Deserter Restored

Nine years ago Greece was fighting for its life against a powerful army of Communist guerrillas led by wiry, mustachioed General Markos Vafiades, a onetime tobacco worker who had seen regular service in the Greek cavalry. U.S. military aid was pouring into Athens, but Soviet arms were also pouring across the Yugoslav and Bulgarian borders to help the guerrillas. The situation had the makings of a minor war on the pattern that was to become familiar in Korea two years later. But after Tito's break with Stalin, something went wrong with the Communist army in Greece. General Markos was reported "seriously ill." In the confusion the small, tough Greek army (with expert military guidance by U.S. General James A. Van Fleet) was able to drive the Communists out of Greece.

What had happened was only discovered later: in the big split between Tito and Stalin that year, General Markos had stubbornly continued to use both Yugoslav and Bulgarian bases, i.e., refused to take sides. Result: Greek Communist Boss Nicholas Zachariades charged him with "Trotskyite opportunistic behavior" and bounced him out of the party as a "fainthearted deserter from the popular democratic movement." Top Yugoslav sources guessed that Markos' illness was really a small round hole in the head.

Nothing solid was heard of Markos for eight years. Then from Communist Poland last month came reports that Markos had turned up there after imprisonment in Rumania and treatment for a mental disorder. Last week a small announcement in the East German (Communist) Neues Deutschland ended the Markos mystery. A resolution by the exiled Greek Communist Party restored to Comrade Markos Vafiades his rights as a member of the Central Committee, admitted that he "had been disciplined by the Central Committee on the basis of empty accusations and by violation of the party statutes during the abnormal inner-party regime." The same meeting expelled Zachariades, who was charged with having "told lies, twisted facts and slandered the party cadre." Stalinist Zachariades had served Greece better than he knew, or meant to.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.