HC Deb 05 April 1950 vol 473 cc1166-7
13. Professor Savory

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that 750 Austrian subjects have been kidnapped and carried off by the Russian authorities in Vienna; and whether he will make a further protest on this subject to the Allied Commission in Vienna and demand the return of these people.

Mr. Younger

I am aware that since 1945 considerable numbers of Austrian citizens have been arrested by the Soviet authorities in Vienna and in the Soviet zone of occupation. Many have been summarily sentenced and deported to the Soviet Union. The British Member of the Allied Council for Austria has frequently protested against such arrests and deportations, but his representations and those of his United States and French colleagues have been rejected. Further protests will be made as the occasion demands, and I should be glad to consider any information which the hon. Member may have in his possession.

Professor Savory

Have His Majesty's Government made a protest against the kidnapping of some of the very highest Austrian officials, such as the head of the Ministry of Transport, the head of the Ministry of Reconstruction, and a very high official in the Ministry of the Interior?

Mr. Younger

I think I ought to have notice of those cases, but I believe that we have protested in all of them.