this commitment just as it has failed to honor its earlier commitment of April 1947. In this connection, the Government of the United States desires to make it plain that the arbitrary reclassification by the Soviet Government of prisoners of war as civilians would not, of course, have the effect of relieving the Soviet Government of its obligation to return these persons to their homes and families.

By its delay in repatriating these German prisoners of war, and by its repeated refusal to furnish information concerning them, the Soviet Government has caused suffering and anxiety for large numbers of prisoners of war in the Soviet custody and their relatives and friends, and has demonstrated a complete disregard for the fundamental human rights of the unfortunate persons concerned. The Soviet Government alone has the power to mitigate this suffering, and it could do so by taking the following steps:

(1) Furnish full information on the identification of the 9,717 persons alleged to have been convicted of grave war crimes, the 3,815 persons whose alleged war crimes are in the process of investigation, and the 14 persons said to be under treatment for illness, who are still retained by the Soviet Union as stated in the Soviet announcement of May 5. This information would include the present location and treatment of these persons, data on the sentences imposed on those said to have been convicted of war crimes, and the status of the investigations pending, as well as information with respect to measures taken by the Soviet Government to ensure the right of these prisoners of war to correspond with their families in Germany.

(2) In accordance with the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929,1 to which the Soviet Union is a party, to provide information on the number, identity, date of death and place of burial of prisoners of war and civilian internees who have died in captivity in the Soviet Union or in transit.

(3) Permit investigation in the Soviet Union by an impartial international body in order that the actual fate of the prisoners of war known to have been in Soviet custody may be ascertained. For this purpose, the Government of the United States suggests the appointment of an ad hoc commission designated by the United Nations, or a group composed of representatives of the four powers now occupying Germany, or representatives of neutral powers, or any other group mutually acceptable. It is noted in this connection that the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, at the time when they still had German prisoners of war in their custody, furnished full information concerning them to the interested parties, and permitted full and impartial access to the prisoners of war by international agencies.

În concerning itself at this time with the question of German prisoners of war, a question on which the Soviet Government has made and broken specific commitments, the Government of the United States does not overlook the equally disturbing parallel situation concerning the Soviet failure to repatriate, or to account for, the numerous nationals of the German-occupied countries who were

1 Treaty Series 846; 47 Stat. 2021.

taken prisoners during the war, or who were brought to the U.S.S.R. as civilian internees.

Information concerning the action which the Soviet Government is prepared to take on this matter would be welcomed by the Government of the United States, which would be willing to cooperate in any appropriate way.'

68. LETTER FROM THE DELEGATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND AUSTRALIA TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, AUGUST 25, 1950 2

We have the honour to refer to our telegram of 20 August 1950 (A/1327), submitting the item "Failure of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to repatriate or otherwise account for prisoners of war detained in Soviet territory" to be placed on the provisional agenda of the fifth session of the General Assembly.

The explanatory memorandum, referred to in the above-mentioned telegram, follows:

At the end of hostilities in Europe and in the Far East in 1945, large numbers of military personnel of various nationalities were in the hands of the Allied Powers. The prompt repatriation of these prisoners was demanded by accepted international practice and no less by the elementary principles of humanity.

The Allied Powers clearly recognized at the outset this responsibility and entered into agreements to repatriate prisoners of war (see paragraph 9 of the Potsdam Proclamation of 26 July 1945; the Foreign Ministers Agreement in Moscow of 23 April 1947; the Agreement between the U.S.S.R. and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan of 19 December 1946, which are reproduced in annexes I, II and III).

The Soviet Union has not complied fully with these agreements. Moreover, the other governments concerned have on various occasions requested the U.S.S.R. to furnish information concerning its repatriation programmes and have even in certain cases offered transportation facilities for repatriation. However, on 22 April 1950 and 5 May 1950, TASS announced that the U. S. S. R. had completed the repatriation of all Japanese and German prisoners of war from its territories except for persons detained in connexion with war crimes or on account of illness (see annexes IV and V).

More

Evidence exists to show that these statements are not true. over, the Japanese Diet on 2 May 1950 and the Bundestag of the Federal German Government on 5 May 1950 adopted resolutions protesting these announcements and appealing for every possible

1 See Soviet note of Sept. 30, 1950; Department of State Bulletin, Nov. 20, 1950, p. 817.

U.N. General Assembly, Official Records, Fifth Session, Annexes, Agenda Item 67 (A/1339), p. 2. The annexes to the tripartite letter are not included in this compilation; for texts, see ibid., pp. 3–9.

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assistance to bring about an early settlement of the problem (see annexes VI and VII).

