” he Eaid.

NUMBER OF PRISONERS

STATEMENT BY MR EDEN. LONDON, February 10. Asked to comment on General de Gaulle’s figures of French prisoners in North Africa, the Foreign Secretary. Mr Eden, in the House of Commons today said that official reports from Algiers gave 1442 prisoners in French Morocco and 3965 still detained in Algieria. The latter figure included many criminal prisoners.