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What Happened to the 16 Polish Leaders?. Invited 3y Soviet Under Safe Conduct Guarantee Lublin Utterly Subject to Iced Government . Trickery Builds Up for New "Moscow Trial" Below is published the most recent news and commentary available
on
the subject of the arrest of the Polish political leaders who went under safeconduct,to- negotiate with Stalin.As will be seen,the utterance of the Soviet Dictator on the subject—published in our owil press—is pretty clearly demonstrated as false. In connection with Stalin' s statement on May 18, made to the London. "Times" Moscow correspondent, the Polish Telegraph Agency has published the following statement: There can be no doubt that arrested Polish leaders had been invited by Soviet authorities for negotiations. The Polish Government possesses text of the letter by which Colonel Pimenoff of N,K.V.D. ( Soviet Security Police) invited Vice-Premier Jan Jankowski, and MajorGen. Leopold Okulicki, former G.O.C. of the dissolved Home Army, for political conversations. Be. fore Vice-Premier Jankowski left for these conversations he examined the authenticity of the letter and received a confirmation that Colonel Pimenoff extended the invitation on behalf of ColonelGen. Ivanoff, who described himself rs a representative of the command of the first White Russian front. Colonel Pimenoff described their ob. ject as: Clarification of atmosphere and disclosure of democratic Polish parties in order that they may partake in the general current of democratic forces of independent Poland. On March 27 and 2S, Vice- Premier of the Polish Government, three Min. isters, chairman of the Council of National Unity, former G.Q.C, the dissolved Home Army, representatives of principal political parties, and an interpreter arrived at an appointed place to continue political conversations with General Ivanoff, having, out one hand, the assurance of personll safety, and, on the other, a definite promise that on March 29 representatives of the Polish resistance movement, numbering 12 persons, wwild be given a plane to go to London for consultation with the Polish Government and Polish political circles. After consultations the delegates were to return to Poland for further conversations,
Lubliners Subject to Red Army. In the course of introductory coil versations which were held between March 17 and 27, Vice- Premier Jankowski asked Colonel Pimenoff where lay the boundary-line between competence of the Lublin Committee, on one hand, and the Red Army on the other, -to which he received a reply that the committee must comply with dire(. tions it receives from the command of the first White Russian front, which it must consider as binding. This explains why the Soviet Government attaches so great an importance to the Lublin Committee remaining the main nucleus of a future Polish Government. Polish Telegraph Agency learnt also that when the parties interested give their consent, there will be published a collection of documents illustrating exhaustively the problem of disclosure of Polish leaders, and which will contain reports of conversations held before their arrest, "Here Are Proofs" "Dziennik Polski,' of May 19, writes: "Details regarding first conversations of arrested democratic Polish leaders with Soviet Pimenoff have been received in London. In those first convey. sations Col. Pimenoff handed to democratic leaders individual formulas containing the following questions: IIi Name of political party. (2) Outline of party's history and of the extent of influence as to the territory and classes. (3) Programme of the party—its basic principles. (4) Internal organisation. (5• P;ess organs issued by the party in 1939—papers, weeklies, etc.—and secret press printed under German occupation, in) List of professional, sports, educational and cultural organisations at-
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tached to the party; names and addresses of these party organisations in 1939. (7) Procedure of revealing of political activities of the party and its branch organisations, 18) Procedure of revealing military units organised by the party and pre. viously included into the Home Army, such as military registration, admittance into the party, etc, (9) List of party members arrested during the occupation of Poland by the Red Army, (10) Delegation of two or three party representatives for conversations with the Russian command. Forms of the above content were filled in by parties and handed over to Colonel Pimenoff on March 28, 1945, by VicePremier Jan Jankowski. On the same day—as is well known—those Polish leaders were arrested who took part in conversations with Russian military authorities represented by Lfeut. ,General Ivanoff and Colonel Pimenoff. Another " Moscow Trial" in the Making? The London " Observer" of May 20, in an article, " Stalin's Reply on :Arrested Poles," by a special correspondent, writes: " Stalin has made no comment on the fact that names of the arrested leaders had been communicated to the Russian Government by the British and American Governments together, with a suggestion that those leaders ought to be invited to the round table conference provided for by the Yalta agreement. That communication was made before the ar. rests took place. The identity of these Polish leaders has lot been established by Soviet authorities before their names were made known to the Russians by the Western Allies, even if it were true that Poles had engaged in activities hostile to the Red Army (this is certainly not true in most cases), the fact that Russian authorities got into touch with them through the medium of British and American Governments ought, at least, to have prevented the Russian Government front taking any action without previous ecnsent of the Allied Governments, which had assumed moral responsibility for the safety of Polish leaders. "In connection with the awaited trial of Poles i ll , Moscow it is rumoured that chief defendant, General Okulicki, has made ' a confession: in which he is supposed to have admitted his guilt and to have borne witness against other defendants. Molotoff is said to have announced this privately at San
E. LUISINI
Francisco, If this turns out to be true, then the trial of the Poles is certain to be as baffling a puzzle as were the trials of Zinovieff, Bucharin, Radek and Kamieneff in 1936 and 1937. London " Daily Telegraph" Comments. The London " Daily Telegraph" of May 21, in an article, " Polish Reply to Stali _ Talks Had Begun'," by its diplomatic correspondent, writes: "Dispute over Poland is not brought any nearer to solution by Stalin's statement over the week-end on the arrest of the Polish political leaders. He stated,in reply to a letter from the 'Times correspondent in Moscow, that the arrest was in no way connected with the question of reconstruction of the Polish Government, "A rejoinder was made to certain of these points by the Polish Government in London yesterday. They pointed out that the arrested Poles had conversations with Colonel Pimenoff, of the Russian Security Police, before their arrest. They had replied to a questionnaire on the structure of their political parties and means by which they would reveal themselves and by which underground military units would come into the open. Representatives had been named for discussions with the Soviet command. "The difference between the Russian conception and the British and American conception regarding the way the new Polish Government should be constituted lies at the heart of the problem. Russia would use present organisation in Warsaw as the starting point and add to it. Britain and America would dismiss this organisation, which they do not recognise. They would build up a new government from the bottom. It is felt strongly that this difference of approach must be re• moved before a way can be found to a solution. "Likes and dislikes of the present administration in Warsaw bar the way to co-operation by many Poles, both inside and outside Poland who would be willing to partake in the government of their country. Approaches had been made by Russia to represen• tative Poles both in London and in Poland for their assistance. This has not always been with official knowledge of either Britain or America. Because essential divergence of opinion has not been overcome concerning the procedure to he adopted for creating the new government, these approaches have not been responded to" . Paints! Enamelised and Aluminium, now available at Howell' sStore,corner Wellington and Queen Streets,Perth.
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