of  Europe,  The  memorandum  lists  in  detail  the  human  rights,  guaranteed  by  the
Convention  of  the  Council  of  Europe  for  the  Protection  of  Human  Rights  and
Fundamental  Freedoms,  and  allegedly  infringed  in  the  Saar;  says  that  the  autumn
elections  in  the  Saar  will  be  meaningless  unless  these  rights  and  liberties  are
restored;  and  proposes  that  the  Council  of  Europe  bring  these  complaints  to  the
notice  of  the  Saar  Government  and  ask  it  to  redress  them.
3.  The  terms  of  the  Memorandum  accompanying  the  note  reflect  the  view,  which
has  been  gaining  ground  in  Germany  since  the  incident  provoked  by  the  granting  to
the  French  High  Commissioner  in  the  Saar  of  the  personal  rank  of  Ambassador,
that  if  Germany  is  to  secure  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  Saar  question  prior  to  a
Peace  Treaty  by  bilateral  negotiation  with  France  her  negotiating  position  must  be
stronger  than  it  is  now;  and  that  it  could  be  appreciably  strengthened  if  pro-German
parties  were  allowed  to  take  part  in  the  elections  this  autumn  to  the  Saar  Parliament.
  This  thesis  rests  no  doubt  partly  on  the  belief  that  the  complexion  of  the
present  Saar  Government  is  one  of  the  principal  obstacles  to  Franco-German  understanding
  over  the  Saar  and  that  if  pro-German  parties  were  allowed  to  prepare  for
and  take  part  in  the  autumn  elections  a  new  Government  with  a  different  composition
  and  outlook  might  come  into  power.  It  also  probably  rests  on  the  fear  that
the  attitude  of  the  Saar  population,  severed  as  it  is  from  German  influence,  is  not  at
present  a  factor  on  which  the  Germans  can  rely  with  full  confidence  to  help  them  in
negotiating  a  settlement  favourable  to  their  interests.  German  influence  must  therefore
  be  restored  to  the  Saar  if  a  prospect  of  such  a  settlement  is  to  materialise.  Press
comment  during  the  past  few  weeks  has  taken  the  line  that,  as  M.  Schuman  and  Dr.
Adenauer  have  both  emphasised  that  any  settlement  reached  prior  to  a  Peace  Treaty
must  be  approved  by  the  Saar  population,  it  is  essential  that  the  will  of  the  Saar
population  should  be  represented  by  a  Government  formed  as  a  result  of  genuinely
free  elections.  The  forthcoming  elections  to  the  Saar  Parliament  afford  an  opportunity
  to  realise  this  condition.  If  they  are  to  be  genuinely  free  the  banned  Democratic
  Party  of  the  Saar  (DPS)  and  the  Christian  Democratic  Party,  which  is  still
awaiting  recognition  by  the  Saar  Government,  must  be  allowed  to  operate.  This  is
the  problem  with  which  the  Council  of  Europe  is  regarded  by  the  Federal  Government
  as  qualified  to  deal,  and  upon  which  it  is  being  asked  to  pronounce.
4.  German  opinion  assumes  that  the  Federal  Government  will  press  for  the  assent
of  the  Saar  population  to  any  settlement  of  the  territory’s  status  to  be  given  through
a  freely  elected  Saar  Parliament  rather  than  by  means  of  a  plebiscite.  A  German
attention  has  become  increasingly  focussed  on  the  problem  of  securing  the  participation
  of  pro-German  parties  in  the  Saar  elections,  less  interest  has  been  shown  in
the  „Europeanisation“  of  the  Saar.  It  is  hoped  by  the  Germans  nevertheless  that  if
the  German  case  receives  a  sympathetic  hearing  in  the  Council  of  Europe  this  may
lead  to  a  continuation  of  the  Franco-German  discussions  on  the  Saar  which  M.
Schuman  and  Dr.  Adenauer  began  on  an  unofficial  basis  in  London  last  month.

443