Evening star., 1944-12-08

uSII .lOSI0AhOu
disgust, OF boycott and maybe in
extreme cases should be brought be-
fore the courts of law and punished
with death.
Hopes for Orderly Trials.
But I hope they will be courts of
law with fair trials, not mere ex-
pressions of mob juries or political
rivals. But let me try to establish
this point: That these men who went
up into the hills with rifles and
machineguns given them by the
British government have by fee SIM
pie claimed the right to govern vast
complex communities such as Bel
gium, Greece, or Holland-it may
be next. l say repulse that claim
They have done good service and it
is for the state and not for them to
| judge the rewards they should re-
ceive. 1t is not for them to claim
ownership of the state. 1t cannot
be admitted. That is what is being
fought out now.
I say we march along our onerous
and painful path. Poor old Eng
land, perhaps 1 should say poor old
Britain, we have to assume the
burden and the most thankless tasks
and be shot at, criticized, and
abused from every quarter. But at
least we know what is our aim, our
object. 1t is that these countries
shall be freed from the German
armed power and that, under con-
ditions of normal tranquility, they
shall have a free universal vote to
decide the government of their
country, except the Fascist regime,
and whether that government shall
be to the left or to the right.
That is our aim and we are told
we seek to disarm the friends of
democracy. Because we do not al
low gangs of heavily armed guer-
rillas to descend from the mountains
and install themselves in the great
capitals and in power and in office
we are told we are traitors to de-
mocracy. l repulse that claim, too.
I shall call upon the House as
matter of confidence in his majesty's
government and confidence in the
spirit with which we have marched
from one peril to another until vic
tory is in sight. l shall call upon
them to reject this with the Scorn
that they deserve.
General Attack on Policy.
The amendment on the paper has
particular reference to Greece, but
it is a general attack on the whole
policy of His Majesty's government
as supporting reactionary forces
everywhere, trying to install by force
dictatorial governments contrary to
the wishes of the people.
l deal therefore not only with
Greece. l pin myself at this moment
in the first instance to other parts
of Europe, because this theme is
also to some extent opened up in the
last sentence of an American press
release with which we were con-
fronted few days ago.
1t is not only in Greece that we
appear to some eyes to be disarming
the friends of democracy and those
| popular movements which have as
sisted them to defeat the enemy.
There is Italy. there is Belgium-let
me come to Belgium.
Belgium is another case of what
the amendment calls the friends of
democracy being disarmed in favor
of the organized constitutional ad-
ministration. If so that is grave and
1t deserves scrutiny. At the end of
November there was to be what the
Germans called a putSch organized
in Belgium to throw out the gov
ernment of M. Pierlot, which gov
ernment was the only constitutional
link with the past and the only link
we have recognized during the war.
This government has received a vote
Of confidence of 1872 members to only
II, with six abstentions. from the
Belgian Parliament.
Belgian Demonstration Cited.
However. the friends of democ-
racy, the valorouS aSsisters in the
defeat OF the enemy. took different
view. They organized an attack
upon the Belgian state. A demon
stration largely attended by women
land children marched up to the Bel
gian Parliament House and lorry
loads of friends of democracy came
along from Mons and other places
heavily armed Here you see the
hard-worked Briton, whom we are
asked to censure. What did this
reactionary undemocratic govern
ment do? It's orders were sent to
stop the lorries on the way and to
disarm their loads Moreover, we
British placed light tanks and
armored cars in the streets near the
front of the Parliament House.
which the Belgian gendarmerie were
defending in the name of the Bel
gian constitutional government
Now here was interference in
marked form. Here was an attempt
to stand between the friends of de-
mocracy and the valorous anarchic
overthrow of the Belgian state. And
We British stood in the way of that.
1 have to admit these things to you.
But on whose orders and under
whose authority did we take this &C
tion?' Gen Erskine. the British Of
ficer, made various proclamations
like those Gen. Scobie commander in
Greece has made under the press
of the situation These proclama-
tions had a highly statutory effect,
and those concerned in the move
ment of the Allied force acted ac-
cordingly.
Who is Gen. ErSkine? He repre-
sents, he is directly responsible to,
and derives his authority from, Gen.
Eisenhower, that remarkable Amer
lcan supreme commander, whose
wisdom and good fellowship we ad-
mlre and whose orders we have
promised to obey.
Obeyed Eisenhower.
l have no hesitation in saving not
only did we obey Gen. Eisenhower's
orders but we thought those orders
were wise and sensible.
After all, we British who are now
said to be poor friends of democracy
lost; re- ()0O tn An mn ,,,o,, - .: