STATE OF SIEGE IN ATHENS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21414, 5 March 1935, Page 11

STATE OF SIEGE IN ATHENS

o CHANGES MADE IN THE CABINET OPPOSITION LEADERS ARRESTED :Nli'i:i> I'iIESS ASSOCIATION F.Y KLEC'TIMC 1 KI.KuK.M'U LOI'YIIKiIIT.) (Received March 4, 5.5 p.m.) ATHENS, March 3. A state of siege has been pro- • kilnicd in Athens, and several ar-tii-ics of the Constitution have been suspended. AL P. Tsaldaris (Prime .Minister) has taken over the port- !'.-■;;.) of Foreign Affairs from M. D. .Miiximci.s. who is now in Paris, and v.i.D resigned before the revolt. Adrmnil Pnusmanis becomes Minister in:- Marine and M. Schinas Air Min-i.-'f-r. The Opposition leaders, MM. C::ri:ikiris and Papanastasiou, who were discovered hiding in M. E. Veiiizi'los's bo'iso. are under arrest. ?J. Venizoios is reported to have ; .-.led an anti-Government pro-,.-!aniation inviting Cretan senators :-i:d deputies to attend a specia]

meet l!l'-!. While the Government has de•.ained the senators and deputies i-prcsent ing Salonica, quiet prevails en the mainland. Courts martial are being constituted for the trial ej the rebels, but the mutineers rein in possession of five warships, which are believed to have reached Crete. The extent of the damage to the :!,ree warships suffered during Saturday's bombing is not ascertain::bje. The armoured cruiser, Gioruins Averoii. was again bomned in Suda Bay. near Canea (Crete), to- . I ; , y Artblery lias been dispatched to Kara Point. 10 miles from Salonica which : s under martial law. in order t<i shell the robe] ships if they attempt t.i enter the harbour. It was ofiicially announced later that aeroplanes bombed two rebel warships. Tlv extent of the damajm is unknown. The police l discovered stores of band crenades. rifles, and ammuniil.'o in n b Ycni/.elos's house. The At liens correspondent of "The Times" savs Cretan Venizelists revolted when the rebel fleet approached and superseded the Governor CM. Aposkitis) by a Cretan colonel. At the Perama arsenal Paymaster Siochos was fatallv wounded wlvm presenting an ultimatum to the rebels from the Ewones barracks. He was buried without a demonstration in the presence of a large crow ii.

REPUBLICANS AND .MONARCHISTS DIFFERENCES CAUSE THE REVOLT ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT COVERNMENT (Received March 4. 7 p.m.) LONDON, March 4. The Athens correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian" says the revolt is ascribable to animosity between the followers of M. Tsaldaris 'Prime Minister) and the Opposition leader. M. Venizelos, whom the Government outlawed. M. Tsalir.ris's people's party represent the monarchists, many oi whose former leaders were executed under Genera] Nicholas Plastiras's revolutionary government of 1923. General Plastiras attempted a revolt when the monarchists were victorious in the 1933 elections, but had to seek refuge in Egypt. M. Tsaldaris's anti-republican activities led to a revolution in the army and navy, who believed that the Government intended to abrogate the law which exiled the Royal family in 1924. The Athens correspondent of the '•News-Chronicle" says that M. Venizelos is reported to have constituted a committee of three to control the part of Crete where his influence is strongest.

CRETE IN HANDS OF REBELS CLRFEW ON CIVILIANS IN ATHENS (Received March 4, 10 p.m.) LONDON. March 4. A stringent censorship is enforced at Athens. The outstanding fact in the messages from Greece is the success of the insurgents at Crete, where practically the whole island is in the hands of the rebels. The air attack on M. Venizclos's bouse recalls an incident 40 years ago, when the fleets of the greai powers were fi-ing on Cretan insurgents, and shot down a Cretan standard. M. Venizelos raced through the bullets and lifted the flag, causing the Austrian seamen who fired the lucky shot to cheer. The Athens correspondent of the "Dailv Express" says that Admiral Dome?tichas had opened negotiations with the Government for a conditional surrender, but on learning that M. Venizelos had thrown in his' lot with the rebels broke off the negotiations. Th" Athens correspondent of the "Dailv Mail" says that all travel throughout the country is forbidden without special permission. Civilians are forbidden to appear in the -'reefs after 8 n.rn. All civil aeroplanes have been commandeered. Entertainments are closed. The Government emphasises that the situation throughout the counrv is under control.