Evening star., 1946-10-08
|bevin Denies
|Harshnessof
Italian Treaty
Says Axis Would Not
Have Tempered Claim
IfIt Had Won War
By NewboId Noyes, Jr.
Sfor SfoH CORRESPONDENT

PARIS, Oct. a-British For
eign Minister Bevin today hotly
denied charges by Belgium's
Paul Henri Spaak, president OF
the United Nations General As
sembly, that the proposed peace
treaty with Italy is too harsh.
Speaking before a plenary session
OF the Paris Peace Conference, Mr.
Bevin said: "If the war had gone
the other way and Mussolini, with
other Axis powers, had won, won
der how the countries they had
overrun would have Jared. Would
not their fate have been infinitely
worse than Italy's is today?"
Earlier today Mr.. Spaak opposed
the terms of the Italian treaty, say
ing that Remuneration of her COL
onies, $225 100000 in reparations
refusal to allow Italy to ask repara-
tions of Germany and retribution
by rs per cent of the losses suffered
by Allied nations in Italy is asking
too much"
He said the suffering which italy
caused in Ethiopia and Greece must
be remembered in writing the Ital-
ian treaty, but that Italian resist
ance to the German occupation
should not be declared null and
void"
Britain Will Settle for 75es.
Mr.. Bevin declared Britain wants
and needs full compensation for
property damaged in Italy. but will
settle for rs per cent If that is the
most the Conference can recon-
mend.
The Briton, who today turned over
Craftsmanship of the Plenary Con-
ference to Russian Foreign Minister
Molotov, said his governments view
took into account the fact that a
new Italy was born with the
armistice. But IN discussing the dis
position of Italy's colonies, he re-
minded his hearers that Britain,
with Greece, defended the Middle
East against Italian imperialism,
and declared:
1T was not we who attacked Italy
with view to seizing these colonies;
it was Mussolini who attacked us
with the idea of destroying the Sc
curity of the Middle East"
Mr.. Bevin asked the conference to
picture Britain asking for the return
of Malta or Alden in case Italy had
won the war.
The solution on the colonial prob
lem, Mr.. Bevin suggested, should
take into account Ethiopia's claim
to Eritrea, the aspirations to self
government of the Arabs of Libya,
and Britain's pledge to the .Senussi
community that it will not again
come under Italian rule.
The Council of Foreign Ministers
and the Conferences Italian Politi-
cal and Territorial Commission have
recommended postponing settlement
Of the question of Italy's colonies for
one year, and Mr.. Bevin indicated he
thought this wise move
Denies Claim in Trieste.
"Slowness," he said, may result in
better work. The further we move
away from war itself, the better
chance moderation and reason have
of making themselves felt"
He also said the last thing Britain
wants is to build up groups and
countergroups, expressed his belief
that the conference would prove
helpful" to the Foreign Ministers OF
the Big Four when they sit down to
draft final treaties for the five for
mer German satellite states, and de.
MED the British seek to establish q
military base in the free territory oil
Trieste as the Russian bloc has
charged.
1--WE have no strategical interest In
Trieste at ALL" he said. II trust
these unfounded allegations will not
again be repeated,"