Council of Foreign Ministers Files: Lot M–88:
CFM London Documents
The text is attached of statements made on behalf of the Yugoslav Government
by M. Edvard Kardelj, Vice Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, M. Ljubo Leontic,
Yugoslav Ambassador in London and M. Sava Kosanovic, Yugoslav Minister of
Information at the Eighth and Ninth Meetings of the Council held on 18th
September, 1945.75
[Annex]
Statement by the Yugoslav Vice Prime Minister
(Kardelj)
to the Council of Foreign
Ministers
[London, September 18, 1945.]
The problem of the Julian March represents a two-fold issue for
Jugoslavia. It is the extremely important economic and political issue
of a country cut off by the Treaty of Rapallo76 from
its natural sea outlet and deprived of territories which have always
formed part of its national entity, and at the same time it is an issue
concerning two small nations—the Slovene and the Croat—who in the course
of centuries have been fighting for their freedom and their unity
against German and Italian Conquerors and who trusted that their aims
would be realized during this war. In order to make this point even
clearer I should like to remind you of the fact that the Slovene nation
numbers only one and a half million people and that little over a
million of them live in Yugoslavia while over half a million, that is
one third of the Slovene, live within the borders of Italy and Austria.
Accordingly the problem of the Julian March, for the Slovene nation is
not a question of sentimentality nor is it a selfish tendency to expand
its frontiers but it is a question of life, of normal development and of
its very existence.
The territory which we request covers, according to the old Italian
administrative division, the whole of the provinces of Trieste, Gorizia,
Pula, and Fiume as a whole as well as part of the province of Udine. It
also comprises the whole of the Zadar province in Dalmatia. The ethnic
borderline between the Slovenes and Italians is a perfectly clearly
determined one; it has undergone but little change in the course of the
last five hundred years. Within this ethnically compact Slovene and
Croat territory, an Italian minority inhabits only some of the towns
along the sea-coast. Nowhere in this territory can one find Italian
peasants. The total population living in this territory amounts to
970,000, including 650,000 Jugoslavs and about 320,000 Italians, Germans
and others. One half of the Italians live in the city of Trieste, while
the remainder inhabits the small sea-coast towns. In some of these towns
the Italians constitute the majority of the population, while in others
they are the minority, I repeat: East of the Italo-Jugoslav ethnic
border the Italian minority does not inhabit a continuous territory, but
lives only in isolated towns.
[Here follows an historical review of the ethnic relations in the Julian
March emphasizing the continuing Slovene and Croat nature
[Page 231]
of most of the population of
the area despite Italian efforts at settlement and Italianization.]
Jugoslavia puts forth only one claim; that the desire of the population
of the Julian March to unite with their native land and their free
brothers, to whom they are linked by ties of history, speech, culture
and economic interests, be respected. In this war Jugoslavia has given
her utmost to the Allies. One million seven hundred fallen Jugoslavs are
sufficient evidence of that. Among them are the 42,000 from the Julian
March. They died so that others may live in freedom. Is it possible to
question to whom the Julian March should belong? Our entire people
believe throughout the war that the liberation and unification of our
people was one of the Allied principal war aims. The freedom of nations
was the main watchword of the war. It would be a terrible blow to our
people and their faith in the democratic aims of the war should this
prove untrue. No one would be able to understand on the basis of what
aims the Slovene and the Croat peoples would be thrown into slavery. For
13 centuries the Slovenes and Croates of the Julian March toiled as
slaves of foreign masters and shed sweat and blood upon their native
soil. Has not the time come for humanity to put an end to the tragic
history of two small nations?
On the basis of all that has been stated, I have the honour to submit to
the Conference of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Five Great
Powers in London, the following request with regard to the frontier
between Jugoslavia and Italy:
1) The former Austro-Hungarian territory, inhabited mostly by South
Slavs, and which was ceded to Italy after the first World War contrary
to the principle of the self-determination of nations, should be joined
to Jugoslavia.
2) As a basis for the determination of frontiers the former
Austro-Hungarian frontier is taken, which is to be revised in certain
places, so that the new frontier may to the greatest possible extent
coincide with the ethnical boundary.
This frontier would start from the summit of Mount Rosskofel (Monte
Cavallo, 2239m.) located on the former and present Austro-Italian
frontier and would descend towards the South along the watershed of the
upper course of the Bela (Fella) River and its right tributary the Aupa
River, that is across the summits of the Monte Cullar (1764m.) and Mount
Zuc del Boor (2197m.), then across the Bela River between the railway
stations of Na and Beli and Mozac. The line then continues South across
the Mount Plauris (1959), Mount Lavre (Mount Lavera 1907m.) and Mount
Kadi, and continues along the watershed between the rivers Tera (Torre)
and Tagliamento (Tilment), that is, across the peaks of Mount Lanez
(Cuel di Lanis 1631m.). The frontier then turns south-east so as to
include the towns of Tarcent (Tarcento) and the whole territory of the
municipalities of Nema (Nimis), Alten (Attinis), Fojda (Faedes), Torjan
(Torreano) and Cedad (Cividale) and Cesta od Cedada (Cividale) up to
Krmin (Cormons) should be part of Jugoslavia.
[Page 232]
The line here reaches the Idria (Judrio) River at
the point of the Austro-Italian State frontier prior to 1918 and the
subsequent frontier between the province of Gorica (Gorizia) and Udine
(Videm). The line then follows the frontier between the province of
Gorica and Trieste in the east and the province of Udine in the west, so
that it follows mainly the course of the rivers Idria (Judrio), Ter
(Torre), Soca (Isonzo) and along the northern and western borders of the
municipality of Gradez (Grado) and finally reaches the Adriatic.
According to this, the former frontier would be revised in its southern
sector in Italy’s favour and its northern sector in favour of
Jugoslavia. Such a frontier correction of the old Austro-Hungarian
frontier would mean the cession to Italy of 198 square kilometres with a
population of 28,000, while Jugoslavia would receive 900 square
kilometres with a population of 80,000.
3) This line deviates from the ethnical boundary in three sectors:
between Mount Rosskofel (Monte Cavallo) and Lavra (Mount Laura), at
certain points in the sector between Tarcento and Krmin (Cormons) and in
the sector between the Idria (Judri) River and the Adriatic coast west
of Trzich—this for economic, particularly communications reasons.
4) The city of Trieste is to receive the political legal status of a
federal unit within Democratic Federative Jugoslavia.
5) Jugoslavia will extend to the Port of Trieste the status of a free
port with the corresponding transit railway traffic facilities.
I reserve the right to submit in writing the above requests in detail, as
well as all the other which pertain to the conclusion of the Peace
Treaty with Italy.
