THREE DEMANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 April 1941, Page 5

THREE DEMANDS

MADE BY THE NAZIS ON YUGOSLAVIA ; REPORTED REPLY REFUSAL TO DEMOBILISE. GERMAN STRENGTH IN BALKANS. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON, April 1. The Belgrade correspondent of “The Times” says the Germail Minister, Hen von Herren, had a long conference with the Yugoslav Foreign Minister, M Nincitch, before going to Berlin last night. It is reported that he presented three demands, first, for an apology for recent incidents; secondly, for ratification of Yugoslavia’s signature to the Tripartite Pact; and, thirdly. for Yugoslav demobilisation. Yugoslavia is reported to have replied that an apology was not impossible, that ratification of some kind of a Yugoslav-German non-aggression pact, as distinct from the YugoslavAxis pact, could still be discussed, but that there could be no demobilisation. While there has been no formal declaration of Yugolsav foreign policy, various semi-official statements emphasise the country’s desire for friendship with all her neighbours “within the limits of possibility.” It is significant that there is no longer talk about neutrality except among the narrow circles of the adherents to the former court, but there is absolutely no question of Yugoslavia taking any diplomatic or military initiative. The proclamation by the Premier, General Simovitch, calling on the people not to evacuate their homes is timely, because the public, convinced that war is certain, this week had begun a disorderly’evacuation from the towns, trains being jammed and stations packed. THE YUGOSLAV ARMY. “The Times” correspondent reports that 1,200,000 Yugoslavs are already under the colours and there should be 1,500,000 men when full mobilisation is completed, which can be expected in a day or two. Little is known regarding German preparations. The Lufthansa has resumed its services. There must be more than 300,000 German troops and well over 600 aircraft in Bulgaria, but the Luftwaffe will doubtless still need time to settle down. The chief German military concentrations are around Petrie and Nevrokop at the head of the Struma and Mesta valleys. There are also considerable forces round Svilengrad and serious concentrations round Kyustendil, but the main forces are directed against Greece. At the moment it is difficult to see where Germany can find more troops without weakening the other fronts, as she is reckoned to have no more than 40 divisions available for a Balkan campaign. The Belgrade correspondent of the “Daily Express” reports that many Yugoslav factories not working for the national defence have now been closed. Troops are guarding others, while some factories are transferring couthward. Belgrade University has been closed and several professors over the age of 50 have been called up. CROATS AND SERBS. Generally it seems that Croat troops are being drafted to the south and Serbs to the north. Croats contribute about 300,000 men to the army. A Croatman spokesman declared that all pending problems between the Croats and the Serbs could be immediately solved by a reaffirmation of the 1939 Serb-Croat agreement. As soon as this formal condition was satisfied the Croats would resist aggression at the side of their Serbian comrades. The Stefani news agency in Rome stated that women and children had begun to leave Fiume. This evening the Prefect issued a decree forbidding employees in public and private undertakings to leave Fiume without a special permit. GERMAN ALLEGATIONS. A grave crisis exists between Germany and Yugoslavia, said Berlin officials today, and the fury of German Press allegations of Yugoslav terrorism against Germans suggested that the situation is rapidly approaching a climax. Berlin radio declared that two villages inhabited by Germans were seen burning from the frontier. Young Germans in Yugoslavia had been shepherded into a forest, where they were kept under a strong guard, and the persecution of Germans is now systematic.

According to the Hungarian official news agency, Yugoslavian mobilisation will be completed on Thursday. The main forces will be concentrated at Nish, and troops and supplies are moving southward without interruption. The Yugoslavs are mining the roads along the Bulgarian border and are evacuating the border zone. A Belgrade message stated that a bridge between the Italian city of Fiume and Susak has been closed and mined, and residents in the vicinity have been ordered to leave their homes. An Italian liner arrived at Split (Spalato) Harbour and took off all the Italian residents of Dalmatia.