'File 53/32 V (D 128) Kuwait Miscellaneous' [‎64r] (140/474)

V
ci.o. Barpeta.
3rd ^ug. 35.
rr II i oS red I nolaijj.on.o
la
1K«X
Dear Colonel Dickson,
On departure from Basrah I left a telegram with the
Mespers cleric who cajne on bo^rd reporting my departure ^or
Muscat and I hope the .samfe has been received by you. ^
'After leaving Kuwait on the morning of the 28th July
1 reached Basra safely at about 9 ii .tyU and took the mail train
for Kerbella the same evening. I visited the shrines in Kerb ell,
in the f .morning n^xt clay and proceeded by car to Nejef in the
evening, I 'passed tne'tiight in Nejef and visited Koofa also.
Next day morning 1 came back to Kerbella and after a stay of
2 hours I travelled by car to Baghdad reaching the latter
place at 11 a .m. I utilized every minute that I had at my
disposal and went round Baghdad seeing almost all important
places. T left Baghdad on the Slst and arrived Basra on the
1st. During my short stay in Iraq I am glad I saw many things
and I met many people. You will be interested to hear that it
is not only the high authority and officials who accuse Kuwait
of smuggling etc. but it appears to oe a general belief through
out Iraq, almost every one I met asked me many questions auwut
uhe smugglj.«g which they believed to be going on from Kuwait
to Iraq on a large scale. They were probably given to undersold
that almost everything importea into Iraq comes through Kuwait
only, ^s much as it was possible for me to say I explained
the things to the enquirers and told them that Kuwait was quite
innocent in this affair as she took no part nor took any shares
in the profits made by smugglers. They could blame their own
people who found it a profitable business to bring things from
outside Iraq, Kuwaitis were engaged in a legitimate trade and
they sold their things to those who came to buy it. They also
said that during the recent tribal troubles Kuwait did not play | ;
a fair game ana supplied arms and ammunitions to/lthe rebels.
I told them that it was a news for me as I never heard of such
things as arms and ammunition to be available in Kuwait for
the puipose of Miix sale, and there was strict embargo on
importation of armb into that State and the Ruler showed his i
good regard for his neighbour otate Iraq by allowing none to * J
take xxaqc out any kind of arms from Kuwait. It was very
unkind of Iraqis to misjudge Kuwait in that respect. Murid
Husain, an Indian who has lately been naturalised Iraqi and
is now station master at Kerbella told me that it was a general
belief that there was a hand of British Government in the
recent troubles and that all the amis supplied to the tribesmen
came from iinglana ana through Kuwait only. He said that most
of the Iraqis consider Kuwait as danger for their SWte and
think that unless they have their own control in Kuwait they
shall never be able to live in peace. This is the essence of
the talks I had with several people in Kerbella Nejef and
Baghdad.
V/hile passing in front of the Persian Consulate at
Baghdad I noticed that there was a crowd in the yard and to
see what was happening inside I went in, I found that people
had come there tp take out the Persian nationality papers. I
learmt that thoseiw^cT had adopted Iraqi nationality to escape
from the law of conscription in Persia were
returning to Persian nationality to avoic the enlistment in
the Iraq defence force unuer the Conscription law passed oy
the Iraqi Government recently.
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