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Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [503r] (1005/1031)
The record is made up of 1 file (515 folios). It was created in 10 Apr 1941-19 Mar 1947. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
I
(
[CYPHER]o
DISTRIBUTION B.
From^ IRkQo
FROM BAGDAD TO THE FOREIGN OFFICE
Sir K# Cornwallis,
Not 501 o
.Iprli yth, 1941*
Do 4o00 poiru
Ro 2 o 2 5 a * in#
April*9th> 1941^
April lOih, 1941
Repeated to Cairo telegram No* 150*
Angora telegram No<> 99*
^ Government of India telegram No. 76* '
Air Officer Commanding Iraq telegram No* 38*
Jerusalem telegram No# 65#
IMMEDIATE*
yyyyyyy
My telegram No, 299 c
The situation has changed very adversely during the
last few days<> The Regent’s chances of organising an
effective resistance in the immediate future have
disappeared^ He is isolated at Basra and has no
supporters in the country who are bold enough to come
into the open on his behalf.. Strong latent [grp,undec]
and cgnsiderable public [?objection7 no doubt exist but
new regime is in complete control of the country and
probably considerable time must pass before active
opposition to it can be organisedo Nothing short of
armed intervention on our part can hurt Rashid Ali at
present and his propaganda in general is so strong that
if it is decided to use force* we shall have to take
careful precautions to ensure that our .action is not
resented by the people^ Last week most of them would
have welcomed ito The general deterioration has been
so rapid that I do not think that general adoption
of second course [2 grpsoundec] can do much more for
the moment than encourage the spirit of non-
cooperation with Rashid Ali among the Regent 1 s
supporters thoughJgrpoundec:? it would] be extremely
embarrassing to him in the long run# Air demonstrations
by themselves would not be sufficient to turn the scale'
and I do not advise them unless the situation changes#
Opinions vary as to probable effect on Rashid Ali of
adoption of this policy,, I see no reason to change
the opinion expressed in my telegram -281 bq t the actions of
a gang of unscrupulous ruffians cannot be treated with
certainty and there is alv/ays the possibility that they
will resort to violent oocrcior&>
From above information^ it will be seen that unless
we use force we shall have a long delay [remainder of
paragraph undecypherabJe]«
About this item
- Content
This file is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2862. It contains correspondence and memoranda regarding relations between HM Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ) and the Government of Iraq, and documents the reaction of 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. and Foreign Office to political developments within Iraq. The file opens with descriptions of the situation following the coup d'état of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, and documents the build-up to the Anglo-Iraqi War (2-31 May 1941), including the arrival of British and Indian troops in Basra (under rights granted in the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930), arrangements to evacuate the Regent 'Abd al-Illah, British attempts to shore up support from the Turkish and Egyptian authorities, and Axis propaganda in Iraq. The papers then contain communications regarding the progress of the war, including reports on troop movements, the dispatch of war materials, the actions of Germany, Italy, France and Turkey, and Indian public opinion regarding the conflict. These papers consist of dispatches sent by the British Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) to the Foreign Office, as well as numerous copy communications between the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Section, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Kuwait, the Viceroy of India, and HM Ambassador to the United States.
From the end of the war the file consists primarily of dispatches from Cornwallis to the Foreign Office, reporting on the return of the Regent, the pogrom against the Jewish community, the breaking of diplomatic relations with Vichy France and Japan, the trial of the coup supporters, the Iraqi declaration of war against Germany, Italy and Japan, the possibility of Iraqi membership of the United Nations, and the release of political prisoners from the Ammara [̔Amāra] concentration camp. The regular dispatches also contain details of various cabinet crises, and details of the domestic economic and military situation. The file contains a small amount of material for the years 1944-1946, including annual reports submitted by Cornwallis and his successor, Sir Hugh Stonehewer-Bird.
The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references found in the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-4).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (515 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 515; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-514; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2863
- Title
- Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:15v, 17r:86v, 90v:105v, 107r:119v, 121r:298v, 300r:304v, 307r:373r, 379r:401v, 405r:515v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence