§ 12. Mr. Petherickasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can make a statement on the position of Dr. Benes' Government since Dr. Benes resigned his presidency in 1939 and was reinstated with the help of His Majesty's Government, in view of the fact that Czechoslovakia has now been cleared of enemy troops.
§ Mr. EdenHis Majesty's Government have since the summer of 1941 regarded the juridical position of the President and Government of the Czechoslovak Republic as identical with that of the other Allied States and Governments established in this country. I see no reason why the complete liberation of Czechoslovakia, when it takes place, should affect this situation.
Meanwhile Dr. Benes, in a recent broadcast to the Czechoslovak people, has stated as follows:
We shall place back in your hands our mandate which was assigned to us here abroad by the course of events and we will submit to you the results of our labour. It will be for you, our people, to decide what is to be done then, and Czechs and Slovaks will decide in common.