Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-07-31
The Berlin Declaration
If the .Kremlin honestly

If the Krenlin honestly wanted to
practice what it so loudly breaches, If
it really wished to promote stability,
friendship and peace in the world, it
could do so readily enough by responding
aff1rmatively to the latest Western state
ment on the problem of partitioned
Germany.
For the statement, which has been
formally entitled 1.-THE Berlin Declara-
tion," constitutes a powerful reaff1rma-
ton Of basic principles indispensable to
freedom and justice for the people of
Germany, and indispensable also to the
peace for Europe as whole. More than
that, as signed by the French, British,
American and West German govern
mentS, 1t once again offers to Russias
leaders completely reasonable negotiat-
ing terms which they cannot continue
to reject without making clear that they
are as intent as ever upon diShonoring
the pledges they have made in numerous
solemn agreements, including those
reached at the 1855 Geneva summit"
conference.
Certainly, as far as essentials are
concerned, what the West seeks is in
no sense at variance with what Moscow
itself has promised but persiStently re-
fuses to deliver. This includes, chiefly,
Soviet cooperation in carrying out
measures to reunify Germany on the
basis of genuinely free elections
throughout all parts of the country
elections that would create new nom
partitioned nation that would be truly
sovereign and independent in determine
ing its domestic and foreign policies,
notably the policy of whether or not to
belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Or
ganization. The men of the Kremlin, of
course, have long professed to be par
ticularly fearful of this aspect of the
issue, but their miSgivings look quite
counterfeit in view of the extraordinary
guarantees that have been offered them.
Thus, as the Berlin Declaration has en-
phaSized, If the reunited Germans
should freely choose to join NATO, the
Western powers, far from taking any
military advantage of that fact, would
be prepared to work out with the USSR
and its satellites reciprocal European
security arrangements of "a significant
and far-reaching character"
In other words, if the Kremlin would
only live up to its promises and agree to
let free elections put an end to Ger
many'S cruel and unnatural division, the
West would firmly commit itself to a
general security system insuring Soviet
infnrnCfc o0oiY1cf hA 80
Surgent militarism in that country.
Radio Moscow, howev :, has been quick
to respond to the new Berlin statement
with typical outpouring of virulent lies
suggesting that Nikita Khrushchev and
Company have no intention whatever
OF abandoning Stains policy on the
matter. The essence of this policy, which
actively initiates against peace, is to
obStruct anything that would unite the
Germans as an independent nation and
to work increasingly for conditions cal
culated to attain the ultimate objective
of converting the whole of Germany into
another Red satellite.
Clearly, in such circumstances, the
Berlin Declaration is not likely to ac-
compliSh much more than have similar
Western announcements in the past.
But it still adds up to timely restate-
ment of principles that are not to be
compromised or bargained away, and it
has the further virtue of serving as an
eloquent advance answer to the kind Of
propaganda that MesSrs. Khrushchev
and Bulganin can be expected to mouth
during their August visit to East
Germany.