ITALY'S PRETEXTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 108, 2 November 1940, Page 9

ITALY'S PRETEXTS

"SHAMELESS LIES"

GREEK PRfDE IN ALLIANCE

WITH BRITAIN

(British Official Wtreless.i (Received November 2, 11.30 a.m.)

RUGBY, November 1.

Broadcasting in the 8.8.C.'s Greek service, the Greek Minister in London, M. Simopoulos, referred to his country as a victim of the most despicable and premeditated aggression on the part of Italy. Pouring scorn on the pretexts Italy had adopted to cover her action, he said that the accusations made against Greece constitute the shameless lies which were intended to cover a shameless act, and he referred to the "common criminal murdered on Albanian soil by the Albanians" who was for "certain reasons transformed by the Italians into a great patriot." Greece, said M. Simopoulos, was the most peaceful nation in Europe, and he pointed to the pact of friendship between Greece and Turkey which he said was the only luminous point on the road to peace during the post-war period in. Europe. He spoke of the torpedoing of the Greek warship Helle and revealed that the Greek naval staff entrusted a special committee with the task of finding out the nationality of the unknown submarine which made the attack. Special divers, he said, dragged from the bottom of the sea fragments of the torpedo. With these proofs in hand, and with figures and inscriptions, full evidence had been furnished of I the heroic deed of the Christian Italian navy that treacherously sank a vessel, adorned with flags, which was anchored at Tenos on the annual pilgrimage of a religious festival. This exploit was carried out with the despicable intention of incriminating Britain. Recalling his Majesty's and Mr. Churchill's declarations that the Greek cause is the British cause, M. Simopoulos said: "Hellenism, united throughout the world, is fighting today for its freedom and independence. Greece has not survived for thousands of years to become anybody's serf now," and he concluded: "We are proud that our country finds itself in this struggle by the side of a great heroic nation, fighting for a common ideal, and, as the King of Britain said to our King, 'Your fight is our fight.'"