Editorial Note
In addition to its appeal to Secretary Acheson, the Federal Government had on October 5 appealed to the Allied Council for support in maintaining order in the country and had protested Soviet interference in the carrying out of its constitutional duties. This note was considered by the Executive Committee of the Allied Commission for Austria at its 172d meeting on October 6, at which time the Soviet Element denied that it had violated the New Control Agreement for Austria.
Since no agreement could be reached in the Executive Committee on a reply to the Federal Government, the Austrian appeal was brought before the Allied Council by the Western Elements at its 132d meeting on October 13, and they asked the Soviet Element to explain its interference with the attempts of the Austrian Government to maintain order in the Eastern Zone. General Tsinev, in contrast to the usual Soviet tactic of placing the blame for Soviet interference on his local commanders, stated that the Soviet action was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the zonal commander and in any case did not violate the Control Agreement. Each of the Western Elements denied this interpretation of the Control Agreement but were unable to change the Soviet position.
Because of this unilateral interpretation, the Western Legations in Vienna recommended that their Governments protest the equivocal position taken by General Tsinev. The Department of State approved this proposal on October 20, instructing Embassy Moscow to coordinate with its British and French counterparts on the text of a note to the Soviet Government.
The Western Representatives in Moscow worked out the text of the note, based on a draft submitted by Legation Vienna, and delivered parallel notes on November 10. While they were doing this drafting, the Soviet Element continued to interfere in Austrian affairs, this time attempting to prevent disciplinary action against those police officers who had abetted the disturbances, and, at the Allied Council’s 134th meeting on November 10, it defended its right to rescind the Federal Republic’s orders removing the police officials in question. The three Western High Commissioners protested this usurpation of the Austrian Government’s authority. However, being unable again to change the Soviet Element’s position, they recommended to their Governments that a second note should be sent to the Soviet Government, protesting against this further unilateral interpretation of the Control Agreement. The second set of parallel notes was delivered to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 22.
For the texts of the October 5 appeal and the two United States protests, see Margaret Carlyle, ed., Documents on International Affairs, [Page 411] 1949–1950 (London, Oxford University Press, 1953), pages 521–525. The minutes of the 172d Executive Committee meeting and the 132d and 134th Allied Council meetings are in file 763.0221/11–750 and 12–150. Additional documentation relating to the meetings of the Allied Council and the drafting of the two notes is in files 663.001/11–1650, 763.00, 763.0221, 763.13/10–2850, 863.50/10–1150, and 863.501.