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Eritrea (Publication)

Volume 411: debated on Wednesday 30 May 1945

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43.

asked the Minister of Information whether he is aware that, at the branch of his Ministry in Asmara, the "Eritrean Weekly" published, in the local language, Tigrinya, on 3rd August, 1944, an editorial "Plans for the Future of Eritrea," claiming that Britain, having assisted in the liberation of Ethiopia, must be compensated by the division of Eritrea into two parts, the lowland to be joined to the Sudan and the highland to be placed under British rule for 25 years, the Tigrai province of Ethiopia to be joined with this new State; whether this represents the policy of His Majesty's Government in this regard; and whether, in view of the assurances in the Atlantic Charter, he will take steps to terminate such propaganda in this area.

The article to which the hon. Member refers was not an editorial. It was a contribution which came, and was stated to come, from an Eritrean and was preceded by an editorial statement that the paper welcomed free expressions of opinion but did not necessarily agree with the views published in its columns.

While that may be true, does the Minister realise that the impression given must inevitably be that this is in some way a representation of British Government policy?

No, Sir, because another article giving an exactly contrary view, was published a few weeks later.