EPIC FIGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 May 1942, Page 3

EPIC FIGHT

MADE BY IMPERIAL TROOPS IN BURMA SIR R. DORMAN-SMITH DEFENDS AUTHORITIES. LACK OF CO-OPERATION DENIED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) NEW DELHI, May 11. It was most mischievous to say there was lack of co-operation between the civil and military authorities in Burma, said the Governor of Burma, Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, in an interview on his arrival in India. On the contrary, he said, civil administration from the first had set itself out to meet military needs. Ministers never stood in the way of the war effort, and did not hesitate to hand over to the military complete control of the Public Works Department, the Post and Telegraph, Railway, Inland Water, and Transport Departments. L Plans for the evacuation of Rangoon were arranged in three stages, according to the degree of emergency. The Army was entrusted with giving the word for each stage to be carried out. The civil administration, through a skeleton staff, carried on public services, including water, light and telephones, to- the last moment. Frequently, as the tide of invasion neared a district, the whole population disappeared, Therefore the.people could not blame the administration. “I and my Ministers had the utmost admiration for the epic fight made by the Imperial forces,” added the Governor, “and so far from there being any considerable disloyalty among the Burmese, the Japanese have been unable to get any Burmese of any weight to join their side since the invasion. Indeed, there is not a single Burmese Quisling. The number of persons who went over to the enemy from political motives was infinitesimal.”