Evening star., 1939-01-08
Hungarian Police
Wound Sin New
Border Incident

Declare They Fired When
Attacked With Sticks
And Stones
BACKGROUND
Sporadic Diolence has broken
out In border city of Munkacs
since Italian and German for
eign ministers awarded it to
Hungary II, a post Munich settle
n,ent. Truce halted battle be-
ttDeen Hungarians and Czecho-
Slopaktans, in tDhich AZ. ,Dere
reported killed.
b the Associated Press,
BUDAPEST, Jan. 7.-Hungariau
gendarmes wounded three persons
in q crowd Of Slovak sympathizers
today in the uneasy border situa-
ton which precipitated a heavy
conflict between Czecho- -Slovaks and
Hungarians yesterday at Munkacs
Guns were silent in the Munkacs
region, but new, though unverified
Hungarian reports asserted 4C
Czecho-Slovaks and seven Hun
garians died in yesterdays battle
and that Czecho-Slovak forces took
hostages with them when they re-
treated.
(Semi- official quarters in
Prague denied these reports. On
Friday the Czecho-Slovaks said
only one person was killed while
Hungarians reported the total
at a dozen or more)
Today's incident occurred in the
Hungarian village of Komaromcsehi,
northeast of Budapest and more
than 200 miles airline southwest of
Munkacs, with the gendarmes fir
ing five shots.
The shooting occurred as officers
were arresting q man on a charge
of insulting Admiral Nicholas
Horthy, regent of Hungary, and the
Hungarian authority.
Self-Defense Claimed.
The gendarmes reported that a
crowd of $50 persons, excited by
6lovak agitation from across the
border" attacked them with sticks
and stones and that they shot in
self defense.
At Munkacs, city of 10000 in
the territory awarded Hungary from
Czecho- -Slovakia November 2 by
ttalo-German mediators in a post
Munich territorial settlement, there
was no resumption of hostilities
even though the truce arranged yes
terday by military authorities ended
at pm. q am. e. S. t.
A mixed commission established
TO fix responsibility for yesterdays
conflict, in which Munkacs was
shelled, met for an hour without
reaching any conclusions.
Hungarians reported their own
inquiry established that 1000
Czecho-S -Slovak soldiers. took part in
the attack which they charged was
planned by a former Czecho- -Slovak
military commander of the city.
They asserted he chose yesterday as
the occasion for the assault because
he wished to make his country a
christmas present" of the city.
(The Orthodox Christmas,
based on the Julian calendar, is
13 days later than Christmas
according to the Gregorian cal
endar.)
Negotiations Collapse.
The village of Komarom-Csehi is
near the city of Komarom, where
Czecho-Slovak and Hungarian off,
cials met during the partitioning of
Czecho- -Slovakia in an effort to
agree on the territory to be ceded
Hungary.
Breakdown of the negotiations
led to the meeting November 2 in
Vienna of the German and Italian
foreign ministers, Joachim Won Rib
bentrop and Count Galeazzo Ciano,
who awarded Hungary 4,875 square
miles of Czecho- -Slovakia.
Gn Berlin, Diplomatisch- Poll
tische Korrespondenz semi-ofh-
cial mouthpiece of the foreign
Office, declared the new frontier
between Hungary and Czecho-
Slovakia was final.
ct said that such incidents as
the MunkacS conflict "are caused
by certain propaganda that can
not resist the temptation to de-
mand frontier changes even in
contradiction of solemn official
assurances
In Budapest another incident, the
expulsion of Emile Kouar, cor
respondent of the Prayer Presse,
provoked protest by the Czecho-
Slovak Minister to Hungary. Kouar
was expelled on two hours notice.