File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎175r] (347/450)

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APPENDIX (A).
1 Miscellaneous Cuttings from the Press.
1. The Treachery of the Emir of Mecca.
[Article published in the “ Berliner Tageblatt ” of the 8 th August, 1916.]
Up to the present, the defection of the former Emir of Mecca, tlussein Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , has
been wrapped in mystery. The newspapers announced on the 2 nd July that the first
Vice-President of the Senate, Sherif Ali Haidar, had been created Emir of Mecca, and
the public was informed at the same time that the deposition of Hussein Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. had
become a necessity.
According to information which they have received from mysterious “reliable
sources,” 'pro-Entente circles in Pera, and circles hostile to the Committee in Stamboul,
state that the English had landed a considerable army in Jeddah, the port of Mecca,
and that Medina and Taif were in the hands o? the apostate Emir. There appeared to
be a violent rising of all the Arabian tribes, which threatened the Turkish Syrian army
seriously on its flank. The impression was produced that a general rising of Syrian
Arabs was to be expected, and for this new misfortune which threatened Turkey a
hypocritical regret was expressed.
No one who knows the conditions in Arabia can be deceived by these reports. It
is well known that the two powerful neighbours of the Emir of Mecca on the east,
Imam Jachja and Ibn Baschid, are faithful to the Turks, as are also'the Arabs of
Southern Arabia, the so-called Hadramaut. The twelve brave Germans who landed in
Southern Arabia a few months ago from their small cutter “ Weddigen ’ were received
with friendliness by the Bedouins, and treated as guests of honour. It was only
beyond Jeddah, amongst the Bedouins in the pay of England, that their tragic late
overtook them. The Turkish troops before Aden are reinforced by soldiers of Imam
Jachja, and Ibu Baschid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , whose power extends to Mesopotamia, dealt the English,
on whose side his deadly enemy, Ibn Sand, is. fighting, a considerable blow between
Basra and Subeir. On this account he was granted the title ol General Commander-in-
Chief of the tro >ps and volunteers in that district by the Sultan, who presented him
also with two orders. _ _ > .
Hence the report that all the tribes of Arabia have risen in revolt against lurkey
is a fiction. Even the news that the former Emir Hussein Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. has comp to an agree
ment with his southern neighbour. Seid Idris, is not entirely reliable. It is true that
Seid Idris, the Lord of Assir, is making common cause with the enemies of Turkey as
he did in the Tripoli war—but there exists an ancient enmity between him and Hussein
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. . And in any case, whether a reconciliation has taken place or not, it signifies no
increase of danger. , . . , Ll , j_i
In spite of the unreliability of the above reports, it is reassuring to know that the
Turkish Government has decided to publish a detailed account of the troubles in
Mecca. The contents of the -statement published in the “ Tamn ^ have been already
telegraphed to foreign papers. Some complementary information which I have received
from reliable sources may be of interest. . .
The “ Tanin ” emphasises the fact that the behaviour of the deposed Emir since
the beginning of the war has been suspicious. In point of fact, though the Holy
War ” was announced with great solemnity in Stamboul, Damascus, and Keibela, m
Mecca itself- which, as the “ Holy City,” should have been the first to receive it—no
such proclamation was made. /> tt •
The organ of Young Turkey states that English money was the cause of Hussein
Pasha’s silence ; but it also points out that the English are able to bring pressuie to bear
upon him by the fact that they have the coasts of the Bed Sea and all its commerce m
their power. England pays for the Emir of Mecca’s neutrality by allowing t le supply
of provisions to Jeddah. It appears that some of the provisions landed there found t heir
wav via Medina to Syria, and that the English were principally concerned to prevent a
delivery of provisions to the Turks. If this version is correct, then a definite split
between Stamboul and Mecca, contrary to the interests of the English, who prner to
carry on their intrigues m secret, occurred when Hussein Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. attempted to maxe the
Turks waive their claim to the provisions landed in Jeddah.
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