SOVIET PLOT STORY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21530, 30 December 1931, Page 7

SOVIET PLOT STORY

RECALL OF AN OFFICIAL AN INDIGNANT DISCLAIMER (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) PRAGUE, December 28. M. Vanek indignantly disclaims that in any way he approached or even suggested that “ Citizen G,” otherwise Goditzki, a Moscow theatre employee, should attack Dir Hirota, whose name was never mentioned. The Tass agency caused a sensation by announcing the recall at the request of the Soviet Government of a member of a Foreign Mission, who allegedly tried to persuade a Soviet official to stage an attack on the Japanese Ambassador in order to provoke war between Russia and Japan. He declared that it would be unnecessary to kill the Ambassador; it would be sufficient if two bullets from a rusty automatic revolver broke the windows of his car. The Soviet official informed the Government, declaring that he wanted to atone for the wrong he might have done to Russia “ through inexperience with such dirty, disgraceful activities.” It was stated subsequently that the member of a Foreign Mission mentioned was Karl Vanek, secretary of the Czechoslovakian Diplomatic Mission, but Czechoslovakian headquarters declared that he was returning to Prague solely because of ill-health. He was not involved in any plot to provoke a RussoJapanese war.