BALKAN INTRIGUES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 30, 29 October 1937, Page 9

BALKAN INTRIGUES

Man to Whom Deportion Means Death ROMANTIC ADVENTURES An. atmosphere of scarlet dispatch boxes, the frou-frou of Edwardian silken skirts, intrigues xound tottering thrones, a story of spies and shots in tha dark — all these we^p conjured up in drab Bow street xecently. In the dock stood grey moustached Colonel Waynagh-Demko, a political refugee accused of failing to register as an alien. , "Two months," said Mr Fry, the magistrate, "and recommendcd for deportation." The erect military figure heard what ( was virtnally his death sentence without moving a muscle, bowed to the magistrate, walked qnickly to the cells below. Behind this incident lies an amazing, romantic story of an Hungarian aristocrat's political intrigue in the Balkans. Some of the details were given to a reporter by the Colonel 's son. "In 1920 during the Tevolution in Budapest," he said, "my father was a staunch- 'White.' With his friends he was captured by the Coinmunists and thrown into a dungeon. By bribery, ho and another officer managed to escape on horse-back although they were fired at as they Tode away. "For twenty-four hours they rode towards Vienna, where they knew they would find a refuge. Hiding by day in the woods, they rode only at night, and eventually crossed the frontier. My father 's real name is Baron Kolonan Belanszky. He had large estates in pre-war Hungary. Most of these have been confiscated and only a small portion remain. "For some years my father was actively engage^d in political battles in the Balkans. There was a plot to remove King Boris of Bulgaria from the throne and reinstate ex-King Ferdinand. The plot was discovered, and my father only escaped capture by minntes. "Here again matters were made much worse when a shipload of arms and ammnnition was discovered. Wounded, blown up, and sdarred by flames, Colonel Demko lived in constant fear of either the assassin's bullet or a firing sqnad and wandered about the capitals of EurOpe for years. "When I was nine years of age I was with my father in a house when the windows were shattered by revolver bullets. "We escaped; how I do not quite remember. All I know is that I was ter-' rified. We came to England, where ■I remained in the cafe of friends while my father once more went abroad. "Wandering about Europe he eventually returned to England 18 months ago. Even over here there have been several incidents which ' clearly show that my father is still a marked man and hated as well as feared by foreign extremists." Colonel Demko's tall son paused, visibly moved. "I shall do all I can," he went on, "to prevent my father from being sent ■back to a conntry where death awaits |him." .• Mr Kerstein stated in court that . jColonel Demko had been engaged in an I attempt to restore to the throne of a | certain European country a former j monarch and if he was deported he I wonld have to face a firing squad. j The magistrate stated: "If the dej i fendant had any grave reason to put i forward why the deportation should not • he carried out it was a matter for an j application to the Secretary of State.'-'- j