مجموعة ١٠/١٧(٣) "شؤون داخلية: الوضع السياسي؛ العلاقات مع الحكومة البريطانية" [و‎‎١‎٠‎٩] (٥١٣/٢١٧)

CONFIDENTIAL
DISTRIBUTION B
From: IRAQ
Decypher: Sir B. Newton (Bagdad).
y
D.
10.50 p.m.
26 th
26 th
January, 1911.
January, 1911.
R.
2.05 p.m.
27 th
January, 1911.
No. 68 .
IMPORTANT
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A
My telegram NOA5,
After a week of shilly-shallying, accompanied hy some
tension and innumerable rumours, the Regent decided yesterday,
to bring the matter to a head, by threatening to abdicate
unless the Government resigned.
He seems confident this evening that his threat has
succeeded .and considers that although the Prime Minister has
not yet himself resigned his Government can no longer be.
recognised as effective. Four resignations exist in writing,
namely those of Nuri, Naji SNaukat, Omar Nazmi and Sadiq
Bassam which bring the rest of the Government below the
constitutional number. In addition, the Regent understands
definitely that Taha has resigned, as I have also heard from
other sources. The Regent's present idea is to form a
government with the President of the Senate Muhammad As Sadr
as Prime Minister and to include Jamil Madfai. Taha would
also be in the new Government, but not at the Ministry of
l Defence for which the Regent has in mind the present Chief of
the General Staff or Ismael Namiq.*
It is not yet clear however that the crisis is over and
the officer in command of the First Division has given orders,
. presumably on his own authority, for the First Division which
^ is stationed in and near Bagdad to stand by.
The Regent told me that in addition to the Chief of
the General Staff, he can count on the loyalty of the Divisional
Commanders in the South and North of Iraq. In any case he
feels that military demonstrations in Bagdad can only
a demonstrate their own illegality and futility. His threat to
i Uresign was moreover, he assured me, a safe bluff as the
* 1 \ country would never agree to his replacement,
f
Repeated to Cairo telegram No.l5» (Please repeat to Jedda
telegram No. 6 ) Government of India telegram No.10, Angora
telegram No e 26, Jerusalem telegram No.A, Tehran telegram No.o
Saving.