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HEN Jacob Malik vetoed the

second American resolution
on germ warfare in the United
Nations Security Council recent-
ly a shout went up from U.S. _
State Department spokesmen.

“mpe 50th Soviet veto,” they
eried.

At once the state departiment’s
private radio station radioed to
every American embassy in the
world a long list of the previous ©
Soviet vetoes.

his list—four and a half fool-
scap pages of it—was then in-
corporated in the daily bulletins
issued by U.S. embassies for
guidance of the press in dozens

of countries.

I. suppose the Americans
thought they had got hold of a
good stick ‘with which to beat
the Russians.

But it isn’t a stick.
boomerang.

It’s a

For the list of Soviet vetoes
proves one thing only; that ever
since 1945 the Soviet Union has
been fighting a battle, often
alone, on behalf of the smaller
powers and.on behalf of the prin-
ciples of the United Nations.

This battle it has had to fight
inside the UN Security Council,
where it is always outnumbered
by the Americans and their sat-
ellites,

And precisely to prevent the
steamrollering of the minority
it has invoked the unanimity
rule written into the UN: Charter
largely at President Roosevelt’s
behest, \

Under that rule, all matters
of substance before the Security
Council require the assent of the
five permanent members—Brit-
ain, France, Russia. China and
the U.S.

When one of the Big Five dis-
sents, the motion is lost. It is
said to have been vetoed.

e

Now .look at the 50 Soviet
vetoes,

No fewer than 238 of them,
spread from August 1946 to .Feb-
ruary 1952, can be disposed of
at once,

They were all Soviet votes
against the admission as new
members of individual countries
friendly to the U\S.

The Soviet Union said: ‘‘Let
all applicants in at once.”

The U.S. always refused to let
in any country not ‘regarded as a
safe addition to its voting mach-
ine.

The U.S. and its associates re-
peatedly proposed the admission
of this or that country to force
Russia to use the veto,

On September 13, 1949, for
instance, fascist Argentine Mov-
ed seven resolutions in succes-
sion for admission of hand-pick-
ed nations. Russia vetoed the
lot, and demanded again that all
applicants be let in.

Six of the Soviet vetoes were
used on the Greek issue (Septem
ber 1946; ‘July, August and
September 1947).

The Americans were trying to
drag the United Nations into the
British-American war against
the Greek people,

They needed a cloak of inter-
national respectability for their
barbarous attack on the com-
mon people.

_—
why:

By DEREK KARTUN

~
PRT UU LC tL Leth hela

Six times the Soviet Union had
to vote against resolutions which
would have given them what
they sought.

On Franco Spain, the Soviet
Union cast four votes (all in
June 1946).

Everyone knows the sorry tale
of how the Western powers
mouthed platitudes in UN about
the need to wipe out fascism in
Spain—and always refused to do
anything serious about it.

In 1946 Russia tried desper-
ately to get a resolution with
teeth in it passed by the Coun-
ceil.

She vetoed a proposal design-
edito put the whole matter on the
shelf, and another aimed at put
ting it into the General Assemb-

eel HBNENENENENENEN ENE '
ly, where the obedient U.S. maj-
ority could kill it stone dead.

€
Again in 1946 (February) the

Soviet Union vetoed a U.S. re-
solution expressing ‘‘confidence”’
that Britain and French troops
would be removed from Syria
and the Lebanon.

The Syrian and Lebanese dele-
gates said the troops were not
wanted there and should be re-
moved at once.

The Soviet Union voted with
the small country — the victim
—— as she has so often done since.

In March 1947 she voted in
defense of a small country again

Soviet |
vetoes

EGER &RRAREBR

i ee ye me oe

ABOVE: The United Nations
secretariat building overlooking
New York's East: River. Inset:
Jacob Malik. Soviet delegate.
calls the Security Council to
order as ‘the chairmanship ro-
tates to the USSR. ©

PPT a a

when Albania was accused of
sowing mines in the Corfu Chan-
nel, though no direct evidence
had ever been presented.

Again, in May 1948. two So-
viet vetoes were cast in defense
of the right of a small country
to manage its, own affairs,

That time it was Czechoslov-

akia. which had just completed
its turn toward socialism, and
found itself attacked, abused
and threatened in UN.

The Soviet veto prevented the
passing of motions condemning
the Czechs and possibly leading
to action against them.

An exploited nation again had
occasion to thank the Russians
in December 1949. This time it
was Indonesia.

Two resolutions designed to
gloss over the savage Dutch at-
tacks on Indonesia and to bring
an American-dominated UN com-

mission into the country were -

vetoed,
e
The Soviet Union also cast
four of her vetoes in the course
of her fight to get a genuine
disarmament policy into UN.
The first, in June 1948, pre-
vented the sham atomic energy
plan devised by U.S. banker
Bernard Baruch from becoming
UN policy.

The other three were cast in

tober 1949 against a series of
French and American resolu-
tions designed to open up all
countries to inspection by U.S.-
dominated commissions of the
United Nations. :

In October 1948 a Soviet veto
was cast against a move to bring
the Berlin dispute under the
control of the Security Council,
despite the fact that internation-
al agreements lay down that the
Big Four should deal with all
German matters.

In September 1950 a Soviet
yeto prevented the passage of an
American resolution condemn-
ing North Klorea as an agegres-
sor and preventing the Chinese
volunteers from helping her.

The resolution was an attempt
to commit UN to taking meas-
ures against China — to commit
it, in fact, to General MacArth-
ur’s policy in the Far East:;:':

In the same-month a Soviet
veto prevented the passage of an
American resolution calling’ for
a UN investigation of charges of
U.S. bombing of China. © ~~

The Soviet Union was insist-
‘ing with obvious logic that China
should be present in the Security
Council to present her charges.

Again, in October 1950, the
Soviet Union voted against the
appointment of Trygve Lie for a
further term as UN secretary-
general.

She was within her legal rights
in so doing. The Americans were
not within theirs in ramming an
affirmative vote for Lie through
the Genera] Assembly and keep-
ing him in office in defiance of
the rules for election laid down
in the Charter.

In November 1950 a _ Soviet
veto was again necessary to de-
feat a resolution directed against
China.

Then, in June of this year,
came the two vetoes on germ
warfare.

The first opposed a U.S. call
for. investigation by the notori-
ously unqualified Swiss Red
Cross. a

The second — the - fiftieth

“Soviet veto—blocked a U.S. reso-

lution condemning the germ .war
charges as “false.” ;

That, then, is the record.

It shows the Soviet Union
resisting repeated American ef-
forts to turn the United Nations
into an extension of the U-S.
state department.

Fifteen of the vetoed motions

were put by the U.S. herself;

nearly. all others by her most
obedient satellites.

The record also shows how
wise President Roosevelt was in
insisting on Big Power unanim-
ity. :
For no international organisa-
tion has worked, or will. ever
work, where one group of pow-
ers can impose its will on others,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 8, 1952 — PAGE 9