Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎228r] (456/669)

- z ~
VI1
Thi
Mor
. vs Pe
rsia.
Disarmament of the
4~ ^ ~ X,
•J ± J.
'Of
'■ 1. r a T 1
excel
"j op
t
.sure ,
but
the trouble is that i
u .1. p
r<
elo.om o
a rr i a
: d 0
f;
iperiy
* On
ly too often the turb
ulen
•■F
u
s are
i 1^
t
1 n e v wh 1. 1 o
rifles are removed fr
om r
> r ts ' 1
.at ively
' hari;
1 j n* eg
s
.lager
s , wh
o have them primarily
for
U
ne in s
elf-cl
. ri A 0
n
0 0 A
, s hap
pened
during the recent Oh
ahar
J-.
.ang din
lent
■sever
rifl
ee are sometimes sold
D c i C
.‘.V,
by the
ar\ay
■ 4.
.10
bee ,
or br
iben are accepted not
to
ta
ke them
a rap
rpi
i > e
'Tic an
Lire
ctor of Finance, Jr.'?
olom
on
t Aas iii
ao e s
^ • 3? e
v\ •
i 1
UO
and largely sucoepefnl efforts to get rations of Government
intrilDuted tc the tribes* Aoart fr-on thif
mo n o p o ly go o d s
there are no signs of anything conetr
'h i
ICt-l"-.
oe in e
for their
welfare* In Lapistan, for instance, there is no civil
hospital at all and only one civil doctor* Military measures
su.ane 7/ill never succeed; but s® far all the emphasis has
been on disarmament and little has bean said about measures
to improve the welfare of the tribes, though in Khuzistan
there has been talk of a commission to examine measures
improving the condition of the Arabs*
2* The civil administration continues to be inept
and to suffer from the vices of corruption and indiscipline*
The state of the gendarmerie grows steadily worse and they
are now mere unpopular than tu" army, whose condition in this
area does not seem to have shown much improvement during the
period under review* Lupistan, nominally a civil adminis
tration, is in fact run by the G* 0.0* Luristan Li vis ion, ar__
military security officers have been appointed tc the vuriour
sub-divisions of the province ostensibly to nui
but in reality to run the tribes. The military
together be blamed for this, for the minor official}- sent
down to Lurigtan from Tehran are usually useless and the ones
recruited from among the Lurs are mostly deeply involved in
local feuds. The increase in military participation in the
administration has, however, led many local Persians to fear
that the Persian army is preparing the ground for a military-
dictatorship after the departure of Allied troops *
difficult to see how any improvement can be expected in tas
J.V.1
)Uj
tain security
* .• art. e i. a j. ■"
administration as long as the officers
salaries’
-pQ
11 sc far
short of the present cost of living. Five years ago the
price of wheat in Burujird was forty tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per t@n; it is
now three hundred. The rise in the index figure for the
cost c-f J.iving has corresponded fairly closely to this in
crease; the rise in salaries has not* for instance, the
manager of the cotton ginning plant at Burujird gets only two
hundred tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. a month extra as an allowance for the increased
cost of living, bringing up his salary to 450 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per
month. Five years ago he used to get 100 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. a month so
that the rise in his emoluments has not kept pace with the
rise in prices. He is, however, well off compared with such
people as Bakhshdars on 100 - 120 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. * When a pair of
Ideally made shoes costs eighty tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. and a pair of officer’s
field boots is more than a month’ p pay of an army ox- gendarmerie
subaltern, it is no wonder that universal, corruption prevents
any improvement in the administration* Nearly all Persians
are corrupt by nature and the present economic pressure
magnifies this natural propensity to really staggering pro
portions. If the Persian Government would give its civil
and military officers ration issues of the necessities of life
at reasonable prices, I believe matters might possibly improve.
At present they get more favourable treatment as regards the
issue of cloth, sugar and tea, but this is not really sneagh*
•such a measure would not be likely to send up prices still more,
as a mere increase in salaries would probably do. This corr
uption has a considerable effect on the effectiveness of
Persian official co-operation with the Allies. Taking this
iut* consideration their co-operation has been fairly good, but
/it cannot