'File 14/115 VII Annex (B 9) Abu Musa oxide: collected background material on the case' [‎180r] (370/1904)

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1 his is my reply with regard to three points:
Spliitf f tb >i miC 5 a f eem ®" t > 1 was aware of it, and Sheikh.
* [ T -' r 1 ? d ^ Would not haye been Possible that the said
iSormed vo?, ft? without coming to my knowledge as ruling chief. But as I
obtair from -} 4 f ■ '' s > J , bad lett to bheikh Salim all the income which he could
to this wJ aforesaid island, ana consequently I did not trouble [myself] to object
r'^-irdin/mx 1 e m r' n 1 Panted to you the said statement
JZt % + relations with Sheikh Salim m respect of Bu Musa, the question of this
a-ffnir ^ i ^ ^ oucur to my mind at all, for, as you must be aware, the mica
0aUCe Qk *' i y hat T e I er * As re g ards . the sum of 1.500 dollars, payable by
' f 1 8 ' ^ ^T k a n ,^ a ^ ,n >: ^ have no information as to how many instalments were
A J'i ^ ? 0uel ! 5 " it • oa ] il . m - > did not trouble to make enquiries about the instalments,
nor did 1 demand anything from Sheikh Salim on that account. It was my wish that
je s ,^ a ® u so me r mg iiom it, and that he should not trouble me about his expenses.
Secondly as regards the right to jetsam and flotsam on Bu Musa Island and all
uhe Islands ot Kowasim, it is not open to doubt that it is due to the chief of the
a-owasim, out the usual custom on the Oman coast is that the inhabitants of the place
e ^? t vl if r n ^ bts on the s ? ene of the wreck, and when the chief comes to know of it he
se t es tae matter according to his own opinion; sometimes he takes his own share
rV f 1 S p je 1 f uS 1 and sometimes he^does not take from them. In the case of Bu Musa,
as i had leit all the revenue to Sheikh Salim, I treated my right of jetsam and flotsam
as a part ot the income to go to him and used to ask no questions about it.
ihircuy, with regard to the rejected draft of the oxide agreement, I have now
noted its wording, but had neither seen nor heard of it before. The reason for its
rejection is obviously because Sheikh Salim could not write about Bu Musa in these
uerms* namely ? So icng as I, my children, and roy brothers live, no one is entitled to
raise objection to it." No doubt this was the cause of the draft being chanoed. This
is what was necessary to be stated, and salaams !
(L. S.) SAGAR -BIN-KHALED-BIN-SULTAN.
Appendix 6.
F okm I.
Question put regarding the Jurisdiction and
manner of the exercise of the Rights
the Oulf. " ' '
la the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
_ As you are familiar with the traditions of the past and the rights of the Arab
sheikhs in regard to the coast and islands in the Gulf, what is your opinion on the
following points:—
1. The islands of Bu Musa and Sir Bu Nuair, to the jurisdiction of which sheikh
do they belong and in which sheikh are the rights of ownership vested ?
2. The right to jetsam and flotsam in the islands, by whom is it exercised ?
Answer
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,
Firstly, I am familiar with the matters about which you ask me. It is well
known amongst the Arabs of the Gulf that the islands of Bu Musa and Sir Bu Nuair
are islands belonging to the territories of the Jawasim of Oman and that their owner is
the ruling sheikh of the Jawasim who resides at Shargah and who is at present
Sagar-bin-Khaled-bin-Sultan.