ITALY WILL NOT WITHDRAW TROOPS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 462, 2 July 1937, Page 5

ITALY WILL NOT WITHDRAW TROOPS

CANNOT CONTROL ACTIONS OF “VOLUNTEERS’ REVERSAL OF POLICY CREATES SENSATION “Last Decisive Word Belongs To The Cannon.” LPress Association—Copyright.) Received July 2, 12.5 p.m. ROME, July 1. Italy will not withdraw her “volunteers” from Spain. This was made clear in an article in the newspaper “Popolo D'ltalia," and is generally attributed to Mussolini. The article created a sensation, as it indicates a direct reversal of earlier official announcements. It is interpreted as putting an end to all pacification efforts in Spain. The article says: “Italian volunteers were not despatched to Spain by the government, and the government therefore has no power to recall them. Only General Franco, either before or after victory, can free them from their imperative moral obligation. The Italian Govern.ment cannot free them, and, owing to present circumstances, will not do it.” The article, after alleging that Britain and France had helped and are still helping, the Valencia Government, adds: "Everything that could be done on the British and French side to assure the victory of the Valencia Bolsheviks has been done. Everything that could be done on the Italian and German side to isolate the Spanish conflagration has been done. The last decisive word now belongs to the cannon.”