Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎242r] (483/749)

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14. At the same airfield the Russians have some 400 lorries, although for
their needs they require no more than fifty or sixty; and some 800 men stationed
there are regularly trained in battle drill, anti-lank action, &c. Reports are
circulating to the effect that some thousands of suits of civilian clothing have been
ordered, and the popular theory is that Russian troops will be dressed in these to
_y\^take part in Tudeh demonstrations.
15. The Persian committee that was formed for the collection of funds for
Soviet sufferers from the war has published its final accounts, showing that a sum
of 7,801,651 rials has been handed to the Soviet Ambassador.
French Affairs.
16. General de Gaulle passed through Tehran on his return from Moscow,
leaving Tehran on the 14th December.
Appendix.
Extracts from Russian subsidised Persian Press.
Azhir, 10 th December, 1944.
LEADER entitled “ Is the New British Policy Right? ” prints at the top
of the article the following verse from Sa’di : “ I heard that a lamb was saved
by a great man from the mouth of a wolf. In the evening he brought out his
knife and began to cut the throat of the lamb. The lamb complained and said :
‘ You, who rescued me from the clutches of the wolf, I see that at the end you
are wolf.' ” The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. states that he had learned the meaning of this story
when he was a child. He then goes on to say that in spite of the loud protesta
tions and announcements and charters, nevertheless there was abundant witness
that force still prevailed in the world. On the previous day the Belgian people
w-ere fired upon and they w 7 ere told that they had no right to Jtake steps against
a Government which had left them without a guardian in the savage war of the
Nazis and had taken refuge in London, where it had passed its time with
ceremonial visits. Although the youth of Belgium had shed its blood for the
freeing of its homeland and suffered hunger, imprisonment and exile, and crimes
had been committed against it by the Nazis, it had finally driven out from its
homeland the evil forces of fascism and puppets of foreigners. It was now
considered as rebels and was obliged to lay down its arms without query and to
surrender to a Government which threatened it, in the event of refusal, with the
great forces w 7 hich it (that Government) had rescued from the battlefields of
Hitler and stored up for such a day; The youth of Belgium was told by this
Government that it had been freed in order that it should act in accordance with
the will of that Government and that the Atlantic Charter could not be inter
preted in any other way. Of course, the people should decide their ow r n destinies.
The British people would do this, but under the force of arms and the yoke of
that Government. After Belgium came the turn of Greece. The British Prime
Minister in his speech revealed the hidden plan of British Conservative states
men. The world had opened its eyes and realised the true meaning of these
charters. It had realised that the colonial policy of the leaders of the Conserva
tive party and other reactionary British elements would not change so easily.
The British reactionaries, contrary to the desire of the British people, wmuld not
refrain from using force and holding dowm weak peoples with pressure.
Churchill said the Greek people naturally were free to decide their own destiny.
They could choose whatever regime they liked, but they had no right to take action
in this matter, and the different classes in Greece could not struggle with each
other in order to determine what regime they should have. If they took up arms
Churchill had said that the British, in the name of the preservation of security,
would prevent any kind of violent action. These apparently logical words had a
frightening meaning which Churchill’s recent speech confirmed. Churchill m
his recent speech had said that, although the Greek crusaders had shown self-
sacrifice in turning out the German invaders, they had not a majority, and the
Greek people would decide upon the Government of Greece. W ith these
apparently logical words the fight against the proud crusaders of Greece had
begun. Thus those who had liberated Athens became the targets of the British
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