SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[C5473/42/7]

Mr. Sperling to Sir Austen Chamberlain.—(Received July16.)

(No. 197.)

Sir, Sofia, July12, 1928.

WITH reference to my telegram No. 31 of the 9th instant, I have the honour to report that General Protogheroff and his personal attendant Athanase Gotseff were murdered about midnight on the 7th instant, as they were leaving a meeting of the Inner Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation at Sofia. The murder was committed at the instigation of another member of the committee, Ivan Mihailoff, and two accomplices. Not only was no attempt made to conceal the facts, but a picture post-card was issued showing the general and two former members of the committee with a significant legend to the effect that the other two (who had been murdered at earlier dates) had received their sentences at the proper time. A notice was also printed and distributed giving the facts, and adding that the murder had been carried out without the knowledge of the third member of the committee, Georgi Pop Christoff. In these circumstances only one or two papers made a very half-hearted attempt to fasten the responsibility on the Serbian authorities.

• 2. The motive is almost equally notorious. Ivan Mihailoff represents the younger and more hot-headed element in the Macedonian movement, which favours a resumption of the campaign of violence. General Protogheroff, who was by far the most distinguished member of the committee, was the advocate of more peaceful methods. The comparative absence of frontier incidents noted by Mr. Kennard in his despatch No. 282 of the 4th July was indeed probably due to his restraining influence, and he had even recently endeavoured to arrange a meeting with my Yugoslav colleague, through the mediation of the Metropolitan Stephan, with a view to approaching the Yugoslav Government. The meeting would have taken place during the summer, and it was possibly the knowledge of this action which precipitated the murder.

• 3. The incident was extremely embarrassing to the Government, whose position is at present none too secure. According to fairly trustworthy information, a Cabinet Council was summoned to consider the advisability of arresting Ivan Mihailoff.