HC Deb 18 December 1945 vol 417 c1300W
Mr. Zilliacus

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he will give an account, including a summary of the offending articles, of the precise reasons for which the Slovene daily newspaper in the Julian March, Primorski Dnevnik, was suspended by order of the British military authorities in Trieste on 6th December; and what is the legal system, including the Press law, being applied by the Allies in Trieste.

Mr. McNeil

On 24th November this newspaper published an attack on the Allied Military Government Education Officer, which included a statement that All leaders and managers of Slovene schools established under this Command and chosen and appointed by the Officer in question are Nazis, Fascists and Domobrancis, namely White Guard sympathisers.

The article also alleged that it was this officer's intention to introduce Fascist elements into the Slovene intermediate schools.

These allegations are both mischievous and false. Shortly after the publication of the article in question the editor of Primorski Dnevnik left for Yugoslavia and was replaced by a new editor, who gave an explicit undertaking that he would publish a retraction of the statement. However, the new editor later withdrew this undertaking on the ground that the article in his view contained no inaccuracies. It was because of the editor's failure to honour his word and not because of the contents of the offending article that the suspension of the newspaper was ordered by Allied Military Government.

On three previous occasions since August last this newspaper has been admonished for publishing offensive and false statements against soldiers of the Allied Armies and against the policy of Allied Military Government, particularly as regards education. The laws applied in the territory of Venezia Giulia during the Allied period of trusteeship are Italian laws purged of all Fascist measures and supplemented by Allied Military Government proclamations and orders. The Press Law applicable to this case is an Allied Military Government law issued by proclamation.