NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE effect of the tremendous happenings on the eastern front has the effect of putting events in Greece in something like their right proportion. It is clear, even before the Prime Minister gives his survey in the House of Commons, that the situation has substantially improved. Events have gone as the British Govern- ment hoped, and up to a point as even their critics hoped. Every- one was agreed on the desirability of the appointment of a Regent That was achieved. Everyone was agreed that the best possible Regent would be the Archbishop Damaskinos. He was appointed. Everyone was agreed that the Regent's first duty would be to find the best man he could to form a Government. He has found General Plastiras, and the Government has been formed. A truce between the British commander and the E.L.A.S. representatives has been concluded and is being observed. Athens and all Attica are peaceful. The important port of Salonika has been occu- pied by British troops equally peacefully under the terms of the truce, and the urgently needed work of relief can now be carried out without hindrance. There can be no doubt that the mass of the population of Greece hail the cessation of the civil war with immense satisfaction, and there is no reason to doubt stories of the great popularity of the British troops and the high level at which British prestige stands. None the less, the task before General Plastiras is one of immense difficulty, and he must be credited with greater knowledge of what the situation requires than a good many well-meaning persons who are drafting instructions for him at West- minster or in Fleet Street. What must be desired before all things in Greece is reconciliation• and, when the time comes, free elections under Allied supervision. General Plastiras has declared un- equivocally for the latter. With regard to the former, he has an- nounced that there will be no proscription, but, on the other hand, no general amnesty, though individual pardons will be granted freely. This may be simply a matter of words, but anything like reprisals would be deplorable.
