'File 19/243 IV Zubarah' [‎132r] (263/322)

5. The A1 Khallfah at one time did occupy Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. and It was
the base from which they occupied Bahrain In i783 # They have lonf
ago, however, ceased to exercise sovereignty there as the note
forwarded with my despatch under reference shows and It has once or
twice been pointed out to Shaikh Salman that his claim to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha.
Is ac about as good as the Persian claim to "Bahrain. As lonr aro
as 1919 In the time of Shaikh Xsa, Shaikh Abdullah, the uncle of
the present Shaikh, made a representation In London on the subject
vide India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. letter No.P«6649 dated 16th September 1919 to
the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad* With Shaikh Salman, the matter
has become a mania and any representation made to him on almost
any subject, and especially on that of Internal reforms Is met with
the reply "I cannot do anything until I obtain my rights In
Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. * • , Sle^-
6. It will be noted that In the present application, he
specifically renounces any claim to sovereignty. This Is some
thing gained. He demands, however, his private rights and, for
the first time, has defined, though very vaguely, on a map, the
area within which he claims these rights. His claims as set
forth in his letter of the Snd March 1948 are indefinite and
supported by no documentary evidence; it is doubtful if any of
them would be sustainable in a court of law, and I do not think
the present Shaikh of Qatar will willingly concede any of them.
7. I have been tempted from time to time to tell the Shaikh
that we refuse to recognise any rights of his, private or other-
' wise in Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. and that he can repudiate the 1944 Agreement If he
wishes. I am not, however, in favour of this course because it
would certainly not stop him from pressing his claim, it would
embitter his relations with His Majesty's Government with whom he
has up to date been very friendly and co-operative, and he might
take steps which would directly or indirectly hamper the operations
of Messrs. Petroleum Concessions Limited in Qatar. r ycept for
the effect it might have on these operations, the re-introduction
of a blockade of Qatar by the Shaikh of Bahrain would not do much
harm. Very few Qatarls are employed by the Bahrain Petroleum
Company or otherwise in Bahrain and the peninsula could always
obtain its supplies in Dubai instead of Bahrain. Messrs.
Petroleum Concessions Limited however, would be severely handi
capped if they were unable to import their requirements and parti
cularly, water, through or from Bahrain. T have suggested to
Mr. Lermltte, the loCal Manager of the Company, that as soon as
they open their own port in Qatar, they should, in view of the bad
relations between Bahrain and Qatar, transfer their H#»ad Office
to the peninsula, but I understand this Is not their policy at
present. In any case the water difficulty will remain.
, """n/cX •
8. My view is therefore that we should continue tp temporise
and endeavour to reach some modus viven^l between Bahrain and
Qatar c.f. my despatch to the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , No.C/767 of the S6th
August 1946. Shaikh Hamad heir-apparent of Shaikh Abdullah of
Qatar, who more or less ruled the State on his fathers behalf
and was strongly opposed to making any concession to Shaikh Salman
has recently died. Shaikh Abdullah who Is also unlikely to
concede anything, is over 80 and in bad health. It is possible
that when he dies, his successor may be less embittered personally
against the A1 Khallfah and may be willing to concede somethinr
which will serve as a face-saver for Shaikh Salman. T admit I h
have only a faint hope of this, but I consider it better to attempt
something of this sort rather than to tell Shaikh Salman that we
can do nothing for him, which, amongst other things, may result in
his appealing to the Arab League as he has already threatened to
do. Another possible course which I have In mind if the Shaikh
of Qatar could be brought to agree to do, would be the appointment
of a Government Officer, preferably one who has never served in
the Gulf, as an arbitrator. This procedure however would be
expensive and might lead us nowhere.
9. I have the following comments to make on specific points
mentioned in the representation!^ , p