GRAVE VIEW TAKEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 274, 19 November 1943, Page 5

GRAVE VIEW TAKEN

POSITION IN LEBANON Recd. 6 p.m. London, Nov. 17. A grave view continues to be taken of the position in the Lebanon. It is emphasised that the need is for prompt action. The T’mes says: “A worse danger will follow the drift. The difficulties of decision facing General Catroux are not to be underrated. The arrest ol the President, the Prime Minister and other Ministers must be clearly revoked.”'

The Daily Telegraph, in a leader, says: “Unfortunately, proof of growing resentment against the French action throughout the Arab world will not accord with the optimism in General de Gaulle’s statement that ‘the events are only a passing incident.’ ” 1 The paper adds: “By one ambiguous sentence, ‘France could not allow troubles prejudicing the strategic position of the Allies to develop in the Lebanon,’ de Gaulle appears to contend that drasic action is necessary for a prevention of unrest dangerous to the Allie* cause. It is an unfortunate fact that unrest has not been prevented. On the contrary, grave troubles have developed all over the Middle East and it is not certain that deGaulle’s speech will help end them.”

ENGINEERED IN VICHY •

Reed. 6 p.m. London, Nov. 17. The Lebanon crisis is the result of months of work by Laval’s agents, say well-informed French circles in Lisbon, quoted by the British United Press correspondent. The French claim that the whole affair was engineered from Vichy, where it is regarded as a great success. A spokesman of the French Committee of National Liberation at Algiers, in a statement, said: “Suggestions of disagreement between members of the committee and Helleu, the French delegate general in Lebanon, regarding responsibility for Helleu’s actions are untrue. On the contrary, his actions to protect French commitments in the Levant have always had the full support of members of the committee.