Evening star., 1954-06-06
Peace Fork

While peace-making efforts made
little progress at Geneva's nine
power conference, the Indo-China
war was introduced into a new
arena, the United Nations Security
Council in New York.
The council voted 10-1 Thursday
(only Russia dissenting) to consider
Thailand's request for United Ma
tions team of observers to look into
the danger that the Indo-China
war may spread.
Talks at Geneva apparently will
be allowed to run more of their
course, however, before the United
Nations acts. There had been some
inclination on Thailand's part to
ask that observation teams go into
Indo-China itself. But Britain and
France prefer to await the out
come at Geneva before the prob
lem is thrown open to the United
Nations. The Thai later toned
down their request, asking merely
for a peace patrol of their own
borders with Cambodia and Laos
United States Ambassador Henry
Cabot Lodge is Security Council
chairman for June, and was ex-
pected to call a meeting to debate
the Thai request late this week.
Geneva Negotiations
At Geneva, meanwhile, Commu-
mist and anti Communist powers
leap-frogged over controversial is
sues in their cease-fire negotiations
and tried to widen the area of agree
ment. There was one point of accord
reached, but two points of disagree
ment were of much more substan-
tial proportions.
The conferees disagreed Cd on
membership of the international
commission which would supervise
the cease-fire and (2) on the status
Of the Communist states of Pathet
Lao (Which claims to represent the
people of Laos) and Khmer (Which
purportS to speak for the Cambodian
people,. The point of agreement
was on calling in military counter
parts of the civilian negotiators i'm
mediately, to try to agree on re-
grouping areas for the armies in the
field at the time of the cease-f1re.
The diplomats spent most of last
week discussing the enforcement
aspects of a cease-f1re. The Reds
want alf-Communist, half-neu-
trail commission poland, Czecho-
slovakia, India and Pakistan) to
police the armiStice. In other words,
they want to put the commission
into a straitjacket where "a split
votes can hamstring its actions COM
pletely.
The United States leads the oppo-
sition to allowing any Communist
states at all on the supervisory COM
mission. It points to the experience
with international commissions in
Korea to support its case that Red
members are not neutral. The West
thus is holding out for genuinely
neutral group, and-just as impor-
tant-wants it to be composed main
ly of Asian nations. The Reds. II
they continue to oppose this idea,
will find themselves openly violating
the Asia-for-Asians policy to which
they pay lip service.
No resolution of the deadlock on
the membership of the commission
was in sight this week end.
MiIitoy Regrouping
The effort to draw up zones in
Wet Nam for regrouping the op-
posing armies was not far enough
along this week end to judge how
successful it would be. In general, it
was known that the Communists
favored regrouping in large zones.
possibly dividing Wet Nam into two
parts and thus partitioning the
country. The French and Wet Ma
mese, on the other hand, favored
setting up scores of cease-flre lines
around pockets" of control held by
the two sides.
The United States opposed con-
vening the military talks now on two
counts. First, it would have pre-
ferred that the status Of Laos and
Cambodia be settled before they be-
gan. The Reds insist that regroup-
ing areas must be set up in the
smaller two Associated States as well
as in Wet Nam. The West wants the
Communists to get out Of Laos and
Cambodia completely. 1t calls the
Red states of Pathet Lao and Khmer
phantoms. Moreover, it claims that
the Communist military groups
operating in the two states are alien.
not native.
The military talks were finally
arranged by putting OF decision
on what to do about regrouping in
. Laos and Cambodia. starting instead