'ARBITRATION CONCERNING BURAIMI AND THE COMMON FRONTIER BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND SA'ŪDI ARABIA' [With maps] [‎57r] (118/541)

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Sa‘ud for instructions, and asked about Abu Dhahi\ Hnimc a*w .. •
with the Ruler, Sir Rupert Hay stated the frontier claimed byA^u Dhabi wasf- 11
(i) A line from Sa uda Nathil to the southernmost tip of the Sabkhnt
including within Abu Dhabi 'Aqlat al-Rimth and Batr al-Tarfa ’
(n) A line from the southernmost tip of the Sabkhat Matti to al-Oaraini-
(m) A line from al-Qaraini to ‘Umm al-Zamul.
This line, starting from a point near the centre of the Qatar boundary would have
the effect of leaving to Abu Dhabi its historic coast-line from the Khaur al-‘UdaId
eastwards and the territory lying between that coast-line and the edge of the ^reat
desert of the Rub' al-Khali. The areas thus included within Abu Dhabi are no
only the natural hinterland of Abu Dhabi’s coast-line, but, since time immemorial
have been the home of the principal Abu Dhabi tribe—the Bani Yas. ’
63. At the fourth plenary session, the British delegation, at the request of the
'Amir Faisal, gave a resume of the main evidence supporting Abu Dhabi’s claim to
the boundary, which the Ruler had defined at the previous session. This resume
ran as follows:—
“ The Shaikh of Abu Dhabi claims that the western boundary between his
territory and Saudi Arabia begins at Sauda Nathil. He agrees that everything
to the west of this point belongs to Saudi Arabia but declares that it is well
known that the ground to the east and south of this point and indeed of a line
drawn from Sauda Nathil to the southern most tip of the Sabkhat Matti is the
territory of Abu Dhabi. This area is admittedly barren. Apart from the coast
and the camel routes passing through the area it is little used. However, at
such times as there is grazing available, it is frequented by the Beni Yas who
are an Abu Dhabi tribe. Occasionally members of other tribes come there
but in small numbers. Such persons as settle there for short periods are Beni
Yas.
“ Moreover, it is also well known among the Arabs who go to this area
that the coast and the fishing rights off the coast belong exclusively to Abu
Dhabi. It is always recognised that those wishing to fish with nets off these
shores must first obtain a licence from the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and pay him a
fee. Thus the coast from Khor al ’Odaid to Ras al Hamra (52° 30' E.) has
been licensed to Darwish Bu al Haddad of the Rumaithi sub-section of the
Beni Yas since 1365H. and he pays an annual fee of Rs. 350/- to the Ruler for
the right to fish there. Details of similar licences issued by the Ruler are
available. There are no Saudi fishermen on these shores.
“ His Britannic Majesty’s Government are able to confirm from their
own records that the Khor al ’Odaid has long been regarded as Abu Dhabi
territory. For example, in 1891 the Ottoman Government tried to send a mudir
to ’Odaid. Diplomatic representations were immediately made by His [s/c]
Britannic Majesty’s Government to the Ottoman Government on the ground
that it was Abu Dhabi territory and the Ottoman Government abandoned
their proposal in consequence.
“ To the east of the Sabkhat Matti lies the Dhafara. This is inhabited
mainly by two tribes—the Beni Yas and the Manasir. The Beni Yas are the
predominant tribe, far outnumbering the Manasir in the area. Moreover, the
Beni Yas are more settled than the Manasir who are mostly nomadic. Those
of the Beni Yas who own palms in Liwa spend half the year in Liwa and the
remainder on the coast or in Abu Dhabi. A number of the Manasir own palms
in Liwa: they settle there in the summer and graze their flocks beyond in the
Dhafara for the remainder of the year. The Beni Yas, as has already been
stated, are an Abu Dhabi tribe and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi also claims the
Manasir to be his followers. They fought for him in the war against Dubai
and a number of his retainers are drawn from sub-sections of this tribe—a list
is available.
“It is also noteworthy that the Beni Yas and the Manasir follow the
Maliki rite and not the Hanbali rite of the Wahhabis, which is strong evidence
of their affinity with Abu Dhabi rather than with Saudi Arabia.
“ According to Lorimer’s Gazetteer written in 1908, the Dhafara belongs
to Abu Dhabi. He says: ‘ Dhafara is a part of Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and the whole
of it falls within the political sphere of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi to whose
principality it may accordingly be considered to belong ’.