ANDORRA'S RISE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 648, 28 September 1933, Page 3

ANDORRA'S RISE

A NEY/ REVOLUTION DETAILS OF ARMED DEFIANCE | OF PEOPLE TO ITS I PRINCES. i — ALL ROADS GUARDED. Though considerable pageantry accompanied the bloodless revolution in which Andorra, the pOeket Sfcate in the Pyrenees, rose in armed defianee of its 1000-year-old independenee, the colourful details did not get'out for some days. The reason was that all commumcations were eut — namely, the one telephone line, says an overseas paper. The white eorps, a group of stalwart shotgun art'sts, guarded all roads leading into the tiny capital,. it has been iweaied. President Eoe Fala and the Council General of 24 menibers barricaded themselves in their capitol building, called the "House of the Valleys." They r-1-fused to allow the ouster pronounced against them on June 24 by the coprinces to be carried out. i Andorra's eo-princes are the Bishop of Urgel of Spain and the head of the French Fttates as represented by the Prefect of Peripignan in a joint suze- . rainty which they have held since : 1278. ' Two minions of the princes, calhd veguers, one French and one. Span- ' ish, presented themselves at the "House of the Valleys" at 10 a.m., with documents in hand. They found the gate locked. Guarding it was the newly-organised Andorran constabulary that was supposedly uunder the ordsrs of the princes until then. It was also discovered that of idie 5000 inhabitants of the land 3000 had come to town on burros and in mule-carts. They were standing aboufc with weapons in their hands. Their voices

were menacing. | No Answer. The veguers knocked three times at ! the gates of the capital and summoned those within to open in the name of ^ their lords. the President of Franee and the Spanish Bishop of Urgel. They received no answer except grumbles from the crowd. Then they read aloud the order of June 24, pro- | nounced hy the Corts — the Andorran high tribunal apppointed by the princes — in which Roc Pala was relieved l of his office' and the Council General I dissolved. Then they called upon the President and Council to evacuate the | building and turn it ovtr to a pro- [ visional council of twelve members whom the princes had named to succeed them. Still receiving no answer, they shouted that they would give the President and Parliament two hours of ig-race and stalked off through the hostile mob. The council went into heated session and cast the die for defiancts. S0 violent was discussion within and without the "House of the Valleys" that the mules of the out-of-town citizenry, corralled in the town square, stampeded. The animals had to be soothed by the vigilantes who had been called out for the nobler business of defending the valleys against the French and Spanish. Election Called. After the die was cast the chief men of the council sallied forth 'midst the cheers of their countrymen to find the veguers. They told them that the Andorrans ai'e a free people and would settle their problems, which are plenty, without further interference'by the princes. They ailnounced that their jobs from now on, if they wish to lvf ep them, will be only deco-_ rative. They further announced the" using of their powers to call elections., In these elections the patriarchal - system, against which Andorran youth rose in April, will be abolished and all nun over 24 allowed to vote. This means a huge majority against foreign interference. Such goings-on in any land, big or small, mean a revolution. The French

veguer made this clear: "Andorra is to all intents and purposes French, and this will have to be proved once and for all. If the Andorrans db not climb down from their. high horse, we will bloekade their frontier." • This is a sinister threat, sinc'e most of the Andorrans pass their time at smuggling. ° As soon as the council took its his- , toric decision, all conimunieations with the outside world were cu't off. The constabulary and volunteer shotgun squad stood by lest "Prince" Albert Lebrun sends his gendarmes to j re-establish authority. i Feeling in the valk-ys is running high,, not because of enthusiasm for their Government, which sometimes is said to dabble in graft, but against imposition from without. The council in fact is unpopular because of its passions for granting foreign conces- | sions and organising local monopolies. | The most outrageous monopoly is the l cherry monopoly, according to many j Andorrans. | .The council has revealed a tempting offer from a German visitor to arvrange Andorra's entry into the League of Nations, giving her the pro- , tection of the Covtnant. This follows i another German offer to establish a monster radio station.