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Full text of "The Struggle For Peace"

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the German line, the line laid down in the map, did take in a
number of areas which could not be called predominantly
German in character.
" Then, Sir, it will be remembered that, according to the
Godesberg Memorandum, the occupation of plebiscite areas
by German and Czech troops respectively was to be up to the
time of the plebiscite. They were then to be withdrawn while
the plebiscite was being held. Under the Munich Agreement
these plebiscite areas are to be occupied at once by an inter-
* national force. The Godesberg Memorandum did not indicate
on what kind of areas the vote would be based. Accordingly,
there were fears entertained on the side of the Czechs that large
areas might be selected, which would operate to the dis-
advantage of the Czechoslovaks. In the Munich arrangement
it is stated that the plebiscite is to be based on the conditions of
the Saar plebiscite, and that indicates that the vote is to be
taken by small administrative areas. Under the Munich
arrangement the Czech Government, while it is bound
to carry out the evacuation of the territories without
damaging existing installations, is not placed under the
objectionable conditions of the appendix to the Godesberg
Memorandum, to which much exception was taken, in that it
was provided that no foodstuffs, cattle or raw material were
to be removed. Under the Godesberg Memorandum the
detailed arrangements for the evacuation were to be settled by
Germans and Czechs alone, and I think there were many who
thought that such an arrangement did not give the Czechs
much chance of making their voices heard. Well, Sir, under
the Munich Agreement the conditions of evacuation are to be
laid down in detail by the International Commission.
" Again, the Munich arrangement includes certain very
valuable provisions which found no place at all in the Godes-
berg Memorandum, such as the Article regarding the right of
option: that is option to leave the territory and pass into
Czech territory, provisions for facilitating the transfer of
populations, the supplementary declaration which provides
that all other questions arising out of the transfer of territory
are to be referred to the International Commission, and, finally,
the one which gives the Czechs the period of four -weeks for
the release of the Sudeten Germans from the army and the