Rumours Of Athens Showdown

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31501, 16 October 1967, Page 13

Rumours Of Athens Showdown

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) ATHENS, Oct. 15. All last week the black limousines have been going back and forth to King Constantine’s white stone palace, according to Richard Eder of the “New York Tinies” News Service.

He writes that some of the visits have been announced in the Court Gazette: Prime Minister Constantine Kollias; Defence Minister Gregory Spandidakis; Archbishop Kotsonis. Primate of Greece; General Grivas, the ambitious, frustrated commander of Greek forces in Cyprus. Other visitors came quietly, without announcement.

Among them, separately and at different times during the week, were the three lea-

ders of the junta: Colonel George Papadopoulos, Colonel Nicholas Makarezos, and Brigadier Stylianos Patakos. Rumours of the most varied sort have been circulating in Athens. They all have as their theme an impending showdown between King Constantine and the military men who took over the country last April. Whether the word “showdown” is too strong or not, it is evident that the young King is facing decisions that will vitally affect both his position under the present dictatorship, and the future position of the Greek monarchy. For the last few months the most frequent question posed by diplomats, politicians and journalists has been: “What will the King do?” If the King distrusts and resents the junta, fearing that instead of a transitional dictatorship—to which he would probably have few objections —the young officers who support it intend to stay on

indefinitely, his means of doing something about it are severely limited. He has support within the Army, but he has not propagated, or perhaps not even crystalised, his doubts sufficiently to confront loyal officers with the obligation to oppose the junta. The effective troop command in the Athens area is in the hands of inner core members of the revolutionary council, although there are generals with important commands elsewhere who are believed to be more royalist than pro-junta. If Colonel Papadopoulos and his followers are going to transform their rule into a long-term dictatorship—and some informed observers believe that, in spite of an Inclination that way, they have not made up their minds—they will have to make drastic changes in the Army. They will have to replace important royalist officers. They will also have to do

something about the perennial danger of military disaffection that is posed by a chain of command. At present, majors and colonels are giving the orders. The junta has avoided providing the King with any major political excuse to call upon his Army sympathisers —once, that is, he accepted the coup in the first place.

Some time this month he intends to send his wife and. two children to Denmark on holiday, and this raises the speculation that he may be clearing the way for some kind of confrontation.

One thing is clear. Before another six months are up it will be too late for one, and the King will have two alternatives.

One is to stay on, largely passive and accepting the promises of the junta that it will make way for constitutional government. The second, should it become clear that these promises are not to be kept, would be to go info exile.