Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎257r] (513/1031)

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March 5, 1942. 3
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Copy No.
117
(No. 19.)
Sir.
*S//' Kinahan Cornwallis to Mr. Eden.—(Received March 5.)
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, r Bagdad, January 24, 1942. <V<Uv^iJL
PARLIAMENT reassembled on the 17th January after an adjournment
six weeks. At the first two meetings no business was done as a quorum was not
present. The recess has passed quietly, and the principal matters of concern
have been the cost of living, the trial of Rashid Ali and his associates, the
interpretation of certain articles of the Organic Law and the review of Iraq’s
position in the war.
2. Places of essential articles show little improvement. Maximum prices
for matches, tea, coffee, sugar, wheat and barley and certain grades of cotton
goods have been fixed by the Central Supply Board, but merchants are generally
selling only low quality stocks at the fixed prices. The better quality is obtainable
at a higher price by private arrangements. The price of the best quality wheat
was fixed early in January at I.D. 40 a ’teghar, and the lowest quality (with
15 per cent, of dirt) at I.D. 34. The price of flour has, however, remained
uncontrolled and has now exceeded I.D. 3 per 100 kilog. This is a very high
price for the poor to pay. In Bagdad the mayor endeavoured to organise the
sale of restricted quantities at a lower price. He was obliged, however, to give
up the experiment as he found that without rationing it was impossible to prevent
abuses. He is now trying to organise adequate supplies of controlled-price bread
instead, but is confronted with the difficulty of having a stock of wheat only big
enough to last until the end of February.
3. A British expert is now helping the Iraqi authorities to solve their
supply and distribution problems, but so far as can be judged from the available
information it will be impossible to find enough grain to feed the people in the
towns unless a large quantity can be imported from abroad. Such supplies can
only be obtained through the good offices of His Majesty’s Government and I have
in several telegrams represented to you, Sir, the gravity of the situation which
will arise if wheat is not speedily made available for this country. The people in
villages and settled tribal areas have, generally speaking, enough foodstuffs to
keep them alive until the next harvest, but in the towns there are thousands of
families who had not money enough to lay in supplies in advance for the winter
and who are dependent for their daily bread on small purchases. The steady
rise in the price of flour and all other foodstuffs has hit these people hard, and
if adequate supplies within their means fail they will be faced with starvation.
4. The result of the trial by court-martial of Rashid Ali and his associates
was published on the 8th January. Rashid Ali, Ali Mahmud al Sheikh Ali,
Yunis Sabawi, Salahud Din Sabbagh, Fahmi Said and Mahmud Salman were
sentenced to be hanged. Amin Zaki was also sentenced to death, but the sentence
was commuted to life imprisonment. Naji Shaukat was sentenced to 15 years’
^imprisonment, Siddiq Shanshal to 5 years’ imprisonment and Muhammad Hasan
Salman to 1 year’s imprisonment. The court also ordered the confiscation of the
property of all the above-mentioned persons. The court further decided to
postpone the hearing of the charges made against Naji Suwaidi, Mohammed Ali
Muhmud, Musa Shahbandar, Rauf Bahrani, Kamil' Shabib and Abdul Qadir
Gilani until such time as they should be able to appear before the court, the court
having been satisfied that these persons had wished to respond to the court’s
summons to surrender themselves for trial, but had been prevented from doing so
by circumstances outside their control.
5. As you are aware, the actual position of the accused persons is that
Rashid Ali is in Berlin, Naji Shaukat and Muhammad Hasan Salman are in
Turkey, while the remainder, with the exception of Salahud Din Sabbagh whose
whereabouts are unknown, are on their way to Southern Rhodesia for internment
[27—49]
RECd. POL. DEPt.
d0iVIAR,942