Sir I. Clark Hutchisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the exclusion of ex-civilian internees from any participation in the distribution of the £4,500,000 of Japanese assets, now made available, has caused resentment among these former civilian internees, who have hitherto been treated in the same way as former prisoners of war; and if he will take action to remedy this grievance.
§ Mr. TurtonThe £4,500,000 now made available by the Japanese Government represent the value of Japanese assets in neutral countries which are to be distributed according to Article 16 of the Peace Treaty with Japan. This Article stipulates that such Japanese assets are to be distributed for the benefit of former prisoners-of-war and their families. It further states that Japan should transfer 83W these assets to the International Committee of the Red Cross as an expression of its desire to indemnify those members of the armed forces of the Allied Powers who suffered undue hardships while prisoners-of-war of Japan. For this reason civilian internees cannot benefit under this Article.
Japanese assets in Allied countries covered by Article 14 of the Peace Treaty were distributed according to the decisions of the individual Allied Governments concerned. So far as the assets which fell to Her Majesty's Government were concerned, it was decided that both British Service personnel and civilian internees who were normally resident in the United Kingdom should benefit.