MOVE BY FRANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27017, 28 February 1949, Page 5

MOVE BY FRANCE

OPERATION AGAINST COMMUNISTS FIRST ARRESTS MADE NZPA —Copyright Rec. 11 p.m. PARIS, Feb. 27. Four alleged French Communist sympathisers have been arrested by the police and charged with disclosing military secrets. The accused were handed" over to the military authorities. Eleven other men arrested on similar charges were released, but will be kept under police surveillance. Earlier, the War Minister, M. Paul Ramadicr, took legal action against the Central Committee of the French Communist Party for allegedly inciting the army to revolt. The Associated Press correspondent says the French Government is also considering legal action against all 84 members of the French Communist Party’s Politburo. The Communist Trades Union Federation has protested against raids made yesterday on three French Communist publishing houses. It threatened mass action ” if the Government “ laid hands ” on tide Communist leaders. The four men arrested were Robert Friedland, a reporter on the Leftist weekly newspaper. Regards; Pierre Juin, editor-in-chief of Regards: Robert Penniaut, general manager of the paper, France Dabord; and Bertrand Jouenne, designer in the drafting office of the nationalised French aircraft construction works. The men must be tried by a military and the charges must be heard in public.

A high Government source states that M. Ramadier’s complaint was •based on statements on wall posters and in the Communist daily paper, L’Humanite, during the mine strike last autumn. The complaint was sent to ihe Minister of Justice, M. Robert Lecourt, who will hand it over to the public prosecutors, whose job will then be to start proceedings against members of the Central Committee who are not deputies.

Parliament win debate to-dav the lifting of immunity of Marcel Cachin. editor-in-chief of L’Humanite. Requests for the lifting of immunity on the Communist secretary-general, Maurice Thorez. and other Communist deputies now shielded from arrest are expected to follow. The Government’s action against the Central Committee of the Communist Party follows M. Thorez’s speech in Parliament yesterday, in which he said the people should welcome the Soviet army if it ever reached France. Raids by Police Paris police i yesterday raided the buildings of three French Communist publications and the home of the Communist trade unionists. A man whose home was raided was an official of the Communist-led Trade Union Federation. His name has not been disclosed. Three police inspectors called at his office to escort him home so that he could be present at their search. Publications raided were:— 1. Regards, an illustrated weekly. 2. France Dabord, a weekly paper specialising in military subjects. 3. The Editions Sociales, a publishing house dealing mainly in leaflets and pamphlets for the Communist Party ana para-Communist organisations. Headquarters of the French national police would not comment on the raid, but the influential evening newspaper, Le Monde, said the operations, which were conducted by the special section of the national vigilance section, began on Friday night and went on yesterday. „ The main operation was against Regards, the editor-in-chief of which, Pierre Juin, was summoned to Surete headquarters for questioning and later arrested. Le Monde' said: “ Many documents were seized at the weekly’s office and also at the homes of some of the staff, together with the layout and copy of articles for the next number. The Communist newspaper Ce Soir said one of Regard’s editorial staff, Jacques Friedland, was preparing an article, “Against War,” when he was apprehended by the police. Political observers believe this article might be connected with the declaration by M. Thorez on what French workers would do in the event of war between Russia and the Western Powers. Later the police raided the homes of two members of the staff of Etudes Sovietiques, a monthly publication devoted to studies of Soviet life. Both were taken to Surete headquarters.