‘

Pe ame

a a

Aly

—

‘stern powers

Noun

8 a free hand.

@ Second Suez Canal Conference

he document setting forth the aims of the association was too for French liking, he indicated, and it dodged the question of eyment of canal dues to the association instead of to Egypt. Ea @ French hope of direct action, in economic, military or any .

form, had obviously disappeared and Pineau was concerned with

ie € Declaration providing for the establishment of a Suez users Hh Wig Mtion’’ issued by the conference has been definitely supported

poet reservation only by Britain and U.S.

te poate

t countries have re-

vp tte ' bern €matter back to their

Mcateg and several have Rare) Strong doubts,

terest an international : Mision have ended in such

‘ a -

ting aS has been set for the “terme Members of ithe tether © Must definitely say I the their governments ial F. 8ssociation.

ia for jtecments have been patent me Immediate estab- Mthins «21 administrative ON re € association. Mosc have been made for

has been taken done if Egypt 0 the associa-

Use tin to tark t

e Pirrmet® Teplies of all the Mon —"S are received in ee Wi)’ @Mother confer- © called, at which Eley . Vl be represented

ion ee Society, or-

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lawyers, has issued an expert opinion that there is no sub- stance in law for the contention that refusal to allow the canal users’ association to function would be a breach by Egypt of the 1888 Convention. The association could not claim, as of right, to participate in oper- ating or administering the canal.)

The declaration issued by the conference says that the canal users’ association will assist members in exercise of their rights “with due regard for the rights of Egypt.”

It will promote the transit of the canal by the vessels of member nations and “seek the cooperation of the competent Egyptian authorities for this purpose.”

It will receive and disburse canal dues which any user of the canal “may pay” to the association. This means that payment of the dues to the association instead. of to the Egyptian government is at the

yprus strikes ” protest hangings

NICOSIA

©n a mourning strike last week in commemor-

Te, . ‘ — Bathe + Young Cypriots hanged in Nicosia central prison.

Ret ant i ic "y 1 Poutsoft viti Teedom,”

None Aiticers ordered tthe t@oved ty down, so

popped and all Sed, police went ore threatening

Prosecution Pen. They re- ir names wére © prosecution.

bom Here

, ous] i ne t y<=Into a Mattia he town during a

; ths f er Vice I : . ‘ > t car Re TOm, the ar a

banners were strung across a street near athedral in the heart of the city saying “Mavro- Ve in eS. 8nd Panayides sacrificed their lives to help

Workers at the British mili- tary bases staged protest strikes against the hanging, defying the British law which makes such strikes illegal. Workers marched out also from the British-owned Limni copper mines.

The three Cypriots, one aged 23 and two aged 22, met their death calmly, but the whole prison rang with the frenzied wails and yells of the other prisoners, mourning their fel- lows and crying out angrily against British repression.

Then the prison lapsed into uneasy silence.

US|

DANGER HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE fis

oS

ee ee

luez meet ends in discord

LONDON once the bright hope of ended last week in a babel of conflicting voices Series of vague aspirations. Ven France, one of the three moving spirits of the conference, Matrelled with her British and American partners. € split became public when French Foreign Minister Pineau eed that France could not support the Suez canal users’ associ-

discretion of each member — and therefore this economic weapon against Egypt has vir- tually been abandoned.

In fact, it is expected that only Britain and the U.S. will refuse to pay dues to Egypt.

It will assist in dealing with any practical problems arising from the failure of the Suez Canal adequately to serve its customary and intended pur- pose and will “study forthwith means that may render it

feasible to reduce dependence on the canal.”

This last statement is the only passage under which an economic boycott of Suez could be undertaken by send- ing ships round the Cape in- stead of through the canal. But it is purposely vague, and it was stated’ by one delega- tion after the conference that the idea of a boycott was dead.

The declaration proposes a council on which each member

shall be represented, an “ex- ecutive group” and an admin-

istrator serving under the executive group. This is a very different

affair from the original plan for a users’ association an- nounced with such a flourish by Britain, France and the U.S. That organisation was to hire pilots, control traffic, collect dues, and in general, take over the canal.

Egypt proves it can run canal despite withdrawal of pilots

The Western attempt to stop Suez Canal traffic by bringing out the foreign

day last week.

LONDON

pilots has failed — a week after the pilots withdrew, 38 vessels sailed through on one

Over six days of last week, using its own pilots, Egypt took 217 ships through

the canal.

Egypt also claims that the West’s economic blockade has failed too. In Cairo last week Dr. Mohammed Abu Nossier, minister of commerce, said that Egypt’s foreign trade had not been affected by the freez- ing of her assets abroad.

Because of the Western fin- ancial blockade Egypt had con- cluded non-sterling payment agreements and the prices of the goods it was now buying, chiefly from the Soviet Union and the People’s Democracies, “proved to be at least 30 per- cent lower than those of French and British goods.”

Trade missions at present in Egypt include those from the Nederlands, Pakistan, Chile, Argentine and China. A Soviet agricultural mission is touring the country.

Egypt has thus got through the initial period of running the canal on its own and the worst two months of the Western financial blockade.

To replace pilots withdrawn Egypt is recruiting increasing numbers of foreign pilots to maintain the position that the canal is run by an Rgyptian-

international team.

Fourteen Soviet pilots, four Greeks, four Norwegians, four Germans and one Swede and one Italian are among the ships masters undergoing train- ing.

The Egyptian authority hopes to have 100 men to take shipping through by the end of October. The present num- ber is 70.

Streamlined courses of in- struction have been organiz- ed and it is expected that some of the pilots may soon b2 able to take small vessels through, leaving more experienced pil- ots to handle the larger ships.

Egyptian papers report that 20 French master mariners, 12 Indian Hoogly River pilots 29 Chinese Yangtze pilots and pilots from Poland, Italy and other European countries are

_already in the country or are

on their way.

Earlier, Egypt had denounc- ed the instructions to foreign pilots in Suez to walk out of their jobs as “a conspiracy worked out beforehand to ob- struct navigation in the Suez Canal.”

On the authority of the An-

glo-French directors of the former Suez company, typed directions were circulated te every former employee in the canal ordering him’ to stop work.

Dropping all pretense that such action was being taken by the pilots at their own initiative, the former company offered “special leave and pro- portional pensions” to eVery one of its former employees who would refuse to work for the Egyptians and apply im- mediately for an exit visa.

Pilots were offered up to three years’ salaries to quit their jobs.

While Egypt is daily grow- ing more confident of its abili- ty to handle the Suez situation, Western countries are now at last beginning to consider tre cost to themselves of their blind refusal to negotiate.

W. L, de Vries, director gen- eral of shipping in the Neder- lands, said last week that if shipping avoided the Suez Canal it would increase the cost of oil transport to West- ern Europe by 60 percent. Transport costs of other goods would also rise.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 3