The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-05-28
Bv MAX HARRISON

GENEVA ga group of experts
sought today to find how much
common ground there is in Com
munist and non-Communist pro.
posals for an Indochina cease-fire
The committee of constitutional
and legal specialists, including one
from each of the nine delegations
in the Indochina conference, was
set up late yesterday after the
main parley begged down in a
series of overlapping and conflict
ing plans.
The nine-party conference itself
was in recess awaiting outcome
of the study. Its next meeting is
tentatively set for tomorrow after
noon.
While the Indochina parley took
the afternoon off, the 19-nation Ko-
rea talks were to be resumed at
private meeting.
Several delegates were expected
to speak, including U. S. Under
Secretary of State Walter Bedell
Smith, who was reported ready to
throw his support behind South Ko-
rea's proposals for U. N.-super-
vised elections throughout Korea.
The Indochina experts had be-
fore them records of IL meetings,
including all proposals made to
date on all aspects of the pro-
posed ceasefire. If they can find
enough in common to draft a for
mula, a group of military special
lists will try to work out the tech
nical military problems involved.
The proposals include the seven
point discussion plans of France
and the opposing Vietminh; the
four-point plan of Britain on pro-
cedure, and the proposals by
France, Communist China and the
Vietminh on arrangements for as
sembling the opposing forces in
special zones.
Here is the way the East and
West stand on some of the main
points:
Extent of a cease-fire-France
insists it shall apply only in Wet
Nam while the Communists call
for a simultaneous cease-fire in
all three Indochinese states-Viet
Nam, Laos and Cambodia.
Assembly zones for the opposing
forces-France says the regroup-
ing shall not result in partition
of Wet Nam. The Communists call
for assembly zones within each of
three Associated States, taking into
account political, economic and
geographic factors. The West says
this means partition.
Supervision of a cease-fire-both
sides agree to international super.
vision but the Communists want
to set up a neutral nations super.
visory commission similar to the
formation body in Korea. This
group has been deadlocked on
most questions by Communist
veto.
International guarantees - the
West wants the nine parties to
guarantee cease-fire, individually
and collectively. The Communists
want to guarantee it collectively.
This is interpreted by the West
as containing built-in veto.
French Foreign Minister
Georges Bidault proposed yester.
day that the military representa-.
tives of the two commands-the
Vietminh and French Union forces
meet in Geneva at an early date.
He suggested, however, they deal
with assembly zones in Wet Nam
only.
This was not in full agreement
with an earlier proposal by Brit
| ish Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden that the military representa-.
tives deal first" with the Assem-.
bly, zones in Wet Nam. Some OBJ.
servers felt Eden's suggestion left
the way open, for later action in
Laos and Cambodia.
Bidault also proposed the con-
ference itself lay down two prin.
ciples: (1) that the establishment
of assembly zones must not result
in dismemberment of Wet Nam,
and (2) that the aim of regroup.
ing must be the re-establishins OF
peace in Wet Nam.