خارجي ٤١/٥٠٠١ "بلاد فارس - الشؤون الداخلية (إرساليات متنوعة)". [ظ‎‎٢‎٠] (٢٤٨/٤٠)

such as Persia. The end of the war in Europe was followed by demands from
all sections of the press for the release of the internees, and, except for the
Freedon Front, by a demand for the evacuation of the country by the Allied
forces. In many cases it was argued that the Tripartite Treaty did not cover
the war with Japan, and that in any case Persia’s services to the Allies could be
fittingly rewarded by an early evacuation of the country.
37* The chief cleavage in the press has been between the Ireedom hront^
composed of Tudeh papers and those papers which, while not officially belonging U
the Tudeh party, often take up a more violent, tendencious and uncompromisingly
“anti-imperialist,’ i.6., anti-British, attitude than the Tudeh press itself and
the papers which support Seyyid Zia. The position of the Independence front
has been somewhat weakened by the loss of some of its members to the pro-
Seyyid Zia group. A bitter struggle has been waged between the Freedom Front
and the pro-Seyyid Zia group, in which accusations and counter-accusations, -
ticularly with regard to alleged interference by British and Soviet officials in t k
elections for the 14th Majlis, have been banded to and from with, on the part of the
Freedom Front, little regard for truth. Seyyid Zia is described as an imperialist
agent who has been brought back to Persia with a mission to fulfil. The freedom
Front have been at pains to show that they consider Persia indivisible and have
tried to convince the public that it was Seyyid Zia and the reactionai ics 01
imperialists who wished to divide Persia into northern and southern zones. ^
38. The tone of the Freedom Front press has been hostile to Great Britain,
whether she is referred to openly or written of under the thinly-veiled disguise
of “ international imperialism ’’ or “ international reaction, &c. An incident
which occurred at the beginning of the period under review, when some Persian
wlre-stealers were shot by an Indian patrol near Tehran, was the pretext for
a number of bitter and provocative articles, in which Indians were attacked as
the “slaves” of British imperialists and sinister motives were attributed to
British colonial and the alleged imperialist policy of Great Britain. The state
ment by Mr. Richard Law in the House of Commons on British interests in the
south of Persia was also seized upon by the Freedom f ront to make fantastic
allegations about the alleged machinations of British policy in the Middle East
The main theme was Persia as the outpost of India and the wicked intrigues of
the reactionaries to preserve their imperial interests, no matter what the cost
to others, whether by keeping Persia in a backward and miserable condition, or
bv encouraging an autonomous movement in Ivurdistan, Arab Federation or an
Islamic Union to combat growing Russian influence in the Middle Fast.
Mr Churchill’s first election broadcast and recent events in Syria