NEW DICTATORSHIP.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20310, 21 May 1934, Page 1

NEW DICTATORSHIP.

Bulgarian Military Coup d’Etat. FASCIST GOVERNMENT. United Press Assn. —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received Mav 21, 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 20. Reports from Belgrade say that, following a serious division of opinion in his Cabinet, the

members of which have resigned, Kin" Boris, of Bulgaria, has formed a National Government, supported by the army. Sofia is isolated. and telegraphic communication is censored. Swift action at 2 o’clock yesterday morning established the National

virtual dictatorship. Troops suddenly occupied the streets, surrounded public buildings and placed the city entirely under military control. Sofia is completely isolated from the remainder of the country and a censorship has been established. The King nominated a National Government in which the principal ministers are: M. Kimon Georgieff (Premier). General Midileff (Interior). General Zlateff (War'. M. Todoroff (Finance). Professor Molott u^oucationl. A Sofia message says that the new regime, which is apparently Fascit’, i will probably seek a Pan-Slav alliance with Jugoslavia, which will be simplified by the reported arrest .of the Macedonian leader, Ivan Mihailoff, and numerous followers. A nominee Chamber of 100 members replaces the Sobranje. There are conflicting reports regarding the reasons for the coup d etat, but it is believed to be due to the action of M Georgieff and M. Todoroff, Professor Moloff and other leaders of I the Zveno group, a nationalist nonI party organisation, who were associated with the coup d’etat of 1923, when the Agrarian Government was overthrown. It is known that the Zveno group is friendly with Professor Alex ancjpr Tsankoff. leader of the extreme Right, who, with the army and the Macedonian Nationalists, seized power in the 1923 coup. Professor Tsankoff is reported to have planned to assemble 50,000 supporters, including a number of Mace- | donians, on Sunday and seize power. | The King learned of the plot and de eided, after some hesitation and on I the advice of army officers, to forestall it, but he was forced to accept a National Government.

The King not Told. King Boris, it is reported, was not aware of the army’s preparations until troops surrounded the palace and even then he demurred from signing the proclamation dissolving Parliament and appointing the Government. It is reported that eighty generals, members of the Reserve Officers’ Association, met secretly and sent a deputation to King Boris urging the appointment of a non-party government on account of the deplorable conditions of the country following from party strife and the neglect of supplying necessities for the peasants, who are eighty per cent of the population. The Government has issued a manifesto declaring it has been given power owing to the party deadlock hindering the working of the administration, delaying the settlement of economic prob lems, and necessitating a national nonparty government which has been established with the assistance of the Army who realise the need for ending a dangerous situation. The manifesto sets out fourteen essential points, which include balancing the Budget, the creation of new sources of revenue, the improvement of credit, especially for agriculturists, the creation of new markets, the removal of unemployment and the reestablishment of relations with Soviet Russia. “The G overnment assumes control in the name of internal peace,” adds the manifesto. In Complete Control.

Sofia awoke and found the coup d’etat complete, with the streets patrolled by troops carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, and armed with bombs. Machine-guns and artillery occupied strategic points. Early in the morning workers were turned back and told that shops and offices would not be opening. Hundreds of preventive arrests have been made, those taken including Communists and members of the Left Wing. The order confining the people to their bouses was strictly applied to ex-Min-isters. General Vataff. Minister of War in the last Cabinet, hearing of the military movements, telephoned to the War Ministry asking for an explanation. He was brusquely told that he was no longer Minister. Late reports state that all is quiet throughout the country and that the military blockade was withdrawn at noon. Surprise for Premier. The Sofia correspondent of the “ Sunday Times” says that the coup d'etat was effected without the firing of a single shot. The first the Premier, M. Mushanoff. heard of the. coup was when he was awakened by a Lightened servant who told him that the house was surrounded by troops. He tried to telephone to the War Minister, but the answer came: “You are Prime Minister no longer.”