Hitler or Allies Must Move In

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 206, 31 August 1943, Page 5

Hitler or Allies Must Move In

(By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Received Monday, 9.30 p.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 30. Demonstrations have broken out throughout Bulgaria and the Regency, which is feeble, cannot expect to stand beyond a fortnight against, either German pressure or the people’s demands for immediate peace, says the New .fork Times’ Ankara correspondent. Balkan experts in Turkey believe anarchy in Bulgaria is inevitable unless the Bulgarian Army, in which the highranking officers are pro-German, brings off a coup d’etat or the Allies seize the opportunity to strike the leaderless nation. Sir Hughe Knatehbuil-Hugessen (British Ambassador to Turkey) expressed the view that “anything at present might happen and all in our favour.’ ’ The correspondent says the next fortnight will reveal whether the Bulgars will continue their fruitless struggle or come to terms with the Allies for the opening of an immediate Balkan front through Thrace, £trmnicft, Vardar, Central Serbia and the Hungarian Plains. No official announcement has been made of the cause of King Boris’s death, and doubts about the German statement that he died from heart disease persist. Reports from neutral sources say that large crowds in Sofia yesterday demonstrated against the Germans and demanded peace. The Berlin radio stated that the Bulgarian Cabinet has ordered 40 days of mourning for King Boris. Theatres and cinemas are closed and weddings have been suspended for a week. Hitler has sent condolences to the Bulgarian Royal Family and the King of Italy has ordered three months’ court mourning. Although a rigid censorship has been established in Bulgaria since the death of Boris, the Algiers radio to-night reported that a general strike had been declared throughout Bulgaria, and there were anti-Fascist demonstrations in Sofia. Ankara reports state that the Premier (M. Filov) is believed to be il l and unable to maintain power. The internal position of Bulgaria may deteriorate so quickly that Hitler will be forced at any moment to occupy the country. Despite a statement by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice that the death ot Boris was due to heart failure, double pneumonia and inflammation of the lungs and brain, reports continue to circulate that he was shot. Reports from Berne say that Hitler gave Boris an ultimatum which was due to expire at midnight on Saturday. Hitler’s ultimatum is reported to have demanded (1) The immediate total military and economic mobilisation of Bulgaria for the furtherance oi the war; (2) the building of a second defence line along the Turkish frontier to be manned by German troops; (3) the granting of full powers to the Gestapo in Bulgaria. Boris, according to this Berne report, decided to abdicate rather than accept the terms, but was shot by one of hitpolice bodyguard.