REGANING ABYSSINIA

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13239, 15 January 1941, Page 5

REGANING ABYSSINIA

I KI NG confident I, touch with tribesmen royal war DRUMS SOUNDED MOUTHY London, Jan. 13 I .. Th „ time is not far distant when I ii cross the border and lead an I"'! of patriots against the Ital- | rin ; V .. declared Haile Selassie. Emf n \ nf Ahvssinia, in an interview leroi 01 • 1, Khartoum. . ~ f .?The (lavs of Italy, my former ally I' grayed my country, are numi They have built fine roads, (nailed and enslaved thousands of Ti’v-inh’.ns. Iml they have not brokI J'heir spirit. 1 look forward to liberation of Abyssinia and the iwbUsliment of a just and constitug, ‘ Government. ■ “The royal war drums that sound iwliilv from the hilltops in Goja, 1“ along the frontier, are mine sound a particular sound. Iviien they are sounded my people PfrnoW I rn llCell. I -Hundreds of my former soldiers. Understanding (lie message of the | ru ins are deserting and rally ng to lie standard raised at Goja hy Has ilongasha. my faithful commander. I Emperor Haile Selassie is in Khar-lo-im and for a month has been reliving a constant stream of AhvssinL, tribesmen who have evaded the Italian frontier patrols. They have leld conferences with Haile Selassie §, u ] returned to their villages with listructions and arms. Italy’s Rebellious Empire I While the British continue their leaseless aerial and artillery homlardrnent of Tobrck, events else|.|,ere in Africa demonstrate Italy’s precarious hold on he r rebellious emlire.

I The Italians in East Africa are jjow forced to use a new form of blackmail in order to stem the flow Of deserters entering the British lines. Italian officers tell Abyssinian conscripts that Italy will shortly | e making peace with Britain, one gf the conditions of which will be In exchange of prisoners. The Abyslinians are told that if they desert they will be shot down Avhen they are returned to Italian hands. I The Aden correspondent of “The Times” reports an unhappy situation fn France’s colony of Jibuti, where [verything is rationed and trade is |t a complete standstill. The Italian secret police have spent money favishly in maintaining a swarm of Informants, and the arrest of many respectable French and other European citizens at the instigation of Italians has caused great indignation.

| The people of Jibuti are wholeheartedly united in their dislike of the Italians, and incidents frequently iccur. Italians now wear mufti in Irder to escape the sneers of the public. Four Italian officers were tak»n to hospital suffering from knife jvcunds received in wrangles over Marshal Badoglio’s resignation and the Fascist war policy, which culminated in a free fight, j Anti-Fascist,feeling and discontent ire reported to be growing stronger imong all Italians in Abyssinia, as :hey fully appreciate their perilous position, cut off from help from outside and surrounded by enemies inside and outside the country.