On the basis of the evidence of Soviet non-compliance, governments having control responsibility in Germany and Japan have on various occasions stated to the Soviet Government their inability to give credence to the TASS announcements, and have requested it to agree to the designation of an international humanitarian body or organization which should make a thorough examination of the repatriation programme at first hand (see annexes VIII, IX, and X).

Since all these efforts have been without avail, the Governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States now consider it essential to place the matter before the General Assembly under Articles 10, 14, and 1, paragraph 3, of the Charter. The three Governments hope that the General Assembly will consider means whereby full information on all these persons may be obtained and the repatriation of all those now living may be secured.

Further documents will be supplied later.1

1 See also U.N. General Assembly Res. 427 (V), Dec. 14, 1950; General Assembly, Official Records, Fifth Session, Šupplement No. 20 (A/1755), p. 45, establishing the Ad Hoc Commission on Prisoners of War; the report of Sept. 12, 1952, by the Commission (supra, pp. 269–271); and General Assembly Res. 741 (VIII), Dec. 7, 1953 (supra, pp. 271-272).

Part XII

EASTERN EUROPEAN COMMUNIST REGIMES AND THE BALTIC STATES

A. GENERAL

Basic United States Policy

1. STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE AT A NEWS CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY 24, 19501

I should like to say a few words about our relations with certain countries of Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria and Hungary, which have been highlighted by the events of the past week.

The conduct of the Bulgarian Government has given us no alternative but to suspend diplomatic relations with that country. The sentencing by a Hungarian court of an American citizen to 15 years' imprisonment on false charges without a fair trial is part of a general pattern common to all those countries which now have Communist governments and are closely tied to the Soviet Union. This pattern must now be absolutely clear to even the most casual observer.

The principal purpose behind what these governments have been doing is plainly to make the so-called iron curtain impenetrable. Their purpose is to cut off the people of Eastern Europe from the free world, to deprive them of all hope of any other fate than that reserved for them by their present rulers, and to liquidate all signs and symbols of Western influence to the accompaniment of a flood of propaganda and denunciation of "spies," "warmongers," and the other familiar whipping boys.

In pursuit of their aims, the present Communist rulers of these nations have ruthlessly used the power of the state to frighten their own populations and to take action against the diplomats and citizens of other countries wholly contrary to the rules and standards long accepted in relations between nations.

The Communist leaders do not seem to comprehend our concern for the rights of individuals. They regard our attempts to defend

1 Department of State Bulletin, Mar. 6, 1950, pp. 377-378. * See the U. S. note of Feb. 20, 1950; infra, pp. 2091-2093. * See the U. S. note of Feb. 1, 1950; infra, pp. 2117-2119.

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such rights and to give to persecuted individuals what protection we appropriately can give them as evidence of hostility and of intervention in their internal affairs. But here we are dealing with fundamentals of human and political behavior. It is the purpose of this Government and of the American people to promote respect for human rights. That is why we have vigorously supported the provisions of the United Nations Charter and of the peace treaties on this subject and attempted to make them as effective as possible. It is notable that the Governments of Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania, besides making it increasingly difficult for the United States to maintain diplomatic missions and virtually impossible to give any protection to American citizens and American interests, have also systematically denied human rights and fundamental freedoms to their own peoples in flagrant violation of the provisions of the peace treaties.1

The countries of Eastern Europe claim to be sovereign nations and equal members of the international community. The United States has treated them as such, for these nations have had independence in the past and have a right to it. We have wished and still wish to maintain normal relations with them regardless of differences in political philosophies and institutions. We have wished especially to maintain our ties of friendship with the peoples of Eastern Europe with whose welfare and freedom the American people are naturally very deeply concerned.

On the other hand, states which claim to be sovereign members of the international community must act the part. Their governments must observe accepted standards in their relations with the rest of the world, and they must maintain the attributes of independence.

With regard to Bulgaria and Hungary, whose recent flagrant acts have brought their relations with the United States to the lowest point since the war, it is well to remember that a few short years ago these states were allies of Nazi Germany. It was the intention of the Allied Powers, in proceeding rapidly to the conclusion of peace treaties with them, to give them a full opportunity to take their place again in the family of nations. Their present rulers, in disregard of the wishes of their peoples, seem bent on rejecting that opportunity.

I should like to repeat that we do not regard the people of Eastern Europe as responsible for the deterioration of our relations with their governments, and the measures which the United States is compelled to take in order to meet the situation created by the unprincipled actions of those governments are in no sense directed against the people, who after their experience with Nazi rule had every right to expect freedom and independence. This country will maintain undiminished its concern for their rights and their welfare.

1 Treaties of Feb. 10, 1947 (TIAS 1649-1651 (61 Stat., pt. 2, pp. 1757-2229).