File 5655/1918 Pt 2 'Mesopotamia: Refugee Camp at Baqubah (1920 – papers)' [‎95v] (196/946)

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APPENDIX.
Letter from India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. to Foreign Office, No. P. 7714, dated 2nd November 1920.
Sir,
I am directed by the Secretary of State for India to transmit, for the infor-
1 (1) ^ 0 . 12561 of istli October 1920. mation of Earl Curzon of Kedleston, copies of
(2) No. 12630 of 19th October 1920. the marginally noted telegrams 1 from the High
Commissioner, Mesopotamia, on the subject of
the Assyrian refugees in Mesopotamia. I am further to transmit a copy of a
2 B. 352,27th October 1920. memorandum 2 prepared in this Office on
the Christian communities in and around
Mesopotamia.
It will be observed from this memorandum that there is a clear distinction
between the Assyrian refugees in Mesopotamia and the so-called Assyro-Chaldeans
who originate irom the area west of Jazirat al ’Umar. Special attention is directed to
this point, because it is one on which the Freuch Government, to judge from the
notes ^ transmitted with your letters No. E. 11261/88/44 of 21st September, and
Eo. E. 11999/306/44 of 6th October, appear to be under some misapprehension.
Secondly, it will be within the recollection of Earl Curzon of Kedleston that the
consideration of the original French proposal to take over a number of these refugees
was made contingent (see Foreign Office letter No. E. 11261/88/44 of 21st September)
on the mam movement for their repatriation now in progress in the Mosul Vilayet
being, postponed until the spring of 1921. Sir P. Cox now reports (1) that the
Assyrian refugees m our charge are Nestorians whose pre-war homes w-ere well to the
east of the hiench zone and include no Assyrians of the category referred to by the
Fiench Government; and (2) that the forward movement of the first portion of
lefugees to their homes in the Urmia district has actually started and is expected to
be complete before the winter. In these circumstances Mr. Secretary Montagu
ventures to think that it is neither necessary nor desirable to take any action in the
sense of the french proposal for transplantation to the area west of Jazirat al ’Umar.
it regard to the second French note and the wider issues broached in its
paras. 2, o and 4, Mr. Montagu desires m the first place to call the attention of His
i Qtb n T b° ! e st ^ t . emeilt made by Sir P- Cox in his telegram No. 12630, dated
9ti October, regarding the general attitude of French ecclesiastics in Mesopotamia
lett^ lm ^ re8si ^ 11 conveyed in para. 3 of Foreign Office
ettu A o. 11999/306/44 of 6th October. In the circumstances Mr. Montagu would
depiecate any such action as is contemplated in para. 4 of the second French note.
1 ^ 1 r 1 +b gai \ ( ? t0para r 0 Note ’ lfc 18 of interest to record that, at the recent
e ec^on of the Municipal Council of Mosul, the one Christian elected ^s a Jacobite
oi West Syrian Christian His election would appear to imply the presence of a
considerable proportion of Jacobites in the Mosul area, though the home of he
majority is believed o be west of Jazirat al ’Umar in the French zone. Under the
regulations the Mosul Council should contain two non-Muslim members. But at the
special request ol the Christians, put forward on the ground of the excellent relations
subsisting between themselves and Muslims, the Political Officer refrained W
enforcing the regulation, the incident is significant (1) as illustratino- the general
friendliness between the two communities ; and (2) by reason of the honour conferred
m Mesopotamian territory upon a member of the sect in which the French would
appeal to have most interest. These conditions, if they continue, should afford a
considerable safeguard against any undue tendency to migrate into the French
sphere; and it would appear that, if the obiect of tho n .
ultimately to attract the Mosul Jacobites acroL the ftoutie ■ Tres/niTSou"
promise little success to their design. On the other hand, it indicates the danger
that it recognition is given to any French claim to protect acobites domiciled S
subject to dNcl /rekff toluene/ rebgl0n ’ the Chl ' istian VOte “ ^
would call for co-opelUoPbetVe^the^
fr/mfd 6 mtereStS ° £ aU thS ChristiaU SeCtS countries to“ they art
In all the circumstances Mr. Montagu would suggest for His TordshiW
tottraVTthtoAe^ond 1 ' 611 ? 11 G 3 v ® rnm . e q sho , uld be S iven tb e assurance asked for
P ' " oJ tllen second note ’ whether it be taken as referring to Assyrian refugees