501.BB Balkan/5–2149
The Australian Minister of State for External Affairs (Evatt) to the Secretary of State, at Paris1
Dear Mr. Acheson: A special group of conciliators for the Balkans was appointed at the Paris General Assembly, and, as President of the General Assembly, I acted as chairman of the group.
[Page 334]We were given the mandate of devising methods and procedures of conciliation between Greece on the one hand and Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia on the other.
I issued our report at New York on Thursday evening on the completion of the General Assembly, and a copy of it can be made available to the Council of Foreign Ministers.2
You will note from the contents of the report that very substantial progress was made and that, even in the end, the delegate of Albania did not reject the draft agreement as amended by us and accepted in substance by Greece.
The particular matter seems, therefore, to me to be capable of settlement even now.
But the broader questions are of urgent and fundamental importance and I address you as follows:—
First, it is clear there is a far greater willingness among the four powers to complete an agreement than there was during the Paris General Assembly.
Second, while the conciliators were not vested with authority to negotiate in connection with the internal war in Greece, this matter tended to obtrude itself at many stages of the negotiations.
Third, in my opinion, the time has come to take steps to mediate between the Greek Government on the one hand and those Greeks who are disputing the authority of the Greek Government by levying war against it or attempting to overthrow it by force.
The paradoxical position is that the fighting in Greece continues, to some extent at least, because the border situation and relationships, especially between Greece and Albania, remain unsatisfactory, while, at the same time, the border situation and relationships between Greece, on the one hand, and Albania continue to be unsatisfactory largely because internal war continues within Greece.
I also desire to inform you that, towards the end of the meeting of the Assembly, the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia approached me as President of the General Assembly with a suggestion that a representative of the Greeks who are engaged in fighting the Greek Government desired to visit New York to make certain suggestions with a view to conciliation with the Greek Government. It was, however, not possible to proceed with this suggestion, mainly because the specified functions of the conciliators did not extend to the settlement of the fighting in Greece.
I believe it would now be possible to take a further step forward with a view to solving the two questions which are interwoven, first, the establishment of better relations between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria [Page 335] and Yugoslavia, second, the ending of the fighting in Greece. For this purpose, I am of opinion that a new approach could now be made by a mediating authority and it should be supported by the four powers now meeting in the Council of Foreign Ministers in Paris.
No question of jurisdiction need be raised so long as there is a sincere desire to obtain a final settlement. Clearly, the United Nations Commission on the Balkans has no jurisdiction in relation to the internal war in Greece. On the other hand, its jurisdiction in relation to the border relationships between Greece and the northern neighbours is strenuously denied by such northern neighbours. All these technical points are of minor importance, because, in order to save further bloodshed, immediate action must be taken.
The people of Greece have suffered terrible privations, first, in resisting the onslaughts of Mussolini and Hitler, and their life is still convulsed by internal fighting when all the efforts of the Greek people should be devoted to the task of reconstruction.
The soldiers of Australia fought side by side with the soldiers of Greece against Hitler during the darkest months of 1940 and it fills me with the deepest sadness to find the present tragic state of affairs continuing.
From all over the world, I, as chairman of the conciliation group, have received protests against the action of the Greek Government in carrying out punitive action against those aiding the guerrillas, but, at the same time, I have also received authentic information that the rebels have perpetrated actions of great atrocity against the forces of the Greek Government.
The recent history of Greece is a most distressing one, rending the heart of all who desire peace and harmony to be restored in the Balkans area.
Believing that the continuance of the present situation is so tragic, I believe that it can be brought to an end on just and honourable terms to all concerned.
I therefore bring it to the attention of each of the four members of the Council of Foreign Ministers, suggesting that the whole situation of Greece, both internal and external, can now be treated as one which can and should be handled speedily and on a basis of justice and fair play to all concerned.
I shall be glad to furnish any further information or assistance.
This communication is being delivered to you and to your three colleagues on the Council of Foreign Ministers at Paris by S. L. Atyeo, who acted as Secretary of the conciliation group over which I presided at Paris and Lake Success.
Yours sincerely,
- Following the conclusion of the Third
Session of the United Nations General Assembly on May 18, Evatt
departed from New York for London the following day. This letter
was delivered to Secretary Acheson at Paris where he was
attending the Sixth Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers.
In a memorandum of May 24 to the Secretary of State, not
printed, John Foster Dulles, an advisor to the United States
Delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers, reported having
been visited by Atyeo at the request of Evatt. Atyeo stated that
he had discussed this letter with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrey
Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, British Foreign Secretary Bevin, and
French Foreign Minister Schuman and that Vyshinsky had remarked
that he thought the proposals merited further development
(501.BB Balkan/5–2449). In a memorandum of May 25 to Secretary
Acheson, not printed, Dulles reported having received a message
from Evatt who felt that the Greek issue ought not to be on the
agenda of the Council of Foreign Ministers but hoped that
something could be done on the matter outside the Council. Evatt
expressed a willingness to keep himself available to the Council
for several weeks. (501.BB Balkan/5–2549)
In a reply dated May 26, not printed, Secretary of State Acheson expressed appreciation for Evatt’s conciliation efforts and sympathy with all efforts to find a just and honorable settlement to the Greek situation. The Secretary reaffirmed the view of the United States that the United Nations was the proper forum for any discussion of the Greek question. (868.00/5–2149)
↩ - Regarding Evatt’s statement of May 19, see the editorial note, p. 321.↩