September 6, 1952
‘NATIONALLY SUSPECT’: The main reason for the prime minister’s visit to the palace yesterday was to settle the Papapolitis issue. Prime Minister Nikolaos Plastiras asked the king to withdraw his reservations and to approve the appointment of Mr Savvas Papapolitis as education minister, even for only three or four days, so that Papapolitis’s «nationalist reputation» could be restored. However, he failed. (…) Mr Papapolitis (…) has put pressure on Mr Plastiras to convince the king that his nationalist sentiments should not be considered to be in doubt. (…) King Pavlos categorically refused and the prime minister was forced to abandon his efforts. AIRMEN’S TRIAL: (Excerpts from an article by Mr I.G. Koromilas): The unexpected confession of the accused, Warrant Officer Galanos, that he was one of the two people who had committed sabotage and that his initial testimony had been completely true, has caused confusion, surprise and, in some quarters, panic. Most of the accused, when arrested, had confessed their guilt and named other parties, leading to revelations about the treasonable act. Nevertheless, on the first day of the trial, everyone, apart from the civilian Tsokos, withdrew these confessions and said that even if they had referred to specific events, they had done so after being horribly tortured.
