Coll 28/111 ‘Persia. Kermanshah – Political diaries.’ [‎8r] (16/751)

i
ri
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE
f
PERSIA.
- Dl
CONFIDENTIAL.
|
a 1 *
286
1941.
December 23, 1941.
Section 3.
Enclosure.
Kermanshah Diary for the Month of November 1941.
1. Public Security.
DURING the past month there has been a marked improvement in the state
of public security and an appreciable decline in brigandage. Calm has prevailed
in most areas in this consular district, but it has been an uneasy peace owing to
the fact that little progress has been made in the collection of arms. The
Kakawand and Periwand tribes occupying large districts to the south-east and
north-east of Kermanshah have been the worst offenders in so far as brigandage
is concerned, but the Sinjabi and Guran tribes have also created trouble in aieas
close to the Iraq frontier to the north of Qasr-i-Shirin. Some brigandage also
occurred near Nahavand (south-west of Hamadan) during the early part of
November. On the whole, how T ever, the general situation has much improved and
a feeling of optimism has begun to manifest itself among a fair percentage of
the population. This optimism has arisen from the fact that, with the tendency
for security to become greater and more general, autumn sowings have been on
a greater scale than was thought possible a few weeks ago, and local produce has
been circulating throughout the district more freely during the past month than
during the previous two months.
2. Persian A rmy.
General Shahbakhti, the General Officer Commanding, has made only little
progress towards the raising of a volunteer army here; exact figures are. not
available, but it is considered fairly certain that the response to his appeal for
volunteers has been poor. Indeed, the calling up of conscripts has been resumed,
and this unpopular measure has created intense discontent among the local
population, which threatened, during the month, to organise demonstrations
against conscription in protest. The Persian authorities, however, got wind of
the proposed demonstrations and forestalled any outbreak of disorder by staging
a march through the town to intimidate the malcontents. The morale of the
Persian army has, I consider, improved recently as a result of the arrival here
of General Shahbakhti. The latter is a forceful and genial personality and his
presence here has instilled into his officers and men some measure of self-respect
and self-confidence which the debacle of the 28th-31st August last destroyed. I
will not venture to express an opinion as to the value of the Persian army as a
fighting force, but I consider that as long as the ill-trained and ill-fed troops
are (? led) by Persian officers of the present poor quality—and good officers are
extremely rare—the Persian army is not likely to be a very formidable danger
to an opposing force. This may be the reason why General Shahbakhti has not
embarked upon any operations against the well-armed Kurds (especially on
[25—14]
PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT % L-
IE 8480/42/34] Co Py No * 04
Consul Vaughan-Russell to Mr. Eden.—{Received December 23.)
(No. 17.) XI .
HIS Majesty’s Consul at Kermanshah presents his compliments to Mis
Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for foreign Affairs, and has the honoui
to transmit to him a copy of Kermanshah diary for the month of DeeemW-1941.
Kermanshah, December 1, 1941.
/