Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎227r] (454/669)

JSLj
APPRE CIATION.OF LOCAL. .CQT -D.TTIC).
MAT - ^EPTSl^EP.jH^S-
QO
I Pidtfal
h" the '
rn# t ne:
po. id th«
b/.lQ
Of til
har-
( Duping the period under revieV. Jtr.
situation has remained the chief problem with whi
Persian authorities have had to deal p and the one
iy affecting our interests# Though it cannot be
except in .Khuzistan, the prestige of the Government has
increased, on the whole internal security ‘thr«ugh#5it
area has not deteri#rated; in Khuzistan, as a resUi
stern action taken against the Arabs of the Mian~Ab B
much improved# The tribes in this district can be'class-
ified into four main divisions, the Lurs of Luristan; the
Arabs of Khuzistanj the Kuhgalu, where tribal affairs are
linked up with the Qashgais #f Pars; and the Balchtiari, of
whom gome, such as the Janeki, live near the oil fields-
and^some come d#wn the vicinity of the oil fields and the
railway in tne winter# Both Mortoze Quli Khan and fasir
ilhan are therefore factors with which the authorities here
have to reckan# In Luristan the feud between All llahamnad •
Ghazanfari and his cousin, Amanullah Khan, at one time
threatened to disturb the peace, and hag been the mast im
portant factor in the tribal situation there# After a deal
of intrigue and manoeuvering All Mohammad has at last de
parted for Tehran, and Amanullah is about to follrw hiv ; #
The comparative quiet of Luristan is, however, n#t -oriiuariiy
due to the Persian authorities er army, but to the nre-.
sence of Allied troops, and the impression gained from many
eonversations with Persians of all classes is that, as *oon
as Allied troops leave the cauntry, trouble will break cut#
This applies not only to Luristan, where the tribes ar^'
estimated te have 9000 to 10,000 rifles, but' also the #ther
ieying an I
parts »f this consular district# In fact M
manoeuvering f«r position -against the day when. Allied
troops depart seems to be g#ing •n in several places#
Morteza Quli Khan has been pressing for the disarmament of
the Ghahar Lang ana succeeded in getting the Persi an army
to undertake operations, which, however, did not have im
portant results, and only removed a certain number of rifles
from «ne half of the Mamivand, the «ther half, to whom the
local Persian security officer# belonged, managing to re-^
tain mogt oi its rifles# At the moment the position 1 b
obscure, for while the local Persian -Security Officer says
that the General -Staff have instructed him that the Chahar
Lang Maxnkvand are under the Governor of Bum jird and rot
under Morveza Quli Khan, the latter is attempting t# taake
a change in the chieftainship of one of the Ghahar Lar.g"
tribes# Morteza Quli Khan has als# been unreasonable in
not^ allowing the Finance Department to open, an office at
Izeh, while at the same tiije apparently expecting that the
local tribes will receive their ration of Government cloth,
sugar and tea# The policy of the l«cal authorities In the
Kuhgalu area has been directed to building up a bl&c cf
tribal chiefs opposed to the troublesome Abdullah Khar
Zarghampur# This policy, though hampered by the fact that
there is no money available to redeem promisee made by a
former Minister of War to one of the chiefs that he will be
paid by the Government for maintaining a force of armed men
was going well until it came up against the formidable hurdle
of Nasir Khan s oath to Abdullah to help him in time of
trouble. Both the Governor-General and the G o 0,C# Ihuzistan
Division are in Tehran discussing what is to be done. The
i con c 0.0#C#, emboldened by his success in subduing the Mian-At
Arabs, is in a bexlic#seof mind, and considers that
the Qashgais will not actively assist Abdullah# He is also
very anxious t# disarm some raor^ Arabs as he does hot,in '
nis own words, "want to have to fight a war on two f^orts’h
ii.e. against Arabs and Kuhgalug) as soon as the Allied troops
/leave