"تقرير الإدارة عن المقيمية السياسية في الخليج الفارسي للأعوام ١٩١٥-١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎١‎٥] (٣٩٦/٣٧)

20
PERSIAN QTTLF ADMINISTRATION REPORT
were particularly attracted by the Bakhtiari Governors they had had imposed
upon them before and the Sirdar Zafar's avowedly pro-British sympathies were
particularly distasteful to the Democrats, so that there was more than a
sneaking hope that his tour might end disastrously for him. The ^ Democrats
sent letters to Gunj Ali Khan encouraging him in his opposition to the
Governor-General and, when the latter returned to Kerman with his Bakhtiaris
flushed with their complete victory over the combined tribes, tbey felt very
nervous and subdued. While the Governor-General was still held up by
Gunj Ali Khan, the advanced agent of the Germans, one Daud Ali Khan, a
temporary Muhammadan but really a Bengali Babu, had arrived in Kerman
and had been given a most enthusiastic reception by the whole town. Shortly
after the Governor-General's return the two Germans, Messrs, Zugmeyer and
Greisinger arrived. Partly from a feeling that they had rather overdone the
reception of the subordinate and partly from fear of the Governcr-General the
town received them with less demonstration but with much joy in anticipa
tion of material benefits. The weavers thought they were going to set all the
looms working full time and the rest of the people expected them to restore
trade and cheap prices. All thought they were going to fulfil the Persian
ideal, in others, of throwing money about with both hands. When they first
arrived, the German thrust into Poland had only just begun, the Mesopotamian
campaign was going all in our favour and the Gallipoli operations were ex
pected to result in the opening of the Dardanelles and the fall of Constanti
nople, so that the Democrats did not hope to do more than annoy the Russians
and British in Persia by a display of pro-German feeling. But the German
advance and Prussian retreat developed on a large scale, there was a long pause
in Mesopotamia and then a British set-back, and the Gallipoli operations
came to a deadlock. The Germans in Kerman had made it quite clear that
the Governor-General was not disposed to allow his pro-British inclinations
to commit him definitely to the unpopular and possibly losing side, and gradu
ally the Democrats began to see much greater possibilities. The Karguzar
was their leading spirit and they backed up the Germans in their systematic
under-mining of the Govern or-General's authority by adding local pressure to
make him give way before each fresh aggresion of the Germans. The Germans
disappointed all the bright hopes of the general populace. They only spent
their money on surrounding themselves with cut-throats and bullies who
became the terror of the town, or in bribing bad characters to try and raise
riots, and, in a few months, the ordinary Kermani was very sorry that they
# had ever come. They however served the purpose of the Democrats by puttin'o*
the turbulent and disorderly element completely in the ascendant and the
rest of the town into aumb fear, while the Governor-General refused to join,
but was unwilling to oppose them. There had been a certain amount of
coming and going of Germans and Austrians between Kerman and Yazd and
Ispahan, but no large number of them had remained in the vicinity till Novem
ber when a party of over thirty, with about seventy Persian levies, arrived in Yazd
They forcibly requisitioned medical stores and instruments from, the Missionary
hospital but, at first, they did not otherw ise molest the British Colony or display
any aggressive intentions. But nearly a month after their arrival they suddenly
one day seized the Bank and Telegraph Office and confined the Europeans
to their own houses. This spurred on the Kerman Democrats who felt
satisfied that they had command of the situation and were afraid of losing
it to the Germans if the Yazd party came on to Kerman, and so they deter^
mined to push the matter at once. They knew that the Governor-General
had solemnly promised His Majesty's Consul that he would protect the
Europeans, and they wished to avoid a collision with the Bakhtiaris. Their
object therefore was, if possible, to get the Europeans out of Kerman without
attackmg them and tney desired to demonstrate to the Governor-General and
to the Europeans that they were prepared to go to extremes, if necessary, and
that the Europeans had better quit. With this object they decided to murder
P eiso ^ s wll0 5 tnough not actually Europeans, were sufficiently identified
w ith them to make it clear that their removal was a warning to the Europeans.
These hu) persons were larukh Shah, a cousin of the Ao-ha Khan and
HussajnofF, the Agent m Kerman of Castelli Brothers. Both had alread'y in
clined the enmity of the Democrats and had been warned that their lives were