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Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [55r] (109/1031)
The record is made up of 1 file (515 folios). It was created in 10 Apr 1941-19 Mar 1947. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
INDEXED
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
IRAQ.
CONFIDENTIAL.
IE 519/37/93]
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to
i \
nuary
24, 1944. 4 MAR
With thoj C-amjri* menf.s Section 1. R Ji?
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Copy No.
s.
K. Cornwallis to Mr. Eden.—(Received ‘2±th January.)
H? K<j/jL
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(No. 20.)
gi r Bagdad, VMh January, 1944.
I HAVE the honour to submit, with reference to my r desp atch No 401 of the
^ ^3 12th November. 1943. an account of the chief events that have taken place in Iraq
during the last two months.
2. The Regent returned on the 12th December from his official visit to the
United Kingdom. His Royal Highness was delighted with the kindly welcome
which he received everywhere he went, and especially pleased with the gracious
friendship shown to him by the King and Queen while he was Iheir Majesties
guest at Buckingham Palace. On his arrival in Bagdad he was given a very hearty
reception by the people of the capital, who thronged both sides of the streets
through which he drove from the airport to the palace in company with the young
King and the Amir Said.
3. The extraordinary session of Parliament which began on the 9th October
was prorogued on the 30th November and the ordinary session for 1943/44 was
opened by the Acting Regent on the 1st December, i have already reported by
telegram the chief points of the unusually long speech from the throne, and need
not recapitulate them here. The ambitious programme of administrative activity
which it contained was well received in the press and by the public, though the
latter, with some reason, are reported to have voiced doubts whether any consider
able portion of the programme would, in fact, be carried out. The promises of a
new electoral law and of encouragement for the setting up of responsible political
parties aroused especial interest. The young men of the Left wing were pleased
with the prospect of greater scope for political ability and have hopes of stronger
representation when the next elections are held.
4 . The arrest of the Lebanese President, Prime Minister and Cabinet on
the 11th November by the French authorities in the
Levant
A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
provoked a strong;
reaction m Iraq. All classes resented this action as an attack on the established
liberties of the Lebanese State and despised it as an exhibition of clumsy brutality
by a nation which, with its own country still occupied by an enemy army, is in
their view little fitted to lord it over others. There was at once a demand for
action to support the Lebanese Government. The Senate and the Chamber held
special meetings on the 13th November, at which resolutions were passed and com
municated to all the Allied and neutral Governments, protesting against the
suspension of the Lebanese Constitution and the arrest of the President and
members of the Government. At the same time the newspapers called upon the
Allied Governments to intervene to compel the French National Committee to
respect the pledges given to Syria and the Lebanon and to uphold the principles
of the Atlantic Charter. The Acting Regent also made formal protests to myself
and the United States Charge d’AfPaires.
5 . The release and reinstatement of the President, the freeing of the arrested
Cabinet Ministers on the 22nd November and their subsequent resumption of
office brought tension to an end, but profound mistrust of French motives and
methods remains. What is known of the part played by His Majesty’s Govern
ment and what is guessed of what went on behind the scenes has generally
redounded to the credit of Britain, but there are always a few people who are too
clever to accept the obvious and who have ascribed a variety of Machiavellian
motives to our policy during the Lebanese crisis.
6 . The Iraqi Government were wise enough to restrain, rather than excite,
public opinion. Demonstrations were prohibited and the exuberance of the press
checked, but both the Government and thinking people have found in the Lebanese
struggle with the French new and cogent reasons for closer political co-operation
among the Arab States.
7. The Colonial Secretary’s statement on the 10 th November, that the 31,000
Jewish immigrants who could legally enter Palestine before the end of March
[50—39]
f
/*&<***
O.C
About this item
- Content
This file is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2862. It contains correspondence and memoranda regarding relations between HM Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ) and the Government of Iraq, and documents the reaction of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and Foreign Office to political developments within Iraq. The file opens with descriptions of the situation following the coup d'état of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, and documents the build-up to the Anglo-Iraqi War (2-31 May 1941), including the arrival of British and Indian troops in Basra (under rights granted in the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930), arrangements to evacuate the Regent 'Abd al-Illah, British attempts to shore up support from the Turkish and Egyptian authorities, and Axis propaganda in Iraq. The papers then contain communications regarding the progress of the war, including reports on troop movements, the dispatch of war materials, the actions of Germany, Italy, France and Turkey, and Indian public opinion regarding the conflict. These papers consist of dispatches sent by the British Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) to the Foreign Office, as well as numerous copy communications between the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Section, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Kuwait, the Viceroy of India, and HM Ambassador to the United States.
From the end of the war the file consists primarily of dispatches from Cornwallis to the Foreign Office, reporting on the return of the Regent, the pogrom against the Jewish community, the breaking of diplomatic relations with Vichy France and Japan, the trial of the coup supporters, the Iraqi declaration of war against Germany, Italy and Japan, the possibility of Iraqi membership of the United Nations, and the release of political prisoners from the Ammara [̔Amāra] concentration camp. The regular dispatches also contain details of various cabinet crises, and details of the domestic economic and military situation. The file contains a small amount of material for the years 1944-1946, including annual reports submitted by Cornwallis and his successor, Sir Hugh Stonehewer-Bird.
The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references found in the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-4).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (515 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 515; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-514; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2863
- Title
- Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:15v, 17r:86v, 90v:105v, 107r:119v, 121r:298v, 300r:304v, 307r:373r, 379r:401v, 405r:515v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence