File 757/1909 'Persian Gulf:- Turkey and Turkish aggression (Occupation of Zakhnuniyeh Island. Attitude in piracy cases. Mudirs at Zubara, Odaid and Wakra) British Relations with Turkey in Persian Gulf' [‎179r] (362/495)

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[This Doc ument is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s G overnment.]
'in i friii^
ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[31386]
[August 29.]
Section 1.
Sir G. Lowther to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received August 29.)
(No. 603.) }
SiTj Ttierapia A.uyust 2^ 1910
ON the 5th July I received a telegram from His Majesty’s consul at Bussorah to
the effect that, according to information from the resident at Bushire, Turkish soldiers
had again leturned to the island of Zakhnuniyeh and that the Turkish flag was hoisted
theie on Fridays, and later received the despatch from Mr. Crow, copy of which is
enclosed herewith.
I immediately brought the matter to the notice of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
and renewed my representations of the spring of last year on the lines of the
instructions conveyed in your telegram of the 30th May, 1909, pointing out that the
island is situated some 10 miles to the south-east of Ojair, the point recognised by His
Majesty s Government as the furthest limit of Ottoman jurisdiction in El Hassa, and
that tliis violation of the status quo would only needlessly create a fresh incident. His
Excellency promised to study the question and let me know the result later on, but
from the evasive nature of his replies to my repeated representations of last summer I
have some doubt about obtaining a definite settlement as desired by His Majesty’s
Government, and suspect that the withdrawal of the military post, reported by me on
the 27th September, 1909, was merely owing to the termination of the fishing season,
during which the Turks pretended the presence of their gendarmes to be necessary to
maintain order among the Dowasir fishermen from Bahrein who frequent the island.
In a report received by the Porte from the Mutessarif of El Hassa the latter, after
giving the dimensions, &c., of Zakhnuniyeh, maintained that it was practically part of
the mainland, thus revealing the pretensions of the Turks not only to the island but to
the coast south-east of Ojair.
Mr. Crow, in his telegram of the 6th August, 1910, reported that the Vali of
Bussorah has now appointed a mudir, or sub-governor, at Odeid. Ail this seems to
point to a determination to assert and extend Ottoman sovereignty in the neighbour
hood of El Katr and it seems to me only prudent that His Majesty’s Government
should make up its mind as to the attitude to be adopted towards Young Turkey’s
general forward policy in the regions of the Gulf. Under the old regime we
temporised, but it seems that now a more definite and direct attitude may become
expedient, if not necessary. The vigorous action of the Vali of Bussorah in dealing
with the Sheikh of Mohammerah and in the bombardment of Zein showed a deter
mination to assert Turkish sovereign rights ; while Mr. Lorimer, in his telegram of the
16th August, records his conviction that the high-handed methods employed by
the authorities of Bagdad in the matter of the demolition of Messrs. Lynch’s premises
and the threatened encroachments on the residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. were intended to demonstrate that
foreign subjects and interests are at their mercy. This policy, if not checked, may be
extended to the sepoy Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. guard of the residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and to the “ Comet,” the presence of both
of which is highly distasteful to Turkish national sentiment, whilst it is not impossible
that we may eventually find a boycott, as in the case of the Greeks and Austrians,
started against Lynch’s steamers with the object of driving this foreign company with
its foreign flag off Turkish internal waters. The old regime was economically old-
fashioned and negative as regards the assertion of its sovereign rights.
After the change in July 1908, and while the Cabinet was composed of the Elder
Liberal statesmen who had preserved the traditions of the A’ali Pashas and Fuad
Pashas of the time of the Crimean war and after, we had pro-British demonstrations
reflecting the views of the men in power, and it was felt that Young Turkey, under
their guidance, would shrink from raising awkward questions as to our position at
Koweit, Bagdad, Cyprus, Egypt, Ac. But it was noticed at the time that prominent
committeemen took no part in these demonstrations, and seemed rather to discountenance
them, and when in 1909 the committee took over the machinery of Government, the
Elder Liberal statesmen and pro-British demonstrators were put in the background,
and their voices and sentiments silenced by the state of siege, though the present rulers
have to reckon with them to a certain extent. The committee, composed of younger
men, is more modern and businesslike, while it is also more positive and self-assertive
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