KOROŠKA V ODLOČILNEM LETU 1920: DELOVANJE PLEBISCITNE KOMISIJE.

Drawing on an analysis of mostly unpublished primary sources held by the British National Archives in London, this paper shows the work of the Inter-allied Plebiscite Commission, which operated between July and November 1920 in the area where the Carinthia plebiscite was held, and problems, it was facing. The Plebiscite Commission successfully carried out its primary job, which was defined by the Treaty of Saint-Germain, that was to conduct the plebiscite. At its meetings the Commission passed provisions and agreements that interfered especially in the administration of the plebiscite area, which it was not allowed to do by the Treaty. On the other hand it had the power to take measures to ensure free, fair and secret ballot. At the meetings, it is observed agreements on several occasions the Yugoslav representative disagreement with the passed agreements as well as the disparity between the French and the Italian representative. The doings of General Rudolf Maister were also troubling to the Commission, what was repeatedly complained by the British representative of the Commission Sydney Capel Peck, who was also its president. He also demanded his removal from the plebiscite area. There are no reports of Maister's presence in October and that suggests that Peck was successful in his request. In addition to the minutes of the Commission's meetings, British sources also provide us with an insight into the correspondence between the British representative and the Foreign Office. On this basis there is possible to determine the consistency of the British representative regarding the sending of data of the situation in the plebiscite area, his observations and internal comments by the officials of the British Foreign Office. This is especially interesting due to the fact that the British representative often had a key role by the passing of the Commission's agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]