NEAR EAST.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1921, Page 5

NEAR EAST.

NEW WAR CLOUD, SSREAT BY KEMALISTS, 'ALLIES MAY RESIST ADVANCE. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. London. July 7. The Daily Chronicle gives prominence to the new war cloud in the Near East based on the announcement that the British fleet has gone to Constantinople in view of the approach of the Kemalist army to the Bosphorus, and is of opinion that any attempts to enter the international zone will be resisted by the Allied forces.

If the Nationalists enter the area policed by British French or Turkish troops under Allied officers, it will be the bounden duty of the Allies to fight. This will require a substantial force of regular troops and may involve war with Mustapha Pasha. There is also the danger of the Kemalists attempting a dash for Constantinople, though the lack of heavy artillery will make a Kemalist attack on the city unlikely. The Nationalists profess to be anxious to treat with the Allies.

The Paris correspondent of the Daily Express interviewed Bekir Sami Bey, the Nationalist envoy, who said that so far as was known there was no question of the Kemalists occupying Constantinople. The Greeks were deliberately inventing rumors to provoke British intervention, it did not matter on which side. “I believe the British will invite the Nationalists to enter the city. If not only military means will be left. We can take Constantinople if obliged, but I am convinced that action will be unnecessary.”