§ 3. Mr. PATRICKasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received information through the League of Nations concerning the military operations against the Kru tribes in Liberia in the autumn of 1931; and if he will state the present situation on the Kru coast?
§ Sir J. SIMONI have in the last few months both received from the League, and communicated to the League, information on this subject. The military operations to which the question refers resulted in the destruction of numerous villages on the Kru coast of Liberia and the loss of more than 100 lives. The present situation on that coast is that some 12,000 natives have been driven by the forces of the Liberian Government from their ruined villages into the bush in a manner which admits of no excuse and on grounds which, taken at their strongest, are wholly inadequate. The Council of the League have recently been considering remedial measures proposed by the Liberia Committee. I can assure my hon. Friend that I have done, and will continue to do, everything in my power to ensure that these measures are both speedy and effective.