Concerted Riots The riots of Monday night deserve close study.
They follow on the issue by the Sudetendeutsch a fortnight ago of a provocative manifesto " setting members free to make use of the right of self-defence." There was no suggestion of self-defence in this week's riots. They followed immediately on Herr Hider's speech, they were obviously concerted, and there appeared to be an expectation on the part of some of their authors that they would precipitate immediate German intervention, as in Austria. Valuable evidence on these points is supplied by the Special Correspondents of a number of London papers on the spot. The Daily Mail says that "at many places the Sudeten crowds got out of hand. They attempted to storm public buildings and premises owned by Czechs and Social Democrats." The Daily Express reports that four Czech gendarmes and a Sudeten German "were killed in a Nazi revolution which broke out here [Habenskirk, near Carlsbad] at midday." A Daily Telegraph special correspondent, who motored through the disturbed area and sent a most important account of what he saw, states significantly, "What I have seen leaves no room for doubt that these were not sporadic disorders but a concerted attempt to overthrow Czechoslovak rule, precisely as was done in Austria last March. The difference is that on the previous occasion the German army marched ; on this occasion it did not, though the Henleinists say they expected such action." A sensational account issued by the Sudeten- deutsch on Wednesday of a pitched battle said to be in progress that day at Habesbach appears to have been a purely fictitious version of a minor affray which had taken place the previous day.
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