May 14, 1953
ISLET NO. 3: It has been announced that there is complete quiet on Islet No. 3 (on the Evros River) and that there is no sign of any Bulgarian presence on the islet. Troops on the riverbank have been given strict orders to use their weapons to prevent anyone from landing on the islet. No movements have been observed for the past eight days. REINSTATEMENTS: The Liberal Party (…) issued the following announcement last night: «There was general astonishment at the removal of 11 of the 27 lieutenant generals. The fact that those who had taken part in the IDEA coup attempt on May 31, 1951, whose illegal actions have also been condemned in Parliament by the current prime minister, Field Marshal Alexandros Papagos, have been reinstated to office, while others with excellent qualifications, war service and absolutely impeccable records have been removed, unfortunately shows that the government intends to create a personal and partisan army.» (…) The defense minister, Mr Panayiotis Kanellopoulos, rejected the opposition’s announcement as thoughtless. TREMOR: Yesterday morning at 7.20 a.m. Athenians were shaken by what seemed to be an earthquake but which was later reported to have possibly been due to the explosion within Attica of flammable material by the army.
