From Abyssinia to Croatia

Southland Times, Issue 24440, 21 May 1941, Page 4

From Abyssinia to Croatia

THE ebb and flow of war was suitably illustrated yesterday in two cable messages printed in adjacent columns. From London came the news that the Duke of Spoleto, nephew of the King of Italy, had been designated King of Croatia. At the same time it was announced that the Duke’s brother, the Dulce of Aosta and leader of the Italian forces in Abyssinia, had accepted the British terms for the surrender of Amba Alagi. Thus, within a few hours of each other, one brother experienced the illusion of victory and the other faced the reality of defeat. The Duke of Aosta was formerly Viceroy of Abyssinia. He now sees the main part of his forces out of action, its last remnants retreating among the mountains, and the country passing once again into the care of its rightful ruler. When he hears of his brother’s sudden promotion to power he may reflect with some bitterness on the vanity of Mussolini’s imperialistic dream. Abyssinia was conquered by Italian arms. The campaign was a shameful issue of totalitarian policy, and it was fought by well-equipped troops against natives armed with rifles and spears. But it was a military conquest, and after nearly six years of occupation it seemed to have become a fixed part of Italy’s East African Empire. Today it is no longer an Italian colony; the standard of the Lion of Judah again floats over Addis Ababa, and

a victory has been won for freedom. Italy did not win Croatia in battle. Her share in the Balkan campaign was ignoble, and the spoils came to her as the gift of Hitler. Croatia has been wrested from the living body of Yugoslavia; her change of sovereignty is being celebrated even now by massacre and terrorism in the towns of Serbia. Her puppet leader is Pavilec, the man who organized the assassination of King Alexander in 1934. The new State has been founded in an atmosphere of terror and treachery. It can be preserved under Italian rule only while German arms continue to dominate the Balkans. At the first sign of German weakness the Serbs will begin to come back; the Croats will grow restless, and the Duke of Spoleto will feel his tiny kingdom shaking beneath his feet. Mussolini must be thankful for any small gains which will help to restore his damaged prestige. But it will be surprising if the Italian people find the gift of a Balkan principality a suitable recompense for the loss of their East African empire. And the Duke of Spoleto, remembering his brother’s fate, may well ask why he should be selected for the leading role in a farce that can never be quite separated from tragedy.