BOUND AND GAGGED

Evening Star, Issue 22893, 26 February 1938, Page 11

BOUND AND GAGGED

THE GREEK PRESS. TOOLS OF THE GOVERNMENT A month or two ago the proprietor* of the newspapers of Greece received from the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Press and Tourism a set or highly confidential instructions', a cbpy of which was smuggled out of the country and reached* England; The document is surely the completest thing so far devised in the way of modern State censorship, as the following extracts show': — “ 1. The appearance of' blanks in the columns of newspapers; is forbidden. The newspapers are obliged .'to fill up blanks created by . excisions made by the • censorship service. ' The filling up of these blanks by advertisements on the first and last pages is forbidden. The publication of information which; would reveal the : practice of , precautionary censorship is. absolutely forbidden. . “2. Any criticism of the; work Of the Government, provided it js not favourable, is ■, forbidden. . likewise the publication of instructions or. memoranda to the President of the Government and Ministers, in which popular indignation or negligence of the authorities in remedying; matter* that crop up appear, is forbidden. “3. The publication of any information affecting political parties and political personages generally, as well as the publication of the names, is forbidden. “ 4. The publication of information regarding the changes of Ministers and generally the composition of the Government is forbidden, unless such information is issued by tho President of the Government. “ 5. Information regarding jbujneys of the President of the Government and H.M. the King shall only be published if official communiques about them are iss.ued.” STAMP OF APPROVAL. Intermediate clauses forbade references to such topics as-the currency position, etc., and the others read:— “ 12. Generally, papers are obliged, on pain of suppression, to contribute enthusiastically and of their own accord, to the reformative and creative work of the Government _by means of articles, notes, and publications of all kinds. _ “13. Communism has already been outlawed. The circulation of any printed matter (newspapers, periodicals, or boobs) containing Communistic matter is forbidden. 1 The development in the Press of so-called Left theories is forbidden. More especially in the case of the events in Spain, exultation at successes of the Reds i* forbidden. “ 14. Before any newspaper or periodical is circulated, proofs must be sent to be censored, and only on receipt of approval by stamp on the sheet may they be put into circulation.”-