Evening star., 1942-01-18
Fernando Pc Incident
Stirring Up Bitter
Diplomatic Storm
Spain Charges De GuuIle
Seized 3 Axis Ships in
West Africu Hurbor
8y the Associated Press.


BY the Associated Press.
MADRID, Jan. ia semioficial
Spanish report bitterly accused the
Free French today of violating
Spanish territory by seizing three
Axis merchantmen in a destroyer's
stealthy raid on the little Spanish
colonial island of Fernando Pc,
of the West Coast Of Africa.
The accusation was made by Ar
riba, the newspaper mouthpiece Of
the Falange, Spain's only political
party, which acidly called the re-
ported raid the act Of freebooter"
hinted that 1t already has provoked
q diplomatic storm and declared
that Spanish guns will reply to any
repetition.
The newspaper did not tell when
the raid occurred, what were the
ships supposedly spirited out of
the Fernando Po Harbor of Santa
Isabel, nor to what nation they
belonged.
Unconfirmed in London.
A German broadcast recorded by
the Associated Press, however, said
the ships were the 7,872-ton italian
steamer Duchessa d'Aosta and two
German freighters owned in Ham
burg but not otherwise identified.
It said the attack occurred at mid
night January IA. I
Although drawn from the Arriba
report, the German broadcast called
the raid British violation of Span
ish neutrality, contending there is
no excuse in the fact that the
attacking British destroyer was
manned with De Gaullists."
There was no confirmation of
these German-Spanish reports from
other quarters. In London, Free
French headquarters said they were
Gin a position to make a categorical
denial" of any coup de main by
Free French destroyer in Santa
Isabel"
In Bern there was the intimation
that an "Anglo-Saxon invasion" OF
Fernando Pc, mentioned as a rumor
in Berlin dispatches, might become
q political issue.
On U. S. Air Supply Route.
1t was linked with reported i'm
pending Vichy conference between
French Chief of State Petain and
Spanish Generalissimo Francisco
Franco, in both of whose countries
there has been Nazi pressure for
transit privileges to Africa.
Fernando Po is a 45-mile- long.
cocoa raising island in the Gulf of
Guinea, about 20 miles off the At
lantic coast of Africa, around the
continents great western bend.
It is one of chain of strategic.
II minor, Spanish possessions below
the hump of Africa which lie
athwart American air supply lines to
the Middle East.
May Be Needed Incident"
Observers speculated that the re-
ported ship seizure might be a
West African "Altmark incident"
It was not quite two years ago
that the British destroyer Cossack,
among others. steamed into Josing
Fjord near Stavanger, Norway; set
a boarding party on the German
prison ship Altmark and freed 300
British captives. The Germans
shrilled protests and it was not long
after this incident of February l6,
1910, that Norway was invaded.
If the German story in Africa Is
not to be one of too little and too
late" Hitler may revive the project
of using Spanish or French terri
tories in the Gibraltar West Africa
area to rush in full-scale reinforce
ments-employing the Fernando Po
incident as the reason for his action.
And, of course, anything that he
can do to upset the arrangements
by which United States planes flow
across the South Atlantic to Africa
and across to Suez would help.
Arriba declared a Free French
destroyer slipped into the Santa
Isabel harbor while the three mer-
chantmen's officers were ashore,
dropped depth bombs to shatter the
chains of the anchored vessels.
"seized them and towed them out Of
port"
1t assailed the reported raid as a
"cowardly outrage declared that
all crew members apparently were
slain and declared that leach and
every one of SPANS inflexible rights
will be demanded in this case
The Spanish government may al
ready have protested in London,
Arriba asserting that an attempt had
been made to justify the attack on
grounds that it was made by De
Gaullist Warship.
It declared the excuse was un-
acceptable because every state is
responsible for the action of its
mercenary troops
Right to Demand ReparatiOnS.
Arriba heatedly argued that mer-
chantmen of warning nations are
privileged to use the ports of non-
helligerents and that non-belliger-
ents' are entitled to use all means to
protect refugee ships.
IF such an attack cannot be
avoided" the newspaper added,
"tlen the acknowledgement state has
the right to demand reparations
from the aegressor. -
"a new attack on Spanish non-
belligerency will be met with the
fire of Spanish arms in defense of
SPANS undeniable obligations"
Spain. it said now puts an end to
courteous tolerance of meddling"
and pledges herself solemnly before
the world to prevent a repetition of
similar aggressions without punish