مجموعة ٦/ ٩ "تقارير جدة يناير ١٩٣١ -" [و‎‎٣‎٢‎٠] (٨٠٢/٦٤٠)

consul at Port Said and to have been recently in their Embassy at Madrid.
Nothing is known as to the date of his arrival, but he has made enquiries about
housing, servants, &c., which reveal a pathetic ignorance as to what he is in for
204. The reply of the Italian Ministry for foreign Affairs to informal
enquiries by His Majesty’s Embassy in Rome as to the latest Italian attitude
in regard to Asir seems to show that, while the Italian Government do not consider
themselves committed, by their recognition of I bn Saud and the conclusion of a
treaty, to any acceptance of Hejazi claims (a point of view which they had
explained to the Amir Feisal in Rome), the Italians are content to let the
question lie dormant in the hope that it will settle itself.
Germany.
205. A painful impression was created in Jedda at the beginning of May
by the news that a German subject, named Ivrakowsky, had been set upon and
beaten most severely by Ibn Saud's soldiery on the 30th April. This man had
long lived in a hand-to-mouth way in Jedda. Having some flying experience,
he had been engaged in the temporary organisation improvised to run the air
force after the disintegration of the British personnel. He became involved in
the labyrinth of intrigue connected with the air force and in the end terminated
his connexion with it by crashing in the Jedda lagoon with a Wapiti which he
had been dragged from a sickbed to fly to Asir. He was owed money by the
Government and became a man with grievances, almost crazed probably by that
and ill-health. It was alleged that on the 30th April he was found near the
aerodrome with incendiary material. He had certainly been indiscreet in his
language and in frequenting the neighbourhood of the palace, where he is said
to have been guilty either of discourtesy or suspicious conduct in the King’s
presence. There is reason to believe that the onslaught was due less to immediate
causes than to revenge for the damage done to the Wapiti last year. Anyhow the
beating was a monstrous affair and it is difficult to acquit Ibn Saud of personal
responsibility, as he had arrived in Jedda that morning. The German consul
felt unable to take a strong line in all the circumstances, but he was able to
arrange for Krakowsky’s removal as a prisoner from the barracks into which
he was thrown, to hospital and for his embarkation shortly after. Payment of
the money due to him was refused, but the King eventually ordered that it should
be given as a present to the consul to do what he liked with.
206. M. de Haas himself left Jedda in June, leaving the German consulate
derelict.
Soviet Russia.
207. Reference is made elsewhere to the possibility of a new orientation of
Ibn Baud’s policy towards the U.S.S.R. under pressure of economic and financial
necessity. The Russian Minister in Jedda has been very little in evidence.
Egypt.
208. Reference is made in paragraph 181 to the first reaction of the Hejazi
Government to the Ibn Rif a da affair, as regards Egypt. The Egyptian consul,
Hafiz Bey Amer, is one of the people whom they suspect of complicity. There
is no evidence that the suspicion is justified, although Hafiz Bey is certainly
hostile to the present regime in the Hejaz and professes a personal wish that the
country might be run otherwise in international Moslem interests. He returned
to Jedda after a very prolonged absence in June, soapier in his ways than ever.
His return was preceded by the usual rumour that he was bringing new instruc
tions with a view to the settlement of outstanding questions.
Iraq.
209. The dispute regarding the seat of the Iraqi Legation in the Hejaz
remained unsettled throughout May and June. Dr. Naji Asil continued to
reside in Jedda and was unable to present his letters, but was nevertheless received
in Mecca on the 10th May for the exchange of the ratifications (which duly took
place on that day) of the treaties concluded last year. The Acting Hejazi
Minister for Foreign Affairs accused him in confidential conversation with Sir A.