Subdued Quarrel

THE UNITED NATIONS Subdued Quarrel One after another, the world's painful little problems become items on the U.N. docket. But while all eyes last week were on the most conspicuous of these, the U.N. General Assembly was in no mood to pursue other quarrels too far. Example: the two-year-old Cyprus revolt. This time the defendant was Britain and the complaining witness Greek rather than Arab, but the speeches were quite clearly some that had been left over from the Algerian debate of two weeks ago.

The joust began with an assault on Britain by Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza. Much hung on Averoff's performance. If he failed to win Greece a respectful hearing in the U.N., Premier Constantine Karamanlis' shaky pro-American government would be in deep trouble. (During a recent Greek parliamentary debate on Cyprus, Karamanlis was called "traitor" a dozen times within an hour.)

Greece, declared Averoff, is not claiming Cyprus for herself, would even be willing to see the island become an independent state. Eloquently he called upon the Assembly "as a tribute to liberty" to pass a Greek resolution demanding self-determination for Cyprus.

Britain's Commander Allan Noble countered with a resolution urging the Greek government to shut off shipments of Greek arms and money to the Cypriot rebels. Turkey's Selim Sarper charged that Greece's sole interest in Cyprus was "territorial aggrandizement" and solemnly advanced the current Turkish ploy: if Greece insists on self-determination for Cyprus, Turkey will insist that the island be partitioned between its 400,000 Greek and 100,000 Turkish inhabitants. Patently determined to avoid entanglement in a quarrel between three NATO members, the U.S. earnestly entreated the U.N. to do nothing. "The adoption of these resolutions, irrespective of their possible merits," said U.S, Delegate James Wadsworth, "would exacerbate the situation." The Greeks were happy as long as the U.S. did not openly side with the British.

After four days of this, India's ailing V. K. Krishna Menon introduced an Algeria-style compromise resolution calling vaguely for negotiations "in accord with the principles ... of the U.N. Charter." Save for Afghanistan and Panama, both of whom abstained, every nation in the U.N. Assembly pounced, 76 to o, on this chance to sweep Cyprus back .under the carpet. "Afghanistan," mused Menon. "Well, they have a somewhat similar quarrel with Pakistan. As for Panama, I guess I was rude to the Panamanian delegate."

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