COUP PLOT DENIAL

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31942, 20 March 1969, Page 15

COUP PLOT DENIAL

Communist Doubts

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) ROME, March 19.

The Italian Communist Party today stuck to its claims of a Right-wing coup d’etat plot in . spite of an angry Government denial. A high-ranking Communist Party official,. Mt Giancarlo Pajetta said the Government’s denial was too vague.

In an article in the party newspaper, “Unitai,” he said the Government had -not explicitly denied Communist reports of unusflal troop, movements, telephone-tapping and stepped-up police surveillance of Left-wingers.-

' “The Government must be more explicit.” Mr Pajetta ’said. “Unita” argued about what it described as the danger of a Greek-style military coup in a series of articles that began last Sunday. It compared the present climate to that of July, 1964, when Right-wing generals and the counter-espionage service Sifar, were alleged to have plotted a. coup.