Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎17r] (38/982)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Iraq).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 7351/1418/93]
November 25, 1936.
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Section 1.
Copy No.
Sir A. Clark Kerr to Mr. Eden.—[Received November 25.)
gj r ' ' Bagdad, November 20, 1936.
’ WITH reference to my telegrams and despatches concerning the present
political situation in Iraq, I have the honour to report that a new party has been
formed to support Hikmat Sulaiman’s Government. It is called the ^ .Popular
Reform League.” The secretary is Kamil Chadirji, the Minister for Economics
and Communications, and the founders include Yusuf Iz-ul-Din, the Minister tor
Education, Abdul Qadir Ismail, a man who, in the past, has shown leanings
towards communism, and Muhammad Salih-al-Qazzaz, who for some time has
been active as a leader of workmen’s movements (Iraq Personalities No 58).
2 . I enclose herein a copy of the league’s programme as published m its
official organ, the daily newspaper the Ahali (the People). Non will see that
there is a noticeably Red tinge about many of its items, and that it adds
considerably to the discord of incompatible ideals which seem to inspire the
members of the new Government. Speculation about the future becomes, there
fore all the more difficult. It is hard enough to find a common political purpose
for men of such different types as the ambitious and, to judge from his pasp ruth
less soldier, General Bakr Sidqi, and the Voltairian Republican, Hikmat
Sulaiman, but to conceive a formula which will cover both their views and those
of the men who have put together this patchwork of ultra-modern schemes of
social reform is a well-nigh impossible task. Moreover, even if the I rime Ministei
succeeds in establishing agreement between men of such divergent political ou -
look I find it hard to believe that the present Cabinet has enough knowledge oi
experience to be able successfully to give effect to these far-reaching
3 It should however, be remembered that, although the Popular Reform
League has been created to support the Government, the Government have not
pledged themselves to adopt the full programme of the league. L mil they do so
the programme may only be regarded as a list of visionary hopes desigi et
presumably to me] the prime Minister’s own plans seem to
be far less ambitious. His first intention, he tells me, is to
the distribution of land among the peasants on the Abu ^^nnYmasbaras isomT
irrigation works have made fit for cultivation about 8 , A +
20,000 hectares) of land. This land he wants to divide among peasa^
of about 25 hectares a family, and, through the Agricultural Bank he hopes to be
able to arrange loans to provide them with enough capital for such seed and plor g
cattle as hey may need P He also intends that, simple but samtay house^shou d
be built for them. If the Abu Gharaib scheme is a success it will oe applied later
on to other areas restored to cultivation by new canals. HaA
that he may soon ask me for the help of experts to carry out this wo .
that ne my soon a ^ ev £ ently dear to hm , ls the improvement of the
education of girls P He thinks that the present tea A Jt'a^^irhouhkeeping 6
hopes to introduce into the girls’ schools more practical training m housekeeping.
mothercraft md domestic hygmne^b^ en h but for many reasons they may
prove difficult to work out. Much money will be required ^and P^YfThese
dXStLtoXme^^^^
V* which he hope.
his schemes will rally round him.
1856 bb—1]