'Kurdistan and the Kurds' [‎52v] (104/122)

102
quently he is not in a position to give advice or information on purely
local affairs, though he is deeply interested in the whole future of
Kurdistan. The General considered that it was of the first importance
that we should take constructive steps to rally the Kurds as a
whole and that to this end it was important that we should
announce our intended policy towards them. What he thought
feasible and what he hoped was that we should give the Kurds of Southern
Kurdistan guarantees of autonomy under our protection; 1 enlightened
Kurds, in his opinion, realised that no government could be achieved so
well as under Great Britain and that of necessity they would have to look
for assistance with personnel to control the administration for some time
to come. His idea was that we should adopt towards the Kurds a policy
similar to that which we had followed in regard to the Arabs in
Mesopotamia, while he suggested Mosul as the most suitable centre for
such an administration. \ In a later communication, in October, he pointed
out that the chief difficulty would be the reconciliation of the Kurds and
the Armenians, whose relations had changed considerably for the worse
owing to the artificial fostering of racial hatred by Turkish agents. For
the purpose of establishing a basis for negotiations, he suggested the
immediate formation of a committee, which should sit in Liondon, con
sisting of representatives from Kurdistan and Armenia.
\The outstanding figure in Kurdistan is evidently Mahmud, paramount ^
chief of the Milli confederation. He seems to have considerable influence
outside his own tribes ;ithe Dersimli acknowledge his position and tribes
as far away as the Caucasus know of him as the greatest chieftain in the
land ; he himself asserts that even the Bohtan, Bedr Khan s own tribe,
would admit at least the theoretical validity of his claim. I His present fame
is based largely on the position which his father, Ibrahim, made for
himself and who has since become almost a legendary hero in the mouths
of the tribesmen; jl but he has won for himself scarcely less renown.
jAnother advantage which Mahmud enjoys over his rivals lies in the
personal nature of his rule; he is a firm believer in the patriarchal
system and an upholder of old traditions ; and the only form of kingdom
which would be possible in Kurdistan is one established on some such
lines as that of King Husein in the Hejaz, on a tribal basis. \ Mahmud
himself would be glad to welcome a British mandate; he realises that
foreign support would be necessary for the establishment of the royal
power in internal politics,ifor the creation of political and administrative
institutions and for the maintenance of order ;land that a. firm hand would
be required to control the foreign relations of the young kingdom with
the neighbouring powers, especially with the new Arab kingdom.
Though, therefore, the motives of many, perhaps of most, of those
who are working for the independence of Kurdistan are corrupt, there aie
others who have a nobler inspiration and a clearer vision, and it is but
natural that many of these should regard some form of autonomyas the