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experience of their history, will be able to defend themselves. Experience will tell them who are new friends and enemies. I am not going to explain this. I have already been accused of engaging in propaganda.' We have learned to tell propaganda from real facts,' the Burmese diplomat noted. When Soviet people tell the truth,' Khrushchev continued, 'someone says it is propaganda. Some people would like us to say that colonisers are good people; how much good they have done for all those they have oppressed. This would certainly please the coloniser.'
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NOTE. Rude Pravo, central organ of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, did not follow the Soviet version, but carried on 4th December a despatch from their special correspondent at Rangoon which was substantially the same as the British version.
Burmese Version
The Nation (Rangoon English language daily) 3rd December:-
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'By now Mr. Khrushchev was nicely launched on his tirade. From archi- tecture he went on to colonialism. He received his cue from Ambassador U Ohn who told him the Shwe Dagon was 2,000 years old. Fancy,' Mr. Khrushchev said, the English did not exist as a race up to the time of William the Conqueror. Yet they consider you to be savages and barbarians. We do not believe in the exploitation of common peoples as the colonialists do.' Mr. Khrushchev went on' but when the Soviet speak the truth it is termed propaganda. I suppose some people would like us to say what splendid people colonialists are."
"U Ohn agreed and said there was much common ground between the Russians and the Burmese. He remarked that the Burmese knew what colonialism was because they had experienced it. We are fighting to free other people still under the yoke of colonialism,' he stated."
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UNITED KINGDOM COMMENT
The Foreign Office spokesman on 2nd December commented, as regards Mr. Khrushchev's historical references" on this history can speak for itself," adding "It is of course ludicrous to say we call the Burmese savages. He then quoted part of a speech made by Sir John Kotelawala at the Bandung Conference when he spoke of the Soviet Satellite States and asked whether they were not colonies as much as any of the colonial territories in Africa or Asia.
Soviet Reaction
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The Soviet press and radio, including Pravda, have subsequently criticised the Foreign Office spokesman for making the comment "ludicrous on the basis of an inaccurate report. They have further criticised the British and other Western correspondents for the invention of every kind of fantasy and untruth. Pravda alleges that they are irritated and indignant at the fact that the Soviet leaders advocate the establishment of completely new relations between States, based on co-operation between peoples.
4. Speech by Mr. Khrushchev on 3rd December at Taunggyi in the Shan States
British Version
Daily Telegraph, 5th December:---
They did not like what I said here on Friday and they are not going to like what I am going to say to-night. Why are they not satisfied with my speech? It is because I am going to say that the English were sitting here on your necks and were robbing your people. This was not done to raise the standards of civilisation of your people. They say they were sitting in their colonies bringing their civilisation to the backward countries. But we say differently. We say they were sitting in their colonies to rob the people of their last piece of bread, people who were toiling to get it. That is what they do not like. The truth is against them.” Page 235 of 321
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