§ 1. Mr. Pickthornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when he asked the Yugoslav Government for information about the charges to be brought against General Mihailovich; what reply he has received; and whether he can now be sure that the charges do arise on something 298 with which His Majesty's Government have no connection.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Ernest Bevin)His Majesty's Representative at Belgrade asked the Yugoslav Government for this information on 8th April. On 27th April he received a reply to the effect that it was not yet possible to say specifically what the charges would be but that they would no doubt be generally on the lines of a statement made by the Yugoslav Minister of the Interior to a Press correspondent and published in the Press on 22nd April. In this interview the Minister of the Interior said that it could be assumed that Mihailovich would be charged with collaboration and for individual criminal acts such as murder, arson, looting and the handing over of partisans and Allied airmen to the Germans.
In view of the statement that collaboration would be among the charges, His Majesty's Government agreed to transmit to the Yugoslav Government a written testimony on behalf of Mihailovich signed by five officers who served as liaison officers with his forces during the war.
§ Mr. PickthornDid His Majesty's Government also request that any other British subjects who might wish to give evidence, either oral or written, should have their desires met?
§ Mr. BevinI should like notice of that question. I am not quite certain whether we have done so or not.
§ 2. Mr. Pickthornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's representative has made any request for permission to visit or communicate with General Mihailovich during his captivity.