REVOLT IN ALBANIA

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 219, 14 August 1940, Page 6

REVOLT IN ALBANIA

A DISCOMFITED PEOPLE. ITALIAN HEEL RESENTED. The carefully-calculated propaganda of Rome radio and Signor V irgimo Gayda, official Press voice of the «J S 0" ist regime in Italy, to the effect that relations with Albania are as “harmonious” as usual, and that reports of a revolt are so much “British propaganda,” has failed in its purpose—for one simple reason: That is (ana the news conies from more than one source) the unpalatable fact that the Albanians are really in the throes or a revolt—not in theory only, for thousands of th«?m have risen up, inflicting death upon Italian troops. Albania comes into the news onlj occasionally, and then only in an unhappy, manner. The last occasion was during the. Easter week-end in IJoJ, when Mussolini’s legions marched in and King Zog and his Court fled to Greece. But, as John Gunther quite accurately has observed, the nationa - ism of Albania does not whisper even if the country is small —and extinct. It has again risen with no uncertain voice. ~ The cardinal fact of the, situation before Italy took the little country was that King'Zog “started out as Yugoslavia’s man. and then sold out ° Mussolini.” Both the Italians and the Yugoslavs were interested m Albannbecause it lies at the bottleneck o the Adriat'c. When Zog was a refugee in Belgrade after being forced into exile in 1924 after the Government ot which he was Minister of the Interior fell, the Yugoslavs decided to support him. He got not merely moral and political assistance, but troops. “Imagine then,” says Gunther, t'ne horror and anger of Belgrade when, having put Zog back into power, it saw him immediately turn his country over to the Italians. Zog’s excuse m that he had to have .money to build up the country and strengthen Ins position, and that Yugoslavia could give him none. So he became an Italian puppet.

ITALIAN STRATEGY,

“Very promptly —t'nis was in the middle “ id’s—the Italians implemented their advantage 1* irst came a series of loans whereby an Italian company, the Society for the Economic Development of Albania, received exclusive rights to build roads, dredge harbours, and undertake other public works. An oil concession was given Italy. Italian officers reorganised the Albanian army. In November, 1926, Mussolini and Zog signed the first Treaty of Tirana, which virtually made Albania an Italian protectorate. A year later—just in time to stave off a revengeful Yugoslav putsch this treaty was strengthened by an outright military alliance. “Italy then poured millions of lirae into Albania. T''ie country became, in fact, a sort of bottomless marsh swallowing up Italian gold. The pace of this financial debauch had to be retarded when the world economic crisis "hit Italy, but even in 1931 Italy agreed to lend Albania 10 000.000 gold francs (£400.000 gold), per year for ten years free of interest ‘in order to make the financial position of Albania sound and to facilitate the development of its national economy.* In 1934 and later there came still other loans. INVASION NEXT.

“Then, however, developments in Albania began to discourage Italian enterprise. The Italians threatened to cut off the stream of gold. This,” says Gunther, “was because Zog, a flirtatious fellow, commenced to be friendly again with Yugoslavia. . Italians the doctors, soldiers, engineers, topographers, road builders —became increasingly unpopular in Albania. Zog quarrelled with his Italian advisers. He resented his dependence on Italy; he lamented the bargain he had made. For a time the Italians had to continue to pay him, because their position in the country rested on his person. Then Mussolini decided to terminate the comedy. Italy invaded the country, Zog fled, and Albania ceased to exist.” But. as the Italians learned in Abyssinia. if the State has ceased as such, the spirit of the Albanians is unquenchable. Their history is in a unique way one of revolutions, and it would not he at all surprising were they to resist oven more strenuously the dictatorship of Fascism. In. the meantime Italian retention of their country helps to make t'he Adriatic into an Italian lake and Fascist occupation is not likely to be easily terminated.