"TRAGIC FARCE "

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 32, 1 November 1937, Page 7

"TRAGIC FARCE "

Non-Intervention Blamed for . Fall of North Spain AIDED THE INSURGENTS (By Telegraph— Press Assn.— CopyrigHt > (Received 1, 10.50 a.m.) VALENCIA, Oct. 30. Senor Don Indalecio Prieto, Minis' ter for Air, has presented the Government with a long report on the cara« paign in North Spain, the loss of which he aserihes to the policy of nonmtervention. Senor Prieto states: , "The North was lost with tho fall of Irun, which was due to the complete exhaUstion of munitions, although large suijplies were tvaiting a few hundred yards across the border. "The French authorities, carrying out the policy of non-intervention, refused to allow them to proceed to Irun, otherwise the war would have been over in 1936, "Similarly, a lack of munitions accounted for the fall of San Sebastian. The attackers were liberally supplied with planes, tanks and machine-gun s from Italy and Germany. Later, when the Basque country was attacked, Italy and Germany poured in tremendous quantities of men and material, while the tragic f'arce of non-intervention was played on in London. "The Basques were unable without planes to oppOse the German Junkers, which flew at night across France and destroyed Basque towns. "The Government was so desperate that it decided to send ' fighting-planes across 250 ■ miles of enemy territory. Those which strayed from their course made forced landings in France and were subject to rigorous non-interven-tion. They were never returned to us. "Sinee it was impossible effeetively to aid the Basques and supply them with munitions, Bilbao fell, and later ISantander and Asturias, 'The latter was the scene of the greatest aets of heroism in the war. The Asturiana would probably cafry on guerilla warfare in the mountains, "We are struggling against three and a-half nations," Senor Prieto concluded.