Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎220v] (440/749)

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3. Some embarrassment has been caused to the Government and some
resentment in the Court by Dr. Millspaugh’s summary dismissal, without previous
consultation with the Government, of the Governor of the National Bank, an
influential and outstanding personality who stands well with the Court. The
Government has decided that the dismissal was not within Dr. Millspaugh’s
competence—a decision which has given much pleasure to Dr. Millspaugh’s many
enemies and has not enhanced his prestige or his reputation for political wisdom.
4. In Persia the war in Europe now takes second place in popular interest
to the conflict that Persians are now convinced is taking place between British
and Russian policies—in Poland, in the Balkans, in Persia. In Persia they think
they see the British, struggling to preserve the appearance of concord with their
powerful ally, yielding, as little as may be perhaps, to Russian anti-British
aggressiveness. Attacks on British policy in certain Persian papers are well
known to have been inspired by the Russians; and the nature of the enquiries
made by Soviet officials of Persian officials leaves no doubt of the discord between
Russian and British policies in Persia.
5. Sartip Abdullah Hidayet, Under-Secretary of State for War, has been
appointed Acting Minister for War.
Economic.
6 . Dr. Millspaugh has issued a circular instruction to all Ministries
notifying them that the special powers given to him in economic and financial
matters will in future be exercised under the general supervision of the Minister
of Finance. All regulations and correspondence on matters of policy will be
signed jointly by Dr. Millspaugh as Administrator-General of the Finances and
by the Minister of Finance.
7. The Government has approved the grant of a credit of 1 million rials
to the Ministry of the Interior for the reform and improvement of prisons.
8 . Some progress has been made with the distribution of monopoly goods—
cloth, tea and sugar—in tribal areas. Over 100,000 rations were distributed to
the Qashgai; 200,000 rations were available for distribution to the Bakhtiari,
but lack of cash prevented the tribesmen from taking more than 60,000.
Distribution has also been made in Khuzestan on a wide scale and in Luristan,
and it is hoped that a beginning will shortly be made with the Kurds.
Internal Security.
Kurdistan.
9. His Majesty’s Consul-General in Azerbaijan reports that during a recent
tour west of Lake Rezaieh he found generally a much healthier atmosphere as
regards the Kurds. There was evidence of some slight recognition on their part
of Persian authority and of an increasing realisation of the possibility of its
re-establishment throughout Kurdish territory. Kurds were talking of the
necessity of finding a modus vivendi with the Persian authorities, and some Kurds
spontaneously expressed loyalty to the Persian Govei'innent. Qazi Muhammad
of Mahabad, who has been credited with being the protagonist of the Kurdish
independence movement in those parts, admitted that all Kurds did not want
independence; many would be content with an administration that gave them
some consideration : schools where Kurdish would be allowed, health services,
better communications; in general more positive help from Government combined
with some degree of autonomy in purely local affairs.
The improvement in local atmosphere the consul-general attributes partly to
an apparent cessation in Soviet political activity and partly to the personality
of the Military Governor-General, Colonel Darakshani.
10. In the Mahabad area the Kurds were said to be fairly orderly, but
further north the Jalali, Herki and Shakak were being a pest to their settled
neighbours. The Russian authorities had at last agreed to the location of
300 troops at Maku and to their employment for the protection of villages against
marauding Kurds.
11. There is no further news from Baneh, nor is it known where Hama
Rashid has taken refuge. The Minister without portfolio, Fahimi, is due in
Baneh shortly with supplies of tea, sugar and cloth. He will make recommenda
tions to Government regarding the future administration of Baneh district.
Qazi Muhammad and other chiefs of the Mahabad district have been summoned
to Tehran for a conference with the Government, whose intentions as regards the
Kurds are benevolent, although they may not have the capacity to translate them
into practice nor the power to control the rapacity of their local officials.