864.00/3–1947
The Acting Chairman of the Allied Control Commission for Hungary (Sviridov) to the Chief of the United States Representation on the Allied Control Commission (Weems)1
In acknowledging receipt of your letter of 17th March 1947,2 I have the honor to inform you that it does not touch upon any issues which are new in principle and which were not answered in my letter of the 8th March.3
Concerning your remarks about the procedure of investigation of the anti-constitutional plot directed against the republic and conducted by the Hungarian police and the process prosecution prior to transmittal of the case to the court, that procedure of investigation is in complete accord with the laws of the Hungarian Republic, which are now in force. Results of the trial of the plotters show in all clarity that the attempts to change the usual procedure of the investigation, through creation of a special parliamentary commission to investigate the plot, were not called for by any necessity, but rather had as their aim to conceal the criminal role of parliamentary deputies of the Independent Party of Smallholders implicated in the plot. [Page 286] Taking into consideration your remarks concerning the composition of the court, I deem it necessary to draw your attention to the following circumstances:
The court which at the time is considering the case of the plotters has been composed in accordance with the law of the defense of the republic, which was accepted by the National Assembly. Any other composition of such a court would be contrary to the law and therefore would be unconstitutional.
Your remarks concerning the arrest of Béla Kovács by the Soviet occupation authorities caused surprise at once, already I had the opportunity to decline your interference into this case. However, since in spite of that you again returned to this issue, I, solely in order to forestall you from making any further mistake, can inform you that Béla Kovács has fully acknowledged his guilt in crimes committed against the Soviet Army as well as his participation in the plot.
Referring to my letter of 8 March 1947 and considering the above-mentioned information, I do not find it possible to change my attitude to your offer of a mutual investigation of the existing situation in Hungary and of the plot.