§ 27. Major Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present strength, shown separately, of the Bulgarian Army, the militia, the labour 1685 battalions in recepit of any form of military training or under military discipline, and of any other military or semi-military units or organisations in Bulgaia; and whether His Majesty's Government have full details of the training and equipment of all such units and formations.
§ Mr. BevinOur estimates of the present strength of military and semi-military units and organisations in Bulgaria are as follow:
Army.—76, 000.Frontier guards.—10,000.Militia (which is a police force).—80,000 to 100,000.Labour battalions (who receive little serious military training and whose strength fluctuates according to season).—40,000 to 80,000.The Bulgarian Government were asked last October for details of strengths, training and equipment but have not yet furnished this information.
§ Major BeamishWill the right hon. Gentleman agree that the figures he has given the House make very disquieting comparison with Article 9 of the Peace Treaty with Bulgaria, which limits the Armies to 55,000, and Articles 10 and 11 which insist that any personnel in excess of this figure should not be in receipt of any military training and should be disbanded by March?