WAR THOUGHT UNLIKELY

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25450, 23 March 1948, Page 5

WAR THOUGHT UNLIKELY

GREEK KING’S VIEW

MR TSALDARIS RETURNS FROM LONDON LONDON, March 21. King Paul of Greece declared in Athens that Greece, if attacked, would defend herself and, if necessary, fight alone, according to an exclusive dispatch to the Cleveland (Ohio) “Plain Dealer,” from its Athens correspondent. “I do not think that war will take place in the near future,” said King Paul, “but in the unforeseen event of

foreign aggression Greece will defend herself to the last man, independently of outside help.” It was the King’s first officially authorised statement to any correspondent since he became King. The Greek Foreign Minister (Mr Tsaldaris) has left by air for Athens, after continuing in London the talks with the Foreign Secretary (Mr Ernest Bevin) which he began in Paris, where he attended the Marshall Plan conference.

It is reliably said that M. Tsaldaris discussed the possible extension o£ British aid to Greece in the face of increasing rebel pressure—perhaps by sending Greece some of the troops evacuated from Palestine. Guerrillas machine-gunned the car in which the Greek Liberal leader (Mr Venizelos) was travelling to Canea, in Crete, wounding the car driver and two others in the car, including a Greek deputy.

A Greek Army communique says that Army forces killed 66 guerrillas and took 21 prisoners in clashes in the Mount Pierria and Mount Olympus areas' during a heavy snowstorm. Greek forces also killed 26 guerrillas and captured 22 in an encounter northeast of Serres. Government casualties in both actions were one dead and 10 wounded.

A special court-martial sentenced to death 52 of a total of 111 guerrillas who were charged with participating in the shelling of Salonika. Six women were among thodb condemned.

CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER

MR CLEMENTIS APPOINTED PRAGUE. March 19. A Communist, Mr Vladimir Clementis. has been appointed Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs in succession to Mr Jan Masaryk. In a broadcast address, Mr Clementis said that he was not greatly worried over .the possibility of war. ■ Russia and her allies would never attack, and their strength was so great that they could afford to wait and ward off any attack which might be made against them. CZECH REFUGEES t , PRAGUE, March 21. Eight hundred people have fled from Czhecoslovakia and have been interned in Bavaria.” says the newspaper “Mlada Fronta.” It adds that Dr. Ivo Duchacek, a People’s Party member of Parliament who was formerly chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. recently crossed the frontier. Mr Fierlinger, the Social Democrat Party s chairman and Minister of Industry. said to-day that the Social Democrats were not about to fuse with the Communists. COSTA RICA REVOLT GOVERNMENT TROOPS ATTACKING (Rec. 9 p.m.) SAN JOSE (Costa Rica), March 21. Bitter fighting broke out to-(fcay-\as the Costa Rican Government began an all-out effort to smash the revolutionary movement led by Jose Figures. Government troops were landed by air at key positions to begin an encircling manoeuvre. A heavy Government attack is developing at the San Isidro airport, which Figures’ men captured on March 10. The rebels seized three airliners at the airport and have been using them to fly arms from Guatemala.

The Minister of Security (General Rene Picado) claims that “the Gov-

ernment operations are progressing satisfactorily and the revolution is weakening daily.’’

Australians Deported From Japan.— Two Australian civilians deported from Japan reached Sydney to-day in the troopship Kanimbla. They were former soldiers who had served in Japan and who had discharge papers. By some means they worked their way back to Japan and were arrested for illegally entering the country. They were released by the immigration authorities soon after the Kanimbla berthed.—Sydney, March 22.