POLISH PURGE
MANY ARRESTS CLEANING-UP PROCESS \ (N.Z.P. A.—Copyright). LONDON, October 29. At least seven deputy Ministers and a large number of officials have been arrested in the Polish purge, says the diplomatic correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” It is believed in London that the purge is designed to complete the process of cleaning up Russian satellite countries, which was begun by the Kremlin after Marshal Tito’s successful defection.
CommunMs and fellow travellers who showed signs of being too inde pendent for Moscow have already been executed, imprisoned or disgraced in Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania and Hungary.’ The correspondent adds that it is too early to say whether ijt is intended to stage a spectacular “‘Tito spy” trial in Poland on, the lines of the recent Rajk trial in Hungary, but it may safely be assumed that the purge hat3> been made necessary by the sheer pressure of Nationalist and, therefore, antiRussian feeling in Poland. v In Geneva to-day the Red Cross spokesman said that the Polish Government had told the International Red Cross to withdraw it© mission.
The Geneva correspondent of the “Daily Herald” says it is understood that all other international welfare bodies, including the International Refugee Organisation, have also been told to leave Poland. Tim Red Cross has asked to be allowed to complete its work before leaving. Marshal Tito’s party newspaper “Borba” to-day reported a new Bulgarian purge to weed out Communists who have strayed from the Moscow line. Tan jug, the Yugoslav official News Agency, also reporting the purge, said that 2000 persons had already been arrested, including three former Government Ministers. It added that the mass arrests had “provoked great bitterness among the. Bulgarian worker©.” r “Borba” said that Bulgaria was putting so many people in. gaol that it was being forced to build; new concentration camps to house them. Among those arrested “Borba’’ listed Ivan Stepanov, former Finance Minister, H. Sekelarov, former Public Works Minister, Petko Kunin, former Minister of Industry, and General Vasil Markov, a member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Workers’ Party. ' V
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Bibliographic details
Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 17, 31 October 1949, Page 3
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342POLISH PURGE Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 17, 31 October 1949, Page 3
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