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Coll 17/10(3) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎243v] (486/513)

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The record is made up of 1 file (256 folios). It was created in 29 Apr 1940-24 Oct 1941. 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

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or with a quicker appreciation of the significance of current events would have
done more than he has to stem the tide. Public feeling in this country towards
Great Britain has been profoundly impressed by recent developments in the
war. The withdrawal from Southern Is or way, the revelation of our numerical
inferiority to our enemies in the air which came in the Mouse of Commons
debate on the Norwegian campaign, and, during the last week, the overrunning
of Holland and Belgium by the German army, are events that have severely
shaken confidence in the certainty of an Allied victory. 1 he news of these
events has, of course, been exploited with telling efiect by the German broadcast
in Arabic, while the host of those who are jealous of our position, or hate us
for our policy in Palestine and the French for their policy in Syria, have worked
ceaselessly to turn popular feeling against the Allied cause. In this they have
I been greatly helped by the news that has continued to arrive of heavy sentences
| inflicted on Arabs by the military courts in Palestine and Syria. Each new
batch of sentences provides fresh inflammatory material with which to kindle
fires of hatred against Britain and France.
6 . With strong emphasis I have impressed on both the 1 rime Minister and
the Minister for Foreign Affairs the real danger of the deterioration in public
opinion, and 1 have urged repeatedly the need for the Government to give a lead
which would rally those who still see where Iraq s interests reallv lie, and check
the insidious whispering campaign of those whose work, if successful, would
destroy all that has been achieved in this country during the last twenty years.
But though Rashid Ali, when talking with me, is always ready with bland
assurances of his agreement with my views, he has told the adviser to the Ministry
of the Interior and the oriental secretary that it is out of the question for him
to make a public pronouncement condemning German aggression and rallying
public opinion to the side of the Allies. He says that Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. failed in this,
and that for him to make the attempt would only make him publicly ridiculous
and weaken his authority without making any impression on public opinion unless,
so he implies, he could at the same time declare the establishment of an agreed
policy between the Allies and the Arabs for the realisation of Arab ideals. In
this connexion I am sending home separately a copy of a letter from the British
adviser to the Ministry of the Interior in my despatch No. 223 o f the 20th May.
Nuri Said, I am told, has tried to persuade "Rashid All to give a reasonable
and reassuring lead to public opinion, but without success.
7. Nevertheless, I learn that the Prime Minister has given orders to the
police to keep a close watch on the activities of the Palestinian and Syrian
refugees and other mischief-makers, and also to issue through the Press Bureau
a directive to newspaper editors to publish articles condemning German aggression
on small countries. The latter instructions have made no considerable impression
on public opinion as vet. With few exceptions the press articles have been
lukewarm in their condemnation of Germany’s brutal attacks on her weaker
neighbours, and, so far as I can judge from the reports that reach me. public
opinion is still growing more pro-German and anti-British. Owing to the strong
instinct of the average Iraqi to seek the winning side, this development is likely
to continue until the war news becomes more favourable.
8 . I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s representatives at
Cairo and Tehran, to the Government of India and to the Combined Middle East
Intelligence Centre, Cairo.
I have, &c.
BASIL NEWTON.

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Content

This file is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2861. It contains correspondence and memoranda regarding relations between 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 papers primarily consist of communications between HM Ambassador to Iraq and HM Foreign Secretary, regarding the cabinet of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, his resignation in January 1941 and the formation of a new cabinet under Taha al-Hashimi, and the resumption of power by Rashid Ali backed by the military in April 1941. The file concludes with papers detailing the escape of the Regent 'Abd al-Ilah, and initial negotiations with Rashid Ali's Government of National Defence.

The papers include detailed discussion of the relations between Iraq and the Axis Powers, and attempts by the British to persuade the Government of Iraq to sever diplomatic ties with Italy. They also discuss British concerns over the growing anti-British sentiment in Iraq, as a result of British interference in Iraqi internal affairs and British policy towards Palestine and Syria. Amongst the papers are intelligence reports on the 'Golden Square' Generals (folios 58-59), and a copy of British plans to undermine the Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Amin al-Husseini (folios 194-195). The file also contains a small number of communications from the Government of Iraq, and from HM Ambassadors to Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the USSR.

Folios 4-8 concern the affairs of the family of the late Khan Sahib Badruddin Khan, and appear to have come from a different file.

Extent and format
1 file (256 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 256; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 2-256, and ff 206-225; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 17/10(3) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎243v] (486/513), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2862, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100066207522.0x000059> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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