Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-10-27
Moscow to Bonn

In its latest note to Bonn on the ques-
ton of Germany's reunification, the
Kremlin has resorted to an almost
pathetically mendacious effort to justify
its persistent refusal to honor its pledged
word. And the mendacity of the thing,
If not the pathos, seems particularly
spectacular when measured against what
has been happening in Poland and Hun
gary-especially Hungary
This new exercise in Soviet double
talk and hypocrisy is supposed to be an
answer to last months note and memo
randum in which Bonn called upon Rus
sia's collective leaders" for renewed
. negotiations aimed at permitting Ger
many to reunite on the basis of free cleo
tions. AT the Geneva summit" confer
ence in July, 1855, Premier Bulganin and
Nikita Khrushchev Solemnly reaffirmed-
in keeping with prior Russian commit
mentS-their agreement that such cleo
tions would have to be held as an essen
tial prelude to ending the country's
partition. But now, in characteristic
fashion, they have repudiated their own
words and made clear that their prime
objective is to maintain the present
division indefinitely, or for all time if
possible.
And how do the men of the Kremlin
justify themselves? Well, they argue,
times have changed conditions have
changed, and the idea of free elections
is no longer acceptable. 1t is no longer
acceptable, they say, because West Ger
Treaty Organization and is in the process
of rearming. This was true of West Ger
many, of course, long before the Russians
repeated their old promises at last years
summit" meeting, but facts and logic
have never been allowed to interfere with
the twists and turns of Soviet policy.
Regardless of the past, today's Moscow
line-aS set forth in the new note to Bonn
is that there can be no progress toward
identification as long as the Adenauer
government rearms under NATO and
refuses to negotiate on the identification
issue with MoScows puppet East German
regime.
The pathetic feature of the Kremlins
note-or maybe one should call it the
ridiculous feature-iS that it tries to por-
tray that regime as truly independent
instead of being what it really ia
reasonable stooge Setup completely sub
Servient to Moscow and ardently deSpiSed
by the great mass of East Germans And
at the same time, turning the truth COM
pletely upside down, the note accuses the
freely elected Bonn government of being
kind of fraud violating the elementary
democratic rights and liberties of the
West German populace." How big can a
lie get? Here is statement whose bra
zenneSS and mendacity become practi-
cally breath-taking when one keeps in
mind how Russia has been Staying the
Hungarians by the hundreds in their
revolt against Soviet-imposed tyranny.
This is thing that speaks eloquently
enough for itself. The Kremlin is not
going to let the East Germans have free
elections because it knows that they
would sweep away the puppet Reds and
reunite with their Western compatriotS
as genuinely independent nation. In
that sense, as their note to Bonn indi-
Gates, RuSsia'S collective leaders" are
men too frightened to fulfill their prom
iseS. And they are frightened because
they realize-aS Poland and Hungary
have demonStrated-that neither they
nor their StoogeS can survive the test of
an unfettered vote anywhere. Could
there be more Illuminating or more
damning commentary on the nature of
the Communist system?