'File A/3 Miscellaneous correspondence with Bushire Residency' [‎25r] (55/96)

TRANSLATION.
of
An Article published in "AL SHABAB ,, Newspaper at Cairo under
No.59-19 "352" dated Wednesday the 21st Rabi II corresponding
50th June, 1937*
COMMENTS ON THE COLONIZATION NOTICE.
DUTY DEMANDS THAT BAHRAIN SHOULD BE CEDED TO SAUDI GOVERNMENT.
We had published in our last issue a copy of the notification
issued by The government of Bahrain anent the compulsorily sale of
of immovable properties owned by foreigners v! within a period of
one year from the date of its publication.
We now publish the interpretation of this notice as expressed
by one of the sons of that country.
Article 1 does not mean the European foreigners or similar
people,nay it signifies the subjects of H.M.the King Abdul Aziz
bin A1 Saud,who are their neighbours,profess a likewise religion
and are connected with Bahrain by religious, language and Customs,
and who generally speaking are of the same tribe and descendents
of one ancestor and stands at a distance of only three quarters of
an hour from Bahrain and the trips are made in sailing boats and
Motor launches.
In its Article 2 this law decrees that The Bahrain Government
has the right ? from time to time notify the Governments whose
nationals in Bahrain will be subject to the prohibition laid down
in Article 1 and such prohibition will have effect from the date on
which the notification in question has been published by the Political
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ! ! ! in Bahrain ! ! ! Then where the Arabian Bahraini^Goverament
is ?! Has the Arab,the son of the country,converted to a foreigner
and the foreign immigrant has become a national and he is the Ruler
to be obeyed ?
Article 5 says a foreigner !!! who is a national of a Govt,
and who already at the date of publication of the notice owns immovable
property may continue to own it for one year from that date. At any
time after the expiry of one year the Bahrain Government may compul
sorily acquire the property or may put it up for sale !
in placing our comments before H.B.M’s Government who are
the power in Bahrain, we would enquire as to what the motive is ?
Is it the intention to find ready properties at cheap prices for
the colonizing Saxons who have occupied Bahrain on the plea of
drilling and exploiting of oil ? Such being the case,Bahrain has
vast lands and its soil is almost furtile and they are the authority
to acquire any parcel of land they want at free cost - They can
cultivate it or construct buildings thereon and there is no one to
oppose them as long as British rule existing in Bahrain.
To confiscate the property of..the people and to offer it as
a morsel to their countrymen is a matter which cannot be overlooked.
By doing so they create for themselves crisis in a time when they
are required to support the arabs and to gain their friendly relation
ship. —
The second intention is to drive away the subjects of H.M.the
King of Ibn Baud from Bahrain. Has the Saudi Arabian Government
compelled foreigners to sell their properties which they have in
his States, let the British reply on this action iso that we could
say it was done tit for tat ?mThe answer to this is,NO. But the
only thing is that she deferred the sale of properties as a precaution
lest her subjects might fall into bankcruptcy and their properties
fall in the hands of foreigners - as what happened in Palestine -