'ARBITRATION CONCERNING BURAIMI AND THE COMMON FRONTIER BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND SA'ŪDI ARABIA' [With maps] [‎43v] (91/541)

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the Tamlmah of the Nairn in the Oasis. They also show that the jurisdiction of the
Wah of Sohar extended to the Oasis, as will appear in a later Sect.on of thts
Memorial.
Exercise of Jurisdiction by the Sultan of Muscat and ‘Oman
28 The administration of ‘Oman is effected in behalf of the Sultan by his
Minister of the Interior, Saiyld ‘Ahmad bin ‘Ibrahim, a ^he rulmg house.
Below him, there are two concurrent systems of administration. In the major
towns there are full-time officials, appointed by the Sultan known as Walls I n
the tribal districts, the Sultan appoints, as his representative the local tribal leaders
who perform the functions of Wali in their tribal areas. Difficult or important legal
disputes they habitually refer to one of the Walls. The Wahs receive regular
salaries, and the tribal representatives regular allowances.
29. When, in 1869, Saiyid ‘Azzan bin Qais, the Sultan of Muscat, evicted
for good the Sa’udi intruders in Buraimi, he appointed one, Braik bin Soliman, as
Wali of Buraimi. Braik does not appear to have served for long, and was replaced
by Muhammad bin Ali, the Tciiwwicih (Paramount Shaikh) of the Na im, as the
Sultan’s representative. He, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Sultan bin Muham
mad, who was one of Saiyid Turki’s adherents. Sultan s successors were his two
sons’ Muhammad bin Sultan and Saqr bin Sultan, the present Shaikh of Buraimi
village. All of these have been in succession Tamimah of the Nahm, and ex officio
representatives in Buraimi of the Sultan.
30. Saqr bin Sultan, the present Tamlmah, upon succeeding to his office,
wrote to the Sultan reporting the death of his brother, and affirming that 66 the
understanding between you and him is confirmed by us, as it was in the time of
our fathers ” (1) . In 1948, Saqr was confirmed in his position as Tamlmah by all
the Shaikhs of the Nairn—including A1 bu Shamis—and other Shaikhs of the
neighbourhood of Buraimi, in the cirucmstances described in Part III of this
Memorial.
31. In 1948, one, Salim bin Samsun, who was employed by Saqr bin Sultan
to look after his interests in Dhank, and referred to by him as his Wali, was
murdered. When this event occurred, Saqr bin Sultan wrote (2) to the Sultan to
say:—
“ We would inform you of what has happened in Dhank. Your servant,
the Wali, went to the market of Matar bin Salim al- 4 AzizL On leaving the
suq he [al-^Azizi] established an ambush; they fired their rifles at him [the
Wali] on his leaving the suq, and treacherously and murderously shot him
dead. It is our duty to tell you this. I would request Your Honour to take
the necessary action. We are dependent on God and on you, and shall
remain so, Inshallah ”.
This letter is clear evidence that Saqr regarded the writ of the Sultan as running in
_ c "? tnc V bn 1 Salim subsequently gave himself up to Saiyid 6 Ahmad bin
Ibrahim, the Sultan’s Minister of the Interior, in Buraimi.
,. i Although the Paramount Shaikh of the Naim is the Sultan’s representa
tive m the Buraimi zone, the ease of communication between Buraimi and Sohar
hat*th5wtll! 6 autho J lty of the wa li of the latter place extends there,
to 4 n th xl “?• of c t - f ? e area fre quently refer their problems to him. Thus, in
t] 4 Pi Muhammad bin Sahmm bin Rahmah, Shaikh of the Badawin group of the
A1 bu Shamis, wrote a long letter to the Wall, reporting attacks by the neonle of
cameTs bvThe^WaffiL^to^wn^r 1 ?^ and als ° referrin g to the theft of P some
the Dhawahir and so wa'I hld'^ iad su Pposed to have been committed by
examnle of the exerci Jnf t dm ? 9 ie , lr camels m Punishment 13 -. Another typical
bv the WSli of Sar o^ f hls , Jur ' s 1 d 'et | ° n amongst the tribes of the Buraimi zone
t^Mh^o^hfv^SyTfto ™ ’ the WMtitt- 8 ' 016 Came ' S
carrving letters nf nnim-Tm, r ' x , ] 16 Wa h °f Sohar went to investigate,
assistonce of Snar hffi ^nhE T ^ Mm ' ster of the Interior, and enlisted the
shoulders ” Ah tt wil in’ t0 USC hlS °T n P hrase ’ “ to °k the case on his
the thieves were anmehendid K r°' operat ® d wit h the Wali, and, eventually,
me thieves were apprehended by Muhammad bin Salimin bin Rahmah’s group of
l See Annex F, No. 8, Letter No. 2.
(2) See ibid.. Letter No. 10.
(3) See ibid., Letter No. 4.