Enakopravnost. [volume] (Cleveland, O.[Ohio]) 1918-1957, 1945-11-26
= We ENGLISH SECTION r: .:::'::
American Slov Congress Gives It's
f.. Position on the Balkans
Continued from last week)

NouIAiueQ from last week.
Poulos wrote in his unpub.
lished dispatch of June 5: "Com.
ing after the British refusal, on
orders from London, to grant
Dimitrov sanctuary, the Ameri.
can action may well make the
United States the fall guy and
trim American influence in this
area for some time to come"
This seems to be exactly what
has been happening. BY taking
up the fight and, consciously or
unconsciously, the cause of for
mer Nazi collaborators and re.
dictionaries, we are destroying
the good will that exists among
the vast majority of the Balkan
peoples toward America. We are
trimming our influence. 1t will
do us no good to blame the Rus.
slams, as many writer's are in.
clined to do, for the growing re.
sentiment which is developing in
the Balkans toward the attitude
of our representative there and
of our press here at home.
The B ak an peoples like
America. They want to see the
United States as one of their
staunchest friends. That is why
they are bewildered, nay, indig
nant when they see us taking
the side of petty disrupters and
former collaborationists. They
may justly wonder whether
America is trying to help them
establish their life on a new
democratic basis or stand in the
way of achieving this objective.
The American people in turn
might well ask where our inter.
vention is leading us and what
it is doing to the reservoir of
good wil' that freedom-loving
peOpIes in the Balkans have for
us.
Another case in point con.
Germs Yugoslavia. Recent dis.
patches mentioned that business
leaders and United States Gov.
ernment representatives there
have made it clear to Yugoslav
officials that they should not ex.
pect any United States economic
help unless they change their
present policy, that is, unless
they behave as some of our dip
lomats and bankers want them
to. 1t is easy to imagine how the
Yugoslav people, who fought
Hitler and their native quislings
with such heroism, would react
to such pressure. They are no
less proud of their way of life
than we are of ours, and would
not be willing to yield their
hard-Won freedom at any price.
What such bargaining" must
do to the Yugoslavs' feelings of
goodwill for Americans can
only be imagined, and Ameri-
cans may in turn ask again
whether Uncle Sam is not at.
tempting to use the economic
stick" to beat weaker nations in
to toeing the line according to
our concept of what their way
OF life should be.
What is the main reason for
this negative United States poll
cy toward the Balkan peoples?
Why are we acting like the Brit.
ish Tories acted toward us when
our country decided to gain its
national independence, when we
fought the Civil War to preserve
the gains of 1776? I think that
the explanation lies in the fact
that our policy makers, our
State Department, andsour rep
resentatives in the Balkan coun-
tries are in. most cases people
who are afraid of the progres.
sive, anti-Fascist revolution that
has been taking place in the Bal
kans. They do not understand
the supsurge of the masses of
people toward real freedom for
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