'F 80 File 82/34 I APOC Concession' [‎226r] (396/436)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
December 30.)
December 30, 1932.
Section 3.
(No. 412.)
Sir,
Angora, December 21, 1932.
I HAVE the honour to report that the cancelling of the concession of the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company has aroused interest in this country, and the course
of the dispute between His Majesty's Government and the Persian Government is
being followed with close attention. It might have been expected that the
Turkish press would have shown a tendency to gloat over Persia's cavalier treat
ment of a foreign concessionary company, and its curt defiance of a powerful
Western nation, and would have lost no opportunity of congratulating the Persian
Government on its close imitation of Turkish methods. Its comments, however,
have, up to the present, been sober and restrained. This is the more surprising
when one takes into consideration the annoyance which has been caused in ruling
circles by the blackening of the Gazi's character in " Grey Wolf," and by the
publicity given to the fez incident by the London press—a publicity which it has
become the fashion to pretend was deliberate and malevolent, with the object of
embittering Turco-Egyptian relations.
2. The official Anatolian Press Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. has confined itself to reproducing,
without bias or comment, foreign telegrams on the dispute. The Milliyet of the
6th December, after giving a historical survey of the foundation of the oil
company, and recalling that the majority of the shares are held by His Majesty's
Government, adds ;—
" If this denunciation had taken place before the Great War, the British
fleet would have been mobilised, the British Minister would have transmitted
an ultimatum to the Shah of Persia, and the question would have been settled.
This could not be done to-day because the British Government appreciates
that this question cannot be settled by force, and, moreover, it is itself
occupied in the search for reasons for cancelling its own engagements to
America."
In a later issue, the Milliyet criticises the menacing attitude of Great Britain
towards Persia, but is confident that a peaceful settlement of the dispute will be
reached. The Republique of the 13th December attributes the cancellation of the
concession to the fact that the company had lessened its production, as a result of
a diminished world demand, thereby reducing its contribution to the Persian
Treasury. The gravity of the dispute is to be measured by the fact that the
British Government has despatched a flagship and two light cruisers to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . If it is true that in many towns the inhabitants, during the
official rejoicings over the denunciation of the concession, tore up British flags,
the matter is no longer a purely legal one. It is, after the Mosul dispute, one of
the thorniest in Western Asia, and, if settled by violence, will put an end, for
many years, to international security and tranquillity. The &on Postd of the
17th December writes :—
" Persia's reasons for the denunciation of the concession are connected
with the question of national sovereignty. According to the statement of
the British Under-Secretary in the House of Commons, and to the semi
official British press, it would appear that Russia isconcerned in this question..
Everyone is aware that the Persian Government, and particularly Timurtash
Khan are secretly inclined to Russia. The serious difference between Great
Britain and Persia will undoubtedly be settled, for both nations are members
of the League of Nations, and are bound to refer to The Hague Tribunal for
the settlement of any dispute."
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