LETTER FROM THE LEAGUE AND COMMITTEE TO THE YUGOSLAV RED CROSS REGARDING THE I

LETTER FROM THE LEAGUE AND COMMITTEE TO THE YUGOSLAV RED CROSS REGARDING THE INACURATE RADIO NEWS FROM ATHENS

Regarding the inaccurate news from Athens about Yugoslavia’s position on the repatriation of the Greek children, the Red Cross League and the International Red Cross Committee, on October 14, 1949, wrote a letter to the Yugoslav Red Cross as follows:

RED CROSS LEAGUE AND THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS COMMITTEE G 85 G 44/53 C

To Mrs. Dr. Olga Milosevich Secretary General of the Yugoslav Red Cross Hotel Minerva Geneva

We are honoured to confirm the conversation which we so gladly had with you on October 13, 1949.

As we have informed you by our letter of September 15, 1949, and by our discussions with you, we did not alter our support as per your

letter of August 30, 1949 regarding the Greek children in Yugoslavia, and we have informed the Greek authorities and the Greek Red Cross in Athens. According to the wording of your letter, and the information that you have provided us, you have indicated that the Yugoslav Red Cross accepts, based on the obligations of the Yugoslav government to the United Nations, the return of the Greek children whose parents apply for repatriation. Also, according to your letter, we have added that the Greek Red Cross could submit requests from parents to the Yugoslav Red Cross.

As already mentioned, we have drawn attention to the Greek Red Cross about the error that was in the news broadcast on October 3, 1949 on Radio Athens (news of which until now we did not know) by which the Yugoslav Red Cross informed the International Red Cross that the returning children would be given to the Athens government. We added that the Yugoslav Red Cross has expressed desire for that error to be corrected.

We have asked the Greek Red Cross to inform its government of this information.

The League D. Millson, s.r. Secretary General (COJCK no. 148/949)

LETTER FROM THE LEAGUE TO THE GREEK RED CROSS

On October 14, 1949 the Red Cross League and Society wrote a letter to the Greek Red Cross as follows:

Red Cross League D. 85 D. 44/53 c

Geneva, October 14, 1949 To Mr. M. C. Georgakopoulos President of the Greek Red Cross Athens

It is our honour to refer you to your letter dated September 13, 1949, with which you informed us about the response of the Yugoslav Red Cross proposal for a meeting of representatives from the Greek and Yugoslav Red Cross in Geneva, for studying the problems of the repatriation of the Greek children found in Yugoslavia. Similarly, we informed you that the Yugoslav Red Cross “based upon a commitment from the Yugoslav government to the United Nations, the Yugoslav Red Cross accepts the return of the Greek children whose parents have submitted requests for repatriation, and that the view of the Yugoslav Red Cross is that the Greek Red Cross will obtain and submit these requests from the parents.”

The Yugoslav Red Cross informed us that the Greek Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a radio program aired on October 3, 1949 in Athens, reportedly stated that the Yugoslav Red Cross informed the International Red Cross that the Yugoslav Red Cross is ready to return the Greek children found in Yugoslavia to the Greek government.

The Yugoslav Red Cross also informed us about the disclaimer from the Yugoslav Telegraphic Agency “Tanjug”, which claimed that the news was not accurate. The Yugoslav Red Cross drew our attention to the fact that nobody ever said that the Greek children would be returned to the Greek government and that we should stick to the statement quoted above.

We consider it our duty to inform you of the specifics required by the Yugoslav Red Cross, which is asking you to adjust the message which was supposedly aired on October 3 via radio station Athens.

Please inform the Greek authorities of the content of this letter.

LEAGUE AND INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE

G. Millson Director General D. de Traz Undersecretary of the Department of prisoners and interned civilians (Reg. G. 85 Croix Rouge Internat. Geneva 1949)

PRESS SECRETARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

On October 13, 1949 the Secretariat of the United Nations released the following statement:

“The press Attaché of the Special Commission on the Balkans in Athens sent the following telegram to the United Nations:

The International Red Cross in Geneva has informed the United Nations Special Commission on the Balkans that it has entered into correspondence with the Yugoslav Red Cross and has received information that the Special Commission is demanding the return of the Greek children who are now in Yugoslavia.

According to the first results, received from the Yugoslav Red Cross three months ago, it has been determined that there are more than a thousand Greek children in Yugoslavia and that the Yugoslav Red Cross has made efforts to ensure a food supply and accommodation for those children. Although Yugoslavia’s needs are great, it has said in a statement to the International Red Cross that the Yugoslav Red Cross is capable of accommodating, feeding and dressing this significant number of children.

A survey was conducted, as requested by the UN Special Commission of the Balkans, to study the problems with the Greek children in Yugoslavia. Specifically, the Commission made a request of the International Red Cross to find out the number of children who are in Yugoslavia, the places where they live and the names of the organizations that care for their livelihood. The Commission also asked the International Red Cross find out what methods and language are used in the schools and whether the children can correspond with their parents in Greece.

The International Red Cross has indicated that it expects to receive information from the Yugoslav Red Cross on all these issues. The UN Special Commission on the Balkans also requested from the International Red Cross to ask the Albanian Red Cross to gather information about the Greek children in that country. The International Red Cross also expects a response to that question.”

League Secretariat, no. 35 / XI - 1949)