Miscellaneous - This Day That Age   

dated December 16, 1955 : New members of U.N.

(there being no issue of the paper dated December 15)

It was a historic day at the United Nations on December 14 and it was a day surcharged with drama. The deadlock on the admission of new members, which had baffled world's wit for nine years, was suddenly broken and 16 countries - Albania, Jordan, Ireland, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Rumania, Bulgaria, Finland, Ceylon, Nepal, Libya, Cambodia, Laos and Spain - were all admitted before one could say, "Presto". Only Japan and Outer Mongolia, out of the 18 applicants originally recommended by the General Assembly, got left out. Russia emphasised that she was in favour of Japan also but blocked her admission purely as a reprisal against Nationalist China and the US blocking Outer Mongolia. The breaking of the deadlock was made possible by a surprise three-pronged move by Russia, which had but 24 hours before vetoed the admission of all the 13 Western-sponsored applications as a retaliation for what was done to her nominee, Outer Mongolia. At an urgent meeting of the Security Council, convened on December 14 at her request, she withdrew all her vetoes except one against Japan, did not insist on Outer Mongolia's admission and proposed that the remaining 16 be admitted.

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