Coll 6/4(2) 'Asir: Relations between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen.' [‎342r] (690/796)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OP HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
r*
September 27 19
Section
P.Z.
1719
1933
E 5730/759/25]
No. 1.
Mr. Calvert to Sir John Simon.—(Received September 27.)
(No. 290.)
Sir, Jedda, September 12, 1933.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 275 of the 29th August last, relative to
the strained relations at present existing between the rulers of Saudi Arabia and
the Yemen, and the recent telegraphic exchanges that have taken place between
them, I have the honour to inform you that from my conversation with
Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman on the 7th September, briefly reported to you by
telegram the same day, I understand that his correspondence with the Imam Yahya
has so far yielded Ibn Saud scant satisfaction. The series of telegrams addressed
to the Imam, the gist of which was reported in my despatch under reference,
embodying all the main heads of the Saudi case, had been carefully designed to
leave no doubt or ambiguity in the way of an equally considered reply by the
Imam. A repy was, indeed, in due course received, but beyond a Koranic text and
a platitude, contained no more than a bare, and rather dismissive, acknowledg
ment. The Minister of Finance did not dwell on the matter .at any length, but I
gathered the impression that the failure of this attempt to elicit a reasoned reply
had been received by Ibn Saud with chagrin and a deepening of his resolve to
seek, if other means failed, a solution by a resort to force of arms.
Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman stated that, in his personal opinion, matters would now
be allowed to rest where they were until the King had completed his military
dispositions, whereupon he would confront the Imam with an ultimatum.
2. That this was no idle speculation seems daily more and more evident. I
have reported by telegram and in my despatch under reference that, as long as
five weeks ago, Saudi forces of the North-Eastern £ / Command ” were ordered to
proceed in the direction of the Najran district, if, indeed, they were not to
the district itself, and since then rumours have been current to the effect that
recruiting has been actively carried on of late in the Medina and laif districts,
and that the forces so collected have been drafted south. . , ,
3 I have to-day reported by telegram that over 700 soldiers were embarked
here and left by steamer yesterday tor Jizan. So large a force can scarcely be
explained by the normal requirements of garrison duty m Asir or of replace
ments and reliefs. Ibn Sand’s military preparations are, it seems certain
approaching completion, and unless the Imam Yahya can be persuaded to adopt
amore conciliatory attitude, it is to be feared that an armed clash cannot be very
distant. more recent developments have naturally excited a good deal of
interest and a certain measure of apprehension locally. I
extract from the Egyptian Gazette of the 6th September m which the Jedda
correspondent of tClhram fairly accurately summarises
far as thev are generally known here.C) I also enclose a furthei report wmen
appeared m the^Eqyptian Gazette of the 2nd September, m which the Ahram s
Rome correspondent records information obtained ^“s^ffafte/thempture of
nature of the first letter addressed by the Imam to Ibn baud alter the rupture oi
negotiationsat Sanaa hid confided to the Saudi delegation to dehver to the Km^
In paragraph (b) of my telegram No. 15p_of hinted desnatch
Ss® ,t !£. letter proposed «h,« Ibn S“d
of top Ypmpn and that the consideration of other questions m dispute snouiu ue
^tphlrFVom ttopress report, whose ^-jy^^^htrthfze di
His Maicstv’s Ambassador at Rome to verify, it would appear ttiat tne z,eiai
overture?was conceived in, perhaps, not quite such intransigent terms as Ibn Sand
would have us believe.
( l )Not printed.
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