Ext 5001/41 'PERSIA – INTERNAL (Miscellaneous despatches).' [‎37r] (73/248)

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O British Propaganda A ctimties.
43. A slight increase in the sales of the Tehran Daily News, published by
the Public Relations Bureau, was noted during the last three months. The
continued and growing success of the Children's Newspaper, published in Persian,
has aroused a certain amount of comment in the Persian press probably caused
by a feeling of envy that their own publications have not achieved the same
2 measure of popularity amongst their own people.
44. The showing of Ministry of Information newsreels in public cinemas
throughout Persia has suffered on account of the strike of the Tehran cinemas
which have remained closed for some six or seven weeks as a protest against new
municipal taxes. The Films Section of the Public Relations Bureau is, however,
more active than ever, operating seven touring cinema vans and nine portable
16-mm. projectors in British Council Institutes and local colleges and schools
in addition to its own Tehran Newsreel Theatre where free educational
programmes are shown to school-children twice every morning during term-
time. There is a constantly growing demand for film shows from all varieties and
classes of Persian associations. British feature films have hitherto been
conspicuous by their absence from Persian cinemas, and it is good to report that
in December the first important sale of British films was completed by the Public
Relations Bureau with contracts placed for twenty-four films.
45. His Majesty’s consulates continue to be fed with publicity material for
distribution although this is hampered by the arbitrary holding-up of apparently
innocuous material by the Russian censors. It is remarked that there are
increasing requests for new reading rooms in the provinces. The Irano-Soviet
Cultural Society is trying to increase its influence in the provinces by methods
which are not alw T ays popular.
46. This embassy has had under review the question of broadcasting in
foreign languages from Tehran Radio. This embassy and various other Allied
Missions in Tehran each have short periods allotted to them every week for
propaganda broadcasts. It was in any case clear that this was one of the first
propaganda activities which this embassy would have to close down when things
began to return to normal in Persia; certain other Allied Missions, such as the
Netherlands Legation and the French delegation were already losing interest in
their own broadcasts; the Polish Legation broadcasts were becoming less and
less necessary as the number of Polish evacuees diminished; finally (as reported
in an earlier section) these foreign propaganda broadcasts had led to an
undesirable censorship squabble between this embassy, defending the interests
of the Polish Legation, and the Soviet Embassy, defending those of the Polish
Patriots. This embassy therefore recommended" to the Ministry of Information
that they should take the lead in giving up these broadcasts, and it has been
decided to withdraw on the 21st March, the Persian New Year’s day.
Indian Affairs.
47. In October an Indo-Iranian Cultural Society was formed in Tehran and
was given its official baptism on the 17th at a public meeting which was
attended by the Persian Prime Minister and His Majesty’s representative and
leading Persian educationalists. By the 4th December the statutes and rules of
the society were finally approved and published, and a Managing Committee of
fourteen chosen, i.e. :—
(1) Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
(2) Persian Minister for Education.
(3) The Chancellor of the Tehran University.
(4) The head of the Persian College of Arts.
(5) The representative of the British Council in Persia.
(6) One representative of the British Embassy (the Government of India
counsellor).
(7) The attache for Indian affairs.
(8) The Indian Trade Commissioner; and
(9) Six prominent savants of Persia approved by the Minister of Education.
The society meets weekly and is at present busy trying to find Persian lads
capable of taking up the seventeen scholarships generously offered by the Govern
ment of India, viz. : (1) Six at the Aitchison College, Lahore; (2) four at the
Agricultural College at Lyallpur; (3) two at the Forest Rangers course in Dehra
[66—58] c