SHOULD WE RATIFY THE ITALIAN PEACE TREATY?
BERLE, ADOLF A. Jr.
Should We Ratify The Italian Peace Treaty? By Adolf A. Berle, Jr, Former Assistant Secretary of Slate arid Ambassador lo Brazil; this article is Imsrd on a memorandum prepared by the author for...
...The ultimate hope in this singularly exiilosive region is that Yugoslav* and Italians will eventually take charge and eliminate the nationalist politician* who have made lite unbearable for both side...
...The peace of the Mediterranean, and with it of Europe, under this treaty, would be substantially placed in the hands of Marshal Tito...
...Albania, $'.,000,000...
...His Government has not as yet given evidence that it is entitled to guard the peace of a great part of the world...
...This, in itself, requires great caution in approaching the Italian treaty...
...It will mean quite another if sole trusteeship of these colonies, notably Tripolitania, causes them to become, in substance, colonies of a nationalist European empire...
...She could not isolate herself •if she wished...
...the demolition within one year of any defenses Which Italy may have on the new frontier...
...Taken together with the military dispositions north of Trieste, and other Balkan arrangements, they really turn the Adriatic into a lake dominated by Marshal Tito...
...The reparations clauses will perpetuate this situation for a considerable period of time...
...But it would be unreal to say that this situation prevails now...
...Yugoslavia, $125,000,000...
...It will mean something else if a Russian or other great, power aimy remains in Austria, or dominates Austrian life...
...In substance, the United States must thus pay...
...If the result is bad, a repercussion will be a movement against its makers, including the United States...
...The amounts, like most repaialion figures, are arbitrary—which is natural...
...That is not and cannot be spelled out in the Italian I rest.v alone, but must await the fitting together of the totality of peace treaties, Therefore, logic delicts they be considered together a* a whole rather than piecemeal...
...At present Albania, in agreement with Marshal Tito, is creating (and perhaps has already completed) a powerful air base and a powerful naval base near Tirana and Valona, respectively...
...The treaty will mean one thing if general disarmament is finally worked out so that the entire Yugoslav fumtier, and the Yugoslav side of the Adiiatic, becomes a peaceful, non-military strip of territory...
...the reparations bill of Italy, or accept responsibility for a long period of Italian misery, or even of a possible collapse in which the entire Jlalian people will suffer...
...It will mean quite another thing if actually the entire Dalmatian and east Adriatic coast remains, as now, a heavily-armed military frontier...
...The Italian people have not now sufficient current production to take care of their current needs...
...Before American troops landed in Italy, the US Government made a pledge that the United State...
...the United States (and, I think, of the rest of Europe), would be to delay ratification of this treaty until we know with reasonable clearness, what else is going to happen...
...They have been living partly on American supplies, sent through UNURA, or paid through American loans, or by the personal sacrifice* of thousands of Americans, who buy food and clothing from their own resources and send it to their Italian fi lends...
...Til Hi Italian people aie to pay reparations...
...The total of reparation- amount to $.(of>,<>00,000, of which the Soviet Union gels $10(1,000,000...
...Under the present circumstances, the Italian peace might easily become, not a peaie settlement, but a diplomatic stepping-stone to further dist II rbance...
...Until it does, the Free Territory of Trieste is merely a weaker and more impractical version of the Danzig settlement which failed so signally after World War I. Further light is needed on the ultimate relationship of the parties immediately involved Yugoslavia and Italy...
...this they cannot do unless other nations, particularly (lie United States, are generous to them with gifts or loans...
...and to strengthen its position in the Adriatic and the Balkans by every possible means, including use of force, short of war...
...It should jceemmend to the Senate that ratification of this treaty be withheld for the time being, and until the other treaties embodying the European settlement, particularly those with Austria and Germany, are negotiated and are placed before the Senate and the American •pople...
...would assure the preservation of the essential nationhood of Italy...
...As a result, we have neither balance obtained by mutual good-will of peoples, nor balance obtained by equivalent force...
...and, behind that, of the relations which «ie lo prevail between that sector of Europe which i« Russian-dominated and the rest of the world...
...Besides making certain minor changes In favor of France on the French border, this treaty deprives Italy of Vene/.ia Ciulia, M-ts up an artificial Free Territory of Trieste guaranteed by the United Nations with a clearly artificial boundary...
...Anyone familiar with agreements of this sort knows that, even without technical violation, life under such conditions can be made unbearable for human beincs...
...nor stabilization obtained through complete and friendly understanding of the Great Powers...
...This suggestion must not be considered as even remotely implying a course of American isolationism like that, adopted after World War 1. The United States is now locked by circumstances and history into the European Situation...
...Whatever sett lenient is reached with respect to Italy, or tha rest of Europe, the United Stales is one of the powers which will be held to primary responsibility...
...IJ II IS will mean one thing if a free, friendly, independent stale of Austria •sserges...
...The common sense and good-will of individual citizens and local authorities would then find ways and means of making the arrangement wink...
...The Soviet Union has already requested that she be named the sole trustee of Tripolitania...
...This pledge was, properly, rend against the background of the Atlantic Charter and the repeated declarations of War aims...
...The Soviet Union proposes to tale her reparations in part by furnishing raw materials to Italy, and taking back the finished product, thus securing in effect a mortgage on Italian labor...
...this article is Imsrd on a memorandum prepared by the author for the American Committee for a Just Peace for Italy THE Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate should study and conduct hearings •n the peace treaty with Italy...
...Agreements of this kind can be short lived, and rest primarily on goodwill, At present, only the presence of Allied force in Trieste prevents violent conflict between Yugoslavs and Italians...
...In the Soviet, settlement, Italy will continue to pay until Hie excess of the value of finished products over the value of raw materials sent her by Russia adds iiji to the reparations figure, iniiIrol pf these "values'' apparently rests in the hands of the four Ambassadors...
...such manipulations might extend, indefinitely, claims on American generosity to salvage for the Italian people a bearable standard of living...
...At an earlier period, Great Britain apparently also had hopes of becoming sole administrator...
...Thereafter, she is to be perpetually undefended...
...The treaty will mean one Ihing if the Its I ian colonies in Africa, ceded to the United Nations, become real internationalized areas moving towards a free and friendly life...
...Italy must pay with her exports for the necessities she must Import...
...By manipulating these values, reparations could be extended indefinitely...
...When this shall have happened, the Senate, and American public opinion, Will be able to form a judgment as to whether all the treaties should be ratified...
...These command the Strait of Otranto...
...Ethiopia, $2-i,000,0<>0...
...Payment is to he made from various sources, but notably from Italian current industrial production, including mining...
...Greece, $105,000,000...
...substantially disarms Italy on land and sea, and require...
...Meanwhile, there is open conflict on the frontier bmwoen Yugoslavia anil Albania on the one hand and Greece on the other...
...It follows that the wise and prudent course, in the point of view of...
...Since the treaty takes from Italy part of her eui rent production, and much of her raw material, especially coal, she •will be less able to pay in future than at present...
...The only certainty resulting from im« mediate ratification of this taeaty would be that Italy would be disarmed, that American and British troops would be withdrawn...
...that a disarmed Italy and Adriatic would be left facing Yugoslavia with an army estimated at 600,000 men, maintained at war strength, and backed by a militarist Government which has proclaimed its desire to seize more Italian territory, and dominate or, if possible, annex the proposed Free Territory of Trieste...
...Were the relation* between Italiiins and Yugoslavs like the relations which exist, say, between the United States and Canada, an arrangement of this kind would be possible...
Vol. 30 • March 1947 • No. 12
