501.BC Greece/2–347: Telegram
Mr. Mark F. Ethridge 2 to the Secretary of State
145. From Ethridge No. 2. After canvassing in course of sea voyage Toulon to Piraeus views of all Commission delegates, except Syrian and Soviet, I have found general agreement that Commission should make concrete recommendations for long term surveillance of northern Greek frontiers. Details of such border commission are very vague in minds of delegates, however, and I believe that USDel should be prepared to take active part in drafting necessary plans.
I therefore urge most strongly that Department authorize assignment to my mission of Harding Bancroft3 in SPA, who is familiar with SC procedure and with whom this Delegation discussed in some detail before leaving Washington possible organization of frontier commission. I trust Bancroft will be able to reach Athens before end of February and will bring with him considered views of Department regarding various problems which such a frontier commission presents.
Many different forms of such commission have been mentioned in course of my discussions with other delegates but they all seem to boil down to general agreement that there should be first, border commission which would remain in Greece after departure of Commission of Investigation, and, second, if this is possible, some form of regional arrangement among four countries concerned within framework of UN Charter and including nonaggression provisions similar to those in Soviet pact of July 1933 and Balkan pact of 1934.
Speaking in broadest terms USDel should be prepared to urge recommendations of semi-permanent border commission comprising several disinterested states with function of investigating and reporting [Page 817] to SC as regards frontiers in question on: First, border incidents; second, treatment of minorities; third, tendentious misstatements of fact in press and radio; fourth, activities of foreign military and police mission in four countries concerned; and, fifth, arrangements for free port or free zone facilities in Salonika.
This is, of course, only tentative outline of scope and functions of such a frontier commission, and I shall be interested in receiving the Department’s views.
Department please repeat to Austin.4
- United States Representative on the Commission of Investigation concerning Greek frontier incidents. The Commission was established pursuant to the resolution of the Security Council on December 19, 1946; see bracketed note, Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. vii, p. 285.↩
- Associate Chief of the Division of International Security Affairs.↩
- Ambassador Warren R. Austin, U.S. Representative at the United Nations.↩