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Foreign Affairs HOUSE OF COMMONS Foreign Affairs
[MR. MAYHEW.]
the Greek Government and the Govern- ments of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania. So far as mediation goes between the Greek Government and the rebel bands, the Government having been elected under the supervision of a team of 1,000 international observers, the Greek Government's relations with the rebel bands are a matter for the Greeks and not for the United Nations.
Mr. Driberg rose-
Mr. Mayhew: I am afraid I cannot give way. In any event, we consider that this would not meet the case, because it does not touch upon the basic cause of the disturbances in Greece. The basic cause is the determination of the Com- munist northern neighbours of Greece to keep the flames alight. That reality is recognised by the General Assembly in the resolution which it passed in which it approved the report of the United Nations Special Commission for the Balkans to the effect that the Greek guerrillas have received assistance on a large scale from Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria with the knowledge of the Governments concerned. resolution also stated that the Assembly considered that this assist- ance injures the position in the Balkans and is inconsistent with the United Nations Charter. It called on the Com- munist countries to cease this assistance and to co-operate with Greece.
The
Mr. Boothby: On a point of Order. The hon. Member for Gateshead (Mr. Zilliacus) is reading a newspaper. not blame him, but is it in order?
I do
Mr. Mayhew: This campaign cuts across initiative, ignores realities, and would not be helpful in solving the Greek problem. The speech of the hon. Member for Gateshead (Mr. Zilliacus) was, I am afraid, his usual speech-or rather it was slightly unusual in one respect. Now and again in his speeches one sees a deviation from the official Cominform line. Yesterday, in the course of a lengthy speech, I noticed not one single deviation from Cominform policy. I think the key to his speech was his phrase:
"The Socialist quarter of humanity." [Official Report, 9th December, 1948; Vol. 459, c. 614.]
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We should face honestly the implicat ins of what he said. What is this Socist quarter of the world? It is the quarter of the world from which comes the stream of Socialist exiles to the West, the exiles for whom the British Labour Party has The started a special refugee fund. Socialist quarter of the world is the quar- ter of the world where the gaols are filled with Socialists. It is the quarter of the world from which comes the stream of propaganda against the Socialist parties of the world, against the British Labour Party, the German Social Democrats, the Austrian Socialists, and against our comrades in France, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, New Zealand, India and Ceylon. This so-called Socialist quar- ter of the world is, in fact, the enemy of Socialism in the world today.
The hon. Member said that we must revise some of our moral and intellectual preconceptions. I suggest that this is one of the adjustments that Socialists in this country must make. I say that a speech such as that of my hon. Friend, which is founded on this false assumption, is not a contribution to the cause of peace and Socialism.
Mr. Zilliacus (Gateshead): May I ask my hon. Friend what political conclu- sions he draws from his analysis? Do we want war with this quarter of human- ity or is he prepared to make peace with them?
Mr. Mayhew: If there was time I would carry on with that important topic. I merely wanted to challenge the basic assumptions of my hon. Friend's speech, because I believe that it is important to do so.
Before coming to discuss Palestine- and I am sorry to hurry in this way-I will make a few remarks about the United Nations organisation. The meeting of the General Assembly is coming to a conclu- sion. I would have liked my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, who has borne the heavy burden of the General Assembly, to have been here to report to the House. The right hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. C. Davies), the hon. and gallant Member for the Isle of Ely (Major Legge-Bourke), the hon. Member for Attercliffe (Mr. J. Hynd) and others all made reference to the Assembly. I reassure the House that I shall not give a full account of all the debates that have