Coll 17/15(1) 'Perso-Iraq Relations: Persia-Iraq frontier; Persia's claim in the Shatt-el-Arab' [‎195r] (400/961)

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brigands in the frontier regions, and to prevent any complicity, material or moral, between
them and the armed brigands o; Iraq, so as to preclude any renewal of their incursions
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into Persian territory or of the massacres and depredations which they commit in the
villages of the district of Ovraman, it is nevertheless a regrettable fact that the Royal Iraqi
Government has not taken any steps to comply with the legitimate demands of the Imperial
Persian Government, and has, indeed, taken up an incredibly cool attitude towards those
demands, thereby enabling the brigands in question to repeat their offences.
According to information supplied by the competent authorities, it is proved that :
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( 1 ) Three soldiers from the frontier post, having proceeded, in order to draw water, to
a well situate in Persian territory in the neighbourhood of the Iraqi frontier, were suddenlv
. fired upon by brigands armed with rifles and concealed in gardens in Iraqi territory. As a
: , result of the attack, a soldier named Reza Khan was killed, the brigands taking flight when
relief arrived on the spot. Two Iraqi police agents, named Abdurrahman and Firuz, who
arrived on the scene to enquire into the matter, themselves confirmed the existence in the
region of several bands of brigands.
( 2 ) Colonel Ahmed Khan Zavieh, the newly appointed commander of the military
idUiy forces in Kurdistan, when on his way from Raneh to Kovsud, was suddenly attacked by
the said brigands, who fired on him from an ambuscade in his rear and killed him.
In bringing the above facts to your knowledge, I am instructed
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( 1 ) To convey to you my Government’s vigorous protests on the subject of the above-
mentioned events, and to press for the adoption of urgent measures for the arrest of the
brigands in question ; to ask for such as are of Persian nationality to be handed over to the
police of the Imperial Government ; to claim reparation for the damage done and the
provision of pensions for the heirs of the victims, and, finally, to ask that my Government
be informed of what has been done.
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( 2 ) To draw T your attention to my Government’s view that these events, taken as a
whole, show clearly that, through the complaisance and laxity of the competent agents of the
Royal Iraqi Government, these brigands have developed such a degree of boldness and
effrontery as to make the lives and property of the Persian inhabitants of the frontier
districts in the future the playthings and trophies of these murderous bandits. Their
audacity has reached a point at which they do not hesitabe to assassinate high officers and
soldiers, and, after committing every kind of crime, to take refuge in Iraqi territory.
Unquestionably, if these brigand bands w T ere not in Iraqi territory, the agents of my
Government would not fail to remedy this state of affairs.
As, however, they are in Iraqi territory, the Iraqi Government must be aware that
responsibility in the matter rests with itself ; and the Persian Government is accordingly
entitled, in the interest of neighbourly relations, to expect the Royal Iraqi Government to
collaborate with the Imperial Persian Government and to put an end to the existing state
of affairs.
In any case, my Government is no longer prepared to tolerate the repetition of thes 6
regrettable incidents, and cannot in the future accept the far from plausible pretexts of the
agents of the Iraqi Government and thus become a mere witness of such occurrences.
Accordingly, for the last time, in order to end the matter once and for all, I beg you to take
such steps as you consider desirable and necessary to remedy the existing state of affairs
and root out the brigands, and to communicate to me, so as to enable me to convey the
information to the competent authorities of my Government, the result of such tma.
decisions as the Iraqi Government may take to terminate these regrettable occurrences ,
otherwise, the Imperial Persian Government will be compelled to take energetic action m
the matter and even to refer it to the League of Nations. , ,
In that case, the entire responsibility will rest with the Royal Iraqi Governmen ,
and it will no longer be entitled to complain of the procedure so chosen.
6 fion®.
Annex II.
Treaty of Erzerum of May 31st, 184 h
[Translation of Mr. Redhouse and M. Moukhine.]
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Article 1.
The two Mussulman Powers waive the totality of their existing P< ^'\i C I^yrovisions
another, provided always that nothing in this arrangement sha a
made for the settlement of the claims to which Article 4 relates.