Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎66r] (132/669)

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115
(29) An Anglo-Iranian Oil Company lorry going from Gach to ^nawe
Viappened to be passing while some Qashqulis driving sheep tne
Company down to Ganaweh were disputing their passage wi of.
unfriendly tribesmen and a foreman travelling in the lorry(al£g$ _o_
was severely wounded *y rifle fire. The lorry alon K «tr, another
cne was looted. On the following day, the manager of Ga.h Saran
along with three other members of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
st^f was stopped and robbed by a very small gang that was^
apv srently waiting for a caravan. The majority of the ^ng.c-
Iranian Oil Company employee^ property was recoverdoby ,-ajir
Khan, the head of the Qashquli guards, within twenty four lours
and the property taken from the lorries some three days ia,er.
The telephone house at mile 27 of the pipe-line was robbed <n
89th and 31st January and the telephone apparatus remove a or. the
latter date. (Compare para 6 of Ahwaz diary for 1st
December 1S42) On the same nif ht the gang, whi ^ h ,
-o have consisted of Boir Ahmed Garmsiris, raided flocks ^ the
i.ishtar plain and wounded the headmtn of Lishtar village vac
aaccessfully opposed.them,
3#) Sarghampur's protestati>ns (compare para 24 of Ahwaz ii^ry
for the second fortnight of December 1942) have borne lit.le
fruit. Despite local rumours to the contrary, he has apparently
handed over only one machine-gun and only about half the rroperty
stolen fr^m the members of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company :n the
hold-up on 15th October. (Compare para 6 of Ahwaz diary fcr 16th
-o 31st October 1942). His own position aopears to be deteriorating,
his aspirations for the kalantari of the Kuhgilu have apparent y
led him to neglect the narrower interests of his own sub-cection
and his brother Khusrov is reported to have collected a
sufficiently large following to ensure the death of one o1 the
brothers in the near future. The opposing sections of
Kuhgilu, whose leaders saw His Majesty’s rice Consul in Bssnt,
apnear to have achieved (for them) a remarkably united Trent and
irofess to be eager t® establish and maintain the most cc?diai
relations with the British authorities, (’.ith reference c the
first section «f para 6 of Ahwaz diary for 15th to Seyteater, i
is interesting to nete that the Persian authorities,•ver jres
have been confined to those tribal leaders who have given signs
of possessing the greate&fpetential niubance value.)
VII. Arab Affairs .
(31) , «ith reference to para 29 of Ahwaz diary for the first,
half of January, 46 rifles had been surrendered to Sarhang
Homaycun by 23rd January. Since then results have varied
between the moderately successful and the almost neglig-bl--
and Sarhang rtomayoun 1 s tone has become - xrmer as his tir-e-
limits have extended. In the meantime ’'friendly warnings nave
been reiterated; so far only the smaller tribes in the reign-
bourhcod of the Uianab have been tackled and stronger reactions
must be expected from the larger ti‘ bes such as the Ben. Turug
and the Duraq; these tribes have spent considerable sums and
can not be expected to surrender lightly what they have -cugnt
dearly; as a result of the reduction of employment of latour by
the Americans, tribes who had formerly wanted peace with profit may
n#t nov: be averse to disorder.
VIII. Rumours .
(32)The bazar strategists have been interpreting German retreats
in Russia as a preliminary to an attack through "Hirkey. The Prime
Minister's visit to "urkey is naturally treated as a pieie of
corroborative evidence.