Minute from Cornelius C. Cremin to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin)

It is doubtful whether it would be in our interests in the long run to accede to the request received by the Minister in Paris from the former Lithuanian Minister in London that we should give asylum here to the Supreme Lithuanian Committee of Liberation (comprising with their families about thirty persons in all) until such time as they should be able to return to a free and independent Lithuania or if that date is postponed 'for a certain length of time' until the question of their eventual settlement in either Canada or America can be arranged. Mr. Murphy states in his minute that the stay of the members of the Committee in this country should not exceed six months.

While I take it we have every sympathy with the Lithuanians in their present plight it is questionable whether we should push this to the extent of harbouring here a body which in effect seems to regard itself as the depository of Lithuanian independence and is liable by definition to be suspected of carrying on political activity.

The fact that the Committee would only require to come to Ireland in the event of such a change in the policy of the Western Allies as make it impossible for the Committee to carry on its activity in Western Occupied Germany may be an additional argument against providing asylum here. We recently agreed to admit M. Skirpa, former Lithuanian Ambassador in Berlin and later head of a Lithuanian Government during the war, but on the strict understanding that he would refrain from all political activity. It is questionable whether we could reasonably expect the Lithuanian Committee of Liberation to fulfil such an undertaking and it is rather unlikely that any Government interested, favourably or unfavourably, in the activity of this body would believe that they would refrain from all political activity here.

If you agree with the view expressed above we might tell the Minister in Paris either simply that we would find it difficult to admit the members of the Committee or, alternatively, that while we have every sympathy with the present difficult position of exiled Lithuanians we would like to know, before further considering the application, what arrangements they have made for settling in Canada or the USA.