Evening star., 1946-07-15
Pravd1Says British
U:e Velvet Curtain
To Hide Activities
BY the Associated Pfess

MOSCOW. July 15.-The Com
munist organ Pravda declared today
in an article by Boris Izakoff that
while British circles have been talk
ing about Russian iron curtain
in Eastern Europe, Britain has hung
up velvet curtain" in the Pacific
and Middle East.
The article, which invited Pravda's S
readers to lift the velvet curtain"
and look behind it, stated:
Curious details are outlined from
time to time behind the folds of the
velvet curtain, which divides Indo-
nesia from the outside world" 1t
added that in Indonesia a year after
the war there is occurring war &C
tivity on a big scale, of which we
read daily in the newspapers" and
that more than five months after
Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin' S
speech before the United Nations
Security Council, war in Indonesia
is unceasing day after day."
Mission to India Cited.
Behind this same velvet curtain" I"
the article continued. British gov
ernment mission went to India with
a plan of treating all possible ques-
tlons except the most important
the evacuation of the English Army
from India"
Turning to Palestine. the Pravda
writer stated: In reality there is
happening in Palestine something
quite close to war operations. All
that is there being done is justified
IN London by citing a misunder-
standing between Jews and Arabs.
Convenient justification!'
Pravda said Egyptian efforts to
get the British army out of Egypt
we're useless and that foreign troops
were still in Syria and Lebanon.
1t asserted that Greece, sole Bal
kan country on the other side of
the velvet curtain" knows neither
peace nor ORDER despite the fact
that a promise was made to evacu-
ate British forces after the cleo
tons. English forces are still not
leaving" Pravda said.
OeTHdn fOTceS armed.
The picture would not be COM
plete if it did not include what is
happening behind the velvet curtain
in the English occupation zone of
Germany said the article.
The Soviet press has already
pointed out that an appreciable part
Of the German armed forces are
still not demobilized in the English
zone
Pravda placed the number of these
forces at 147,672. and added: this
Is almost one and half times more
than the German Reichswehr was
permitted after the first World
War"
Pravda said the uprooting of
Fasclsm in the British zone has only
a symbolic character
The order behind the velvet cur
tain in no way answers the task
Of creating a sound and long peace"
it added.
Atomic Policy AssaiIed.
Soviet publications levelled new
broadsides over the week end at
United States proposals for atomic
energy control and United States
occupation policies in both Germany
and Japan
M. Marinin. commenting in Pravda
asserted that ruling circles" in
America in general have no inten-
ton Of renouncing the atom bomb
and declared:
The atomic bomb called into be-
ing atomic diplomacy and from the
entire period Of discussion of the
problem of atomic energy in the
United States the conclusion is
reached that ruling circles in the
United States in general do not
intend to renounce the atomic
weapon"
On the German question. Y. A.
Vlktorov. Pravda's international re-
viewer, wrote that the American
plan for a treaty of demilitarization
of Germany, despite its ballyhooed
names, presents step backward
from the Berlin (PotsdamD confer
ence decisions and ignores entirely
the guarantee Of reparations de-
liveries."
Jap Occupation Criticized.
Viktorov said the question of eco
nomic uniflcation of Germany was
now an order of the day. and added
that the Soviet Union favored such
plan, but that it could be achieved
only by a united central government,
with genuine "democratization" of
Germany as forerunner.
Meanwhile. the trade union news
paper, Trud, lashed out at American
occupation authorities in Japan, de-
claring they were supporting ''reac-
tionary interests" and placing OBJ
stacles in the path of japanese trade
unionists.
The Trud writer asserted that an
order by Gen. Macarthur, banning
mass demonstrations. was an eX-
2mple of the support given reaction
FRY elements.