Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎64r] (131/380)

MIDDLE EAST COMMITTEE.
Mesopotamia : British Engagements as to future Status.
I.—Pledges to local Arabs, &c.
1. Sir l*. Cox wrote as follows to various Aran Chiefs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
region (including Pin Sand and the Sheikh of Mohammerah) in November
1914 :—
1 a in authorised by mv Government to assure 'l our Excellency that in
the event of our success—and succeed we shall, Inshallah—Basra will
never again be allowed to be subject to Turkish authority.”
In acknowledging Sir P. Cox’s letter, the Chiefs of Maskat, Koweit, and
El Katr said that they had circulated the information which it contained.
2. A proclamation addressed to the people of Basra and issued on the
22nd November 1914, contained the following passage :—
“ We have no enmity or ill-will against the populace, to whom we hope
to prove good friends and protectors. No remnant of Turkish
administration now remains in this region. In place thereof the
British Hag has been established, under which you will enjoy the
benefits of liberty and justice both in regard to your religious and
your secular affairs.”
3. In December 1914 Sir P. Cox asked for authority to make a definite
public announcement to the effect that “our occupation of Basra is
permanent.” His Majesty’s Government demurred, on the ground that’such
an announcement “ would be regarded as a definite breach of the under-
“ taking between the Allies that a final settlement must await the end of the
war ; but they raised no objection to a proposal made by tiie Government
of India that Sir P. Cox “ should allow it to be understood in conversation
“ that places where we assume control with the co-operation of the
“ inhabitants may in all circumstances count on our future protection
“ against the Turks.”
4. On the 3rd February 1915 the Viceroy (Lord Ifardinge), replying to a
deputation at Basra, said : —
4 ou are, of course, aware that, in the great struggle in which we are
involved, we are not fighting single-handed, and we cannot therefore
lay down plans for the future without a'full exchange of views with
the other great Powers who are our Allies ; but in any case we may
be permitted to indulge a very confident assurance that henceforth a
' more benign administration will bring back to Iraq that prosperity to
which her rich potentialities give her so clear a title.”
5. The famous proclamation issued by General Maude “ to the people
of Baghdad (19th March 1917) on the occupation of the city contained
nothing amounting to an absolute pledge that Baghdad would never be
allowed to revert to Ottoman rule; but the general sense of the document
(the language of which, it will be remembered, was adopted after very
careful consideration by Ilia Majesty’s Government) pointed strongly in that
direction. Its character can only be conveyed by copious quotation. After
opening with an assurance that “ our armies do not come into your
cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators,” and dwelling
upon the evils wrought by Turkish rule in the past, the proclamation
proceeded :—
(4) Since the days of Midhat, the Turks have talked of reforms, yet do
not the ruins and wastes of to-day testify the vanity of' those
promises ?