SPANISH CONFLICT

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 February 1937, Page 11

SPANISH CONFLICT

AN OBSERVER’S NOTES. A well-informed correspondent sends us the following notes on the Spanish civil war, said the “Manchester Guardian” on January 14: — General Franco is supposed to be weak rather than bloodthirsty. The bloodthirstiness in high official quarters proceeds from X, who is desciibed as a maniac. The recent creation of new generals is a sign, of the tension caused by the failure of the attack on Madrid. The Phalangists (Fascists) are responsible for most of the assassinations in the rearguard. In the big towns everybody knows who are these assassins, but the military in this way are rid of their political enemies with out having to accept, direct responsibility. The point is this: apart from what might be represented as measures of military repression—the massacres of Badajoz. Seville, and so on there is a number of killed in equal proportion in towns of the rear, where there has never been any “Red” rising or any opposition to the military. This number has not been reached suddenly, in a moment of terror, but by constant, steady killing. “The bus of Phalange is coming!” In one of the Castilian capitals a special bus service was run to take people to see the shootings; in this capital there had been absolutely ‘no “Red” rising. This has happened in other capitals; in Pamplona all Republicans are said to have been killed. Saragossa is thought to have suffered worst of all. “THE CAR RIDE.” The “paseo” (the car ride), which has become famous from accounts of happenings on the Anarchist side, is exactly equally familiar on the side of the Phalangists. The recent militarisation of Phalangists and Requetes (Carlists) is due to two causes: (1) a desire on the part of the military to control these volunteers; and (2) their complete military uselessness. They preferred to remain in the rear, assassinating and making a career to going to the front; when the delay in the taking of Madrid made it necessary to send them to the front their failure became clear. From the standpoint of atrocities the Requetes have a better reputation, and in certain! cases are known to have resisted Phalangist pressure. The greatest rule of terror is directed against the intellectuals; even the Marxist is not as odious as the Liberal. This is well shown by the policy of the rebels towards the teachers. Committees have been, instituted in every district for the purification of the teaching staffs of the rebel territory; their duty is to eliminate not only all those affiliated to parties constituting the Popular Front, but also all suspected even of sympathy, who are declared equally responsible for the crimes of Marxist barbarism. The assassinations of village schoolmasters, of inspectors of primary education are innumerable; the mere fact of not being a member of the Right is sufficient to qualify a man for persecution. This terror is known to have been specially rigorous in the provinces of Leon and Palencia, probably also in Granada and the other Andalusian provinces. The old tradition of Spanish Catholicism, more Papist than the Pope, has never been clearer than to-day. The Pope’s New Year message has aroused intense indignation; it appears that it was not given on the rebel radio, and has received only fragmentary publication, if any. (All foreign news, in any case, reaches rebel papers only through German filters.) The Vatican is bitterly reproached for not having recognised Franco and for not having excommunicated the priests of the Basque provinces faithful to the Government. In this connection it is interesting to quote a typical pun of General Queipo de Llano, made over the radio at Seville: “Los curas vascos —bueno, los llamaremos sacerdotes sin sa ’

(“The Basque cures —well, let’s call them (sacerdotes) priests without sa.") ICerdotes —swine.] It is easy Io understand that the “more-Papist-than-the-Pope” tendency of Spanish Catholicism may be made to fall into line with the anti-Vatican propaganda of Germany; certainly at this point the Vatican can do nothing effectual to lessen the horrors of socalled religious war.

The following general deductions can be made. Responsibility for atrocities is undoubtedly greater on the side of the rebels (1) because of their greater control over volunteers, demonstrated favourably in San Sebastian, where shootings are said almost to have ceased: (2) because of the proved ferocity of the military when acting on their own without the interference of volunteers, instances of which are the violence accompanying the occupation of inoffensive towns and villages and the innumerable executions carried out by the courtsmartial on the most trivial charges.

'l'l IE ROLE OF DE LLANO. ' One important reservation should be made with regard to the territories under the heel of the egregious Qucipo de Llano. As a lifelong intriguer and filibuster, he was never expected to be? any more tolerant of the control of General Franco than of that of any of his supporters, monarchical or Republican, and his virtual independence of the Burgos Government is already apparently a fact, lie occasionlly ridicules dispositions of this Government. and the offensive in Jaen is said to be on his own private initiative. Il is also possible that the truculence of his famous radio talks (his habit, for instance, of announcing tin 1 results of “Red" air raids only in terms of “Red" victims —who. of course, are those of his own reprisals) accounts for the establishment of the Salamanca station, whence only General Fran eo's nows is broadcast, anti for the increasing lack of news provided by l'’i;meo in the talk's of Queipo de Llano. Naturally this inlerprctat ion of the I wo generals' relationship is only conjecture. On the Government side atrocities have been much more the result of ;■ lack of Government control. The Government Press is full <d' ollicial pro tests, and their opposition to direct action by the masses is well proved. Both the Government of Valencia and the Administration of Catalonia have a good record with regard to the concession of passports to persons threatened by the anarchists, a. fact, which explains how many of the best-known intellectuals have managed to get abroad. In particular. Indaleeio Prieto is mentioned as having don'.' "'or’'

filing in his power for such humanitarian purposes. The same may Im said of flic local authorities ot Santander and Bilbao: and the recent unification ( ,1 ail the police forces of the Goveminent undoubtedly has as its main (.bpM’t in< - reasi(| centra] conir<4.

I’-’ty a poor woman, madam i ' 0,. n i,( •;|,- n ;i i nor s' lof loud ' : Ail. HI? ■IT .iti<:- . we ■i'l hat-, to sulfur tn ’his world. 1 imve. just boi-n obliged to give up my op, rj ]) ( >x

•t’el! --. ■.••nd was dicing a boresome . dhdonmb who nsisted on talk- ■,, nooh. In another carriage - r .,. tn- one indulging in '/.d'-'v;.n it immediately caught i d ■ . the ..rm. “Hush!” he cauYon overheard;”