COUP FAILS IN SLOVAKIA

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22657, 11 March 1939, Page 15

COUP FAILS IN SLOVAKIA

Separatist Movement Active PROMPT ACTION BY PRAGUE Mechanised Troops At Key Points (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYBIOHT.) (Received March 11, 2 a.m.) PRAGUE, March 10. A coup d’etat which the Slovak Radicals were preparing, intending to proclaim an independent Slovak State and secede from Prague, was foiled. Hearing of the plans, the Cen- ‘ tral Government promptly dis- , solved the Hlinka Guards, who were confined to barracks all night under military supervision, or sent to concentration camps in Moravia. Their comxnmander, General Tucha, and the Slovak propaganda chief, M. Mach, were detained as a precaution. The Government has reinforced the garrisons and occupied important points and buildings throughout Slovakia. . The Minister for Economics (M. Prusinski) and the Minister for Labour. (M. Buraa~ki), in a communique, state that certain groups exploited the weakness and irresolution of the Premier (Dr. Tiso) and other Ministers, and the Government was no longer able to prevent disturbances in the interior of Slovakia. The present measures were intended to maintain order, and prevent any attempt against the union of the Czech o-J Slovak States. The new Premier is a Deputy, M. Sivak, who Is travelling to Rome for the coronation of Pope Pius XII, and is as yet unaware that he has been appointed Premier. V There-is great anxiety in Prague lest the Slovak Separatists should > seek German aid. w Martial law has been proclaimed in Bratislava, and the Slovaks have been exhorted to obedience. Tanks are patrolling the streets. An Independent Cable message say the synagogue was bombed and blown up at Pistany, a famous Slovak spa. Anti-Czech and anti--Jewish riots occurred at Malatzka. - Separatist demonstrations are reported throughout the country. Several detachments of the Hlinka Guard have been placed in concentration camps in Moravia. The Central Government appealed to the Slovak people by radio to remain loyal to the Republic. The Separatist leaders, General Tucha and M. Mach, were arrested when they tried to enter Hungary. A Czech mechanised division moved into Slovakia at. dawn and occupied all public buildings and strategic positions. The authorities state that the ■ situation is under control. After an unofficial proclamation of a state of siege in Bratislava, and presumably in other large towns, martial *law has now been announced. Slovak workers from large factories struck, and joined the demonstrations in the Inner City of Bratislava, where several shots were fired. The military authorities Threw a cordon round the city to prevent factory workers and peasants from ; entering. ’