ARRESTS IN RUSSIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 November 1936, Page 7

ARRESTS IN RUSSIA

GERMAN ANNOYANCE ALLEGED TROTSKY PLOT [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPTBIGHT.] BERLIN, November 12. Tension between Germany and Russia has increased after the arrests in Moscow of six Germans and several Russians with relations at the German Embassy, or belonging to the German Evangelical Church. They include Pastor Streck, a teacher at the German school, and an adviser to the Embassy, and a doctor attending members of the Embassy. “Der Angriff” says others of those arrested are delegates from foreign Communists, including two Englishmen, who went to Moscow to celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of the revolution. They are charged with attempting to establish a link between the followers of Trotsky abroad and in Russia.

BRITISH EMBASSY LONDON, November 13. Sir J. Davison will ask Mr. Eden in the Commons on Monday, the reason why the Soviet has placed -adidtional guards round tlie British Embassy at Moscow, questioning all callers.

NON-INTERVENTION EXCHANGES LONDON, November 13. The international Committee for the application of the agreement on nonintervention in Spain met to-day, when Signor Grandi submitted four more charges of breaches of the agreement against Russia, including the sending of munition ships and Soviet officers to Spain. The committee agreed that none of the Italian charges was yet fully established. M. Kagan declared that .the only form of assistance the Soviet had sent to Spain was foodstuffs and articles of primary necessity. Signor Grandi reported that since the outbreak of the Spanish war, both before and after the non-intervention agreement, there had been no form of direct or indirect political, financial or military interference that the Soviet had not openly or covertly carried out. The flight of the Spanish Government from Madrid had ended, amidst fire and blood, the greatest attempt ever* made by Bolshevik Russia to export its creed beyond its frontiers. “The Soviet representative says it is a creed of peace, but the facts deny him. It is a creed of war. M. Stalin has said it is the Soviet’s duty to assist the Spanish people inasmuch as the liberation of Spain from Fascist oppression is not the private affair of the Spaniards, but a common cause of Communism. We accept the challenge. This is oui’ old victorious flag.” M. Kagan, replying, accused Signor Grandi of “piping a tune which. Berlin had composed.” He added: “The Soviet had no quarrel with Italy, but from the moment she betrayed herself as an aggressor, from the moment Italy declared war against a weak, defenceless people, our relationship obviously had to suffer. No amount of propaganda speeches for General Franco can hide the fact that Italy stands before the world as an aggressor and an arch-violator of international treaties.”