Evening star., 1944-05-13
AIgiers Censor's Ban
On Tito Interview
Protested by A. P.
BY the Associated Press,

press by the Yugoslav Partisan
leader, Marshal Tito, has beer
stopped by censors of the Allied
Mediterranean command at Algiers
despite official assurances that po-
litical censorship would not be i'm
posed in the Mediterranean theater
No reason has been given,
Representations have been made
TO the War Department in Wash
.ington and authorities in London
and directly to Gen. Sir Henry Matt
land Wilson, supreme Allied COM
mander in the Mediterranean, but
the dispatch, by A. p Correspondent
Joseph Morton, has been refused
clearance after IL days considera-
ton.
Called "Theater Matter"
The War Department said yester-
day it had no comment at this time
because the situation is mani
festly a theater matter"
When Gen. Wilson took command
In the Mediterranean theater in
January he told correspondents he
would continue Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower's policy of no political
censorship, saying, Il hope you don t
think I have brought all those Mid
die East rules over here with me
g Here I see no reason for in
PRODUCTION of political censorship"
Gen. Wilson had been commander
in the Middle East, where Cairo has
been noted as a center of censor
ship difficulties.
On May Kent Cooper, executive
director of the Associated Press,
telegraphed Gen. Wilson:
Earnestly request your interven-
ton in matter of release of Asso-
ciated Press story written by Joseph
Morton based on questions sub
mitted to Marshal Tito but which
censors under your command refuse
to permit be sent to us.
Asks for Statement.
Edward Kennedy, chief of A. P.
staff in Mediterranean, declares
that suppression constitutes politi-
cal censorship in spite of your as
surances and those of British and
American Governments that politi-
cal censorship would not be intro
duced in Mediterranean theater.
''If you feel unable to pass dis
patch in question, we would like
statement from you as to your rea-
sons therefor which we can publish
with our disclosure Of imposition Of
political censorship in your theater.
Assurances high regard"
Gen. Wilson has not replied and
Mr.. Kennedy telegraphed the AS
ISOLATED Press in New York Thurs
day night that Mr.. Cooper's mes
sage was apparently ignored" !"
Mr.. Kennedy further reported he
had attempted full details regard
ing Tito story but censorship pre-
vent me from sending at this time. "
Mr.. Morton obtained his inter
view with Tito by submitting writ
ten questions from Bari, Italy.
Personally Written Answers.
The Communist-trained guerrilla
leader, whose forces often have
clashed with those of Gen. Draja
Mihailovich, war minister of the
exiled Yugoslav government, sent
back personally written answers.
The story, about 1900 words, was
sent April 80 to headquarters at
Algiers for censorship and trans
mission, but there the censors
stopped 1t.
Mr.. Kennedy cabled on May 8
that he regarded the affair as "a
censorship scandal 10 times more
important than suppression OF Pat
ton incident and If accepted by us
can only lead to permanent Allied
political censorship in Europe and
end all freedom in reporting politi-
cal news from here" He appended
a note that his message itself had
been held up by the censors in Italy
for six hours.
This is not the first clash be-
tween correspondents and censors
in the Mediterranean theater, but
Mr.. Kennedy said 1t "is the most
clear-cut yet involving freedom OF
the press"
One of De Luce Stories Killed.
Daniel De Luce, Associated Press
correspondent, who went into Yugo-
slavia last September and got a
first-hand account of the Yugoslav
Partisans' struggle against the Ger
mans-a feat which contributed to
his winning the 1943 Pulitzer prize
for reporting of international af-
fairs-had one of his five dispatches
killed by the censors.
Two of the others were sent as
written and two slightly mutil-
sted" after battle with the
censors which lasted until long
after midnight" Mr.. Kennedy re-
ported at that time. He reported
also that Mr.. De Luce was the sub
ject of IAN official investigation and
report, but they could not prove he
had violated any regulation"
Subsequently, Mr.. Kennedy said,
air-tight regulations were imposed
against correspondents going to
Yugoslavia, and two (not Associated
1ICSS IIlSIll WIZ dIICllllJVSN W bO oO
were arrested.
Request Made by Tito.
Mr.. De Luce applied for permis-
sion to return to Yugoslavia as a
correspondent officially accredited
to Tito's headquarters, but was re-
fused, despite two specific requests
by Marshal Tito himself and Tito's
offer to furnish transportation.
On March % Mr.. De Luce tele-
graphed New York that he had OBJ
tanned "the only travel order issued
a correspondent by Tito but using
it would make me liable to military
arrest and characterization by Med
tteTanean command"
AS part of the general picture, a
Blue Network correspondent in
Naples radioed last night MAY IL
that relations between military au-
thoritieS in Italy and the represent
atives of the worlds press have
fallen to new low in the past
month. Even the pretense of daily
press conferences has been dropped.
Instead, all news comes out via the
nimeOgraph machine"