Evening star., 1946-04-28
Investigating Franco

"VeStiSutiH9 TIOnSO
In reading the debate within the
Security Council on the proposal for
an investigation of the Franco gov
ernment, it is difficult to escape the
impression that the delegates are
talking about one thing and think
ing about another.
The question officially before the
Council is whether the Franco re-
gime is threat to world peace. A
majority of the delegates, expressing
doubt that this is SO, favor an in
vestigation to settle the question.
Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet dele
gate, is adamant in opposing any
investigation, and he makes skillful
use of the arguments at his disposal.
He points out that the Spanish
dictator has been almost universally
denounced and that he undoubtedly
sympathized with and aided the Axis
during the war. He also alludeS in
plausible fashion to the stalling tao
tics of the League of Nations-to its
unwillingness to act when Japan
invaded Manchuria and when Ger
many and Italy intervened in the
Spanish civil war. The excuse, Mr..
Gromyko says, was that there was
not sufficient evidence, that more
time was needed to investigate, and
the result was the Second World
War. Must we really wait" he
asks, until the cannons and the
automatic arms begin to speak be-
fore we recognize the presence of a
danger to peace?"
That is effective argument, es-
pecially in the minds of people who
know only too we'll that the great
failing of the League was its re-
fusal to take timely action when
the threat to peace was clear. It's
weakness lies, however, in the fact
that the threat from Spain is not
clear. On the contrary, it seems
just little bit absurd for any one
to say that the Spain of today
threatens the peace of the world.
1t is possible, of course, for war to
be stirred up in Spain by persons
who have their own ends to serve,
but it is not easy to believe that
Franco would take the initiative in
such a suicidal adventure. In any
event, if one assumes that the ques-
ton has been brought before the
Council in good faith, it is matter
which obviously is clothed with Suf-
flcient doubt to warrant the investi-
cation which the majority advocates
and which Mr.. Gromyko opposes.
There is good reason to believe,
however, that the issue of Spain as
a threat to peace is basically arti-
fetal, and that the delegates, while
talking about this point, are think
ing about the larger issues which
would arise if Franco should be
overthrown and strategically located
Spain should become battle-ground
in struggle for power between the
forces aligned with communism and
those which oppose it. Mr.. Gromyko
does not mention it, but Soviet Rus
sia, during the Spanish civil war,
also intervened, although on the
Loyalist side And there is every rea-
son to suppose that Moscow's inter
est in the peninsula is as great or
greater today. Equally great is the
interest of Britain and the United
States, and equally certain is it that
neither of these governments could
look with equanimity on the pros
pect of a Spain controlled by Com
munists or amenable to Communist
influence.
These things are not mentioned
in the debate in the Security Coun-
Gil. But it would be naive to suppose
that they are not in the minds both
of those who advocate an investiga-
ton of Spain, confident that the
inquiry would reveal the absence of
a threat to peace, and he who op-
poses the investigation, fearing that
this would be the case.