860h.00/12–2645: Telegram
The Ambassador in Yugoslavia (Patterson) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 27—7:46 a.m.]
795. Since elections Govt has begun to take decidedly new attitude towards opposition. Former pretense at playing with opposition and allowing it such rights as publication of newspaper has been dropped. Attitude today according to our official contacts through FonOff is that gulf between Govt and opposition is unbreachable. Grol is criticized for having supported London Govt when he knew it was engaging in double game with Mihailovich. Grol is also accused of receiving outside aid presumably from America and England. For a time after his resignation Grol was invited even to official [Page 1302] Partisan receptions. Now he is shunned. Tito on being invited to my house for New Year’s reception made his acceptance conditional upon Grol and other opposition leaders not being invited.
Grol now has no newspaper or other means of expressing his views publicly nor has any other opposition leader. ()ver 20 clerks and officials of Grol’s Democratic Party headquarters and former officers of his newspaper in Belgrade have been arrested in last 6 weeks. Some have been released while others are still in prison awaiting charges. Since Grol denies categorically that he or his staff have been engaging in any secret activities, arrests are apparently attempt to intimidate his supporters into discontinuing paity activities. Grol himself is little better than prisoner in his own house for he is afraid to go out after dark and many of his friends are afraid to go to see him.
Partisan attitude towards Americans and British is now perhaps somewhat more conciliatory as if hoping to win us over. We are informed FonOff is proposing to open diplomatic club in Belgrade soon especially for American and British diplomats to enable them to meet Partisan officials and “intellectuals”. Meanwhile Yugo press remains completely sold out to USSR. The relatively few articles pertaining to US and UK are mainly designed to place the politics and economics of both in most unfavorable light possible.