Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎117v] (239/982)

in discussing with some of his colleagues the situation created by the affa'
Princess Azzah, had argued that the Royal Family had been so disgraced
there was nothing for it but to depose King Ghazi and to set up a Council
that
Regency to govern the country until the infant Crown Prince came of age" y '
explained that, when this came to his knowledge, he had discussed the & matter 8
private with Rashid Ali, who had agreed with him that the course advocated bv
Nuri would be disastrous. They had, however, both thought that Nuri’s vie ' ^
might have had their origin in suggestions made to him either in your Deuart"
ment, during his recent visit to London, or by myself in Bagdad. Yasin recalled
that, within the last ten days or so, I had questioned him about King Ghazi’
position, and said that he had decided to ask me frankly whether Nuri’s idea
had been inspired by His Majesty’s Government.
7. He went on to explain that, in his opinion, any plot to set King Ghazi
aside would expose the country to the danger of general anarchy. In Iraq no
one trusted anyone else, each one was jealous of his neighbour, and it would be
impossible to find a group of men who commanded respect or authority enough
to be able to rule as Regents without exciting the envy and hostility of a number
of dangerous rivals. If King Ghazi were deposed, a struggle for power would
be sure to follow and the country would be brought to ruin. One had only to
think how such a state of things would be exploited by the Shiah and Kurdish
tribes in order to realise to what disasters the step which Nuri proposed would
lead. I replied that I felt bound to agree that he had rightly described the
situation which would be likely to arise, and I said that I shared his views
about Nuri’s plan.
8 . Yasin then said that he understood that Nuri had even gone so far as to
suggest that he (Yasin) himself should be Regent. Such an idea was as ill-
judged in itself as it was repugnant to him personally. He had no wish whatever
to become Regent. Indeed, if he were to, he would certainly be accused of having
engineered the disgrace of the princess in order to usurp supreme power.
9. I said that I had received no record of any conversation which Nuri
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. might have had at the Foreign Office concerning the marriage of the
princess, and that I could confidently assure his Excellency that it was out of
the question that even a hint of such an idea as deposing King Ghazi could
have been given to Nuri without my having been informed.
10 . I then asked the Prime Minister to tell me to what extent, in his view,
King Ghazi’s position had been damaged by the marriage. Yasin replied that
public feeling was running so high that it might be difficult for King Ghazi to
hold his own unless his honour were speedily retrieved. It was His Majesty’s
first and obvious duty to kill his sister with his own hand. His lost honour
could not properly be regained by means of a hired assassin. If King Ghazi
killed the princess promptly, he could hold up his head again and look people
in the face. Otherwise, as time went on, his position might become so shaken
as to be beyond saving. The Prime Minister spoke without excitement, choosing
his words with deliberation.
11 . I replied that much of what he said, both about the gravity of the
shock to King Ghazi’s prestige and the pitiless method of restoring it, was
confirmed by what I had recently heard elsewhere. I thought it my urgent duty
to warn him that public opinion outside Iraq, which, I was sure he would agree,
could not be ignored, would look at the affair in a different light. Morganatic
marriages had become commonplace among some Royal families of Europe, and
nowadays little or no stigma attached to them. For a few days the “ romance”
of the story was given prominence in the press, and then it was quickly forgotten.
On the other hand, if His Majesty murdered his sister, no matter what justifi
cation there might be for such an act under Arab custom, he would so horrify
the civilised world that he would be disgraced for ever.
12. The Prime Minister listened attentively and then said that he had
been turning over in his mind the possible and, in his view, the inadequate
alternative of securing the annulment of the marriage and the return of the
princess to her own country. The Iraqi Minister at Rome had, in fact, already
made a special appeal in King Ghazi’s name to King Victor Emmanuel and
Signor Mussolini to have the marriage annulled, and had received a not
discouraging reply. I enquired what would be done with the princess if she
were brought back to Iraq. The Prime Minister replied that she would be
declared to be insane and shut up. When I asked if her life would be safe, he