SECRECY AT MUDANLA.

Southland Times, Issue 19656, 5 October 1922, Page 4

SECRECY AT MUDANLA.

Until the Mudania conference reaches finality -or sufficient progress has been made to warrant the issue of an official communique, news from the Near East is likely to be fragmentary and incidental. It was to have been expected, as a cable message this morning states, that the conference would be hedged around with secrecy, and it is difficult to reconcile with this very usual procedure another message from Constantinople which implies that the exclusion of journalists from Mudania (the town, presumably) is limited to English and American newspaper men, while Turkish, Greek and Armenian reporters arc exempt from the ban. It is stated to-day that Greece is represented at the conference by General Magarakis and Colonel Sareyannis. What change the situation in the neutral zones has undergone is for the better. The tension in the Chanak area has been relaxed by the withdrawal of the Turkish cavalry some distance from the British entrenchments, presumably under Mustapha Kemal’s order suspending military movements. A special correspondent of the Morning Post supplies an interesting though incomplete view of the inner worknigs of the National Assembly at Angora. This indicates that there are three parties of importance in this parliament, the immediate supporters of Mustapba Kemal, the militarists, whose policy is to improve the opportunities provided by the recent successes; the moderates, who favour an understanding with Britain and oppose the aims of the military group; and the Communists, who as far as Turkish national affairs arc concerned, espouse the traditional Communist policy. That is to say, they have none. Their object is a union with Russia in foreign policy with a view to making common war against Britain. The correspondent reports that the Communists are straining every nerve to bring about a rupture with Britain and a consequent Turkish and Bolshevik onslaught on the Balkans. As a set-off against their machinations the Moderates are stated to be exercising a sobering influence in the higher counsels. The political situation in Greece / remains uncertain. M. Zaimis has definitely declined’the Premiership, and the new Government is consequently still without a head.