Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎338r] (678/1237)

3*
ub itm party oroka up aarly in tn« morning aitor frland-
buip iiad pean irrevocably cemented by last drinks at the British mesa*
*«ext day both the Buaeian oil leer and tije Armenian were arrested by
tae auasiana. drat has happened to tije xtuasian oilicer is unknown,
but the Armenian was only released three days later l rom hie O* ♦P.J,
goal alter ^ajor -hneerson haa volunteered to assist tire huseian
v^o*.uuana&nt in tae investigation of any ciiarges against him, if, at* it
rumoured, ire itad been arrested for something which had
occurred in connection with the nritieh*
?u# aira*, X'he unrest in the ^hikkak tribe has subsided
m a result of kuBaian intervention and trie road from Shahpur to
Kesaieh is again eaf'e after having been cut by the &urde for about
unree uiys* fhm culprit se^ms to have been omar Khan, who has
succeeded u art ip khan as head of Uie tribe, the latter havliu died
some six weeks ago. Although enjoying the dignity and office of
i'^&i^uu&r, he admits no loyalty to the Persian Government and is
aggrieved at the attitude the authorities took in recovering from the
tr P ??< Par J 01 t4je of their incursi >n into Turkey (see
ai uiiis t>iary l • ^ seems clear that dmar hhan received pnrt
\J i k *< pv:> ?' J * i aB . ot lhiB ioray. In addition Omar Khan wished to lake
^oou hie claiiu to certain villages, which h© considered the property
ox tii© trice, and there was likewise Kurdish reaentmexit at the
presence oi gendarmerie poets at Jebel Hand, Imam K ad and Jemalabad.
1 / ad formally demanded. It was this last demand
f oii t r.tt Ve n t1 ?* ziaitel iov the trouble as it was followed by an attack
ior ratner demonstration, ior it was bloodleea) against Jerael Abad.
™ nusbim consulate at ivezaieh whereupon sent out a representative
to hiyise »u9 Kurds to return home, an action which tney promptly
unuertook. ihe sole victims were tue driver of a bus and a miserable
u «-gar to whom he was giving a tree lift. A frequent coiament among
the xereima villagers end townsfolk at ^esaiek haa be n; *tt the^^
hufisians can tell tne Auras t o go ewiy, wly can’t they tell them not
to ecne : • i>ut it would probably be a mistake to infer that the Kurds
had Russian encoux-agemmt. "
Yl * ,..xfairs, A gcuiile recently took place in Tabriz
between mourners at the funeral of an Armenian chauffeur and aos! am
onlookers who jeered as the cortege passed. Knives were produced and
tour or five persons seriously injured, hoelem fanaticint in Tabriz
is easily aroused; and tne ieeling of greater security which the
soviet occupation t ,ives to ti« idmenian and Assyrian minorities as a
wnole can easily oe uiiderstood. In the case just mentioned the , oslem
co^lo 8 of B d^rin gSIlf 1 ^ tiie pollce> but r «ieased after the usual
/ t :# ^ urlty♦ Bobberies remain frequent, tne police without
power ana justice without authority. A local subject was recentlv
handed oyer to the police by the British military authorities for beirn
in wrongful possession of two army beds, which he was carrying through
tuc main street of Tabriz. He had been employed at the British stsAinc
y 0st w us known to the police as a man of bad character, i^everthe^
leas He was released the next day arid an enquiry made to the local
authorities by this Consulate-General for information as to whether he
xa to u© Drought to trial u&s so far remained without reply,
^ * Qru L L m Q t Aarch a'oth, when riding across some waste
ground on the outskirts of Tabriz with a ghulam, r. Happ caiae across
wne oooy oi a icraiaxi who had clearly been murdered. The police were
seat lor andvthe -Ctamiti. 1 ...a* aho presently arrived on the scene * ave it
au his view that the man, *ho lived by eelling walnuts and suen thini^s
to tue Ausaisn troops, had been held up by persons who wished to rob
him and, having refused to p&rt with hie money, had been run through
with a bayonet. The culprits will doubtless remain undiscovered. Tne
uoamissar complained bitterly of Uie impossibility of maintaining
n'uer vuth the inadequate means at the police disposal.
A3.