NIGHT-LONG RIOTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 388, 23 June 1928, Page 9

NIGHT-LONG RIOTS

MOBS FIGHT POLICE CROATS RUN WILD LIVES LOST IN STRIFE (United P.A. —By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian P.A. — United Service) Reed. 10 a.m. BELGRADE, Friday. Grave rioting followed the publication of the news of the shooting in the Yugoslav Parliament at Zagreb, the Croatian capital, in the north-east. Crowds demonstrated before the house of M. Stefan Raditch, leader of the Peasants’ Party, who was reported to be dead. M. T. Raditch, a deputy, attempted to calm the gathering, which became quiet after hearing that M. Stefan Raditch was alive. The police, fearing excesses, began to disperse the crowds, which resulted in disorder. A procession of young men, marching behind a Croatian banner draped with crepe, was followed by a huge assembly, which the police attempted to disperse. They repeatedly charged, and the crowd responded by pelting the police with stones and cudgelling them. A troop of cavalry turned out and charged the mob. The disorders lasted for hours, and recurred in different parts of the city. Finally, the police charged, and appeals by deputies resulted in the scattering of the crowds. Further reports from Zagreb state that disorders went on ail night. The police and the crowd then barricaded themselves, using any shelter within reach. The police were finally compelled to use force, and order was speedily established. Two were killed, several others were wounded, and a hundred were arrested, the majority of them Communists. Special orders have been issued to prevent further disorders and bloodshed. All houses, theatres, restaurants, and cinemas must be closed at 7 p.m. ______—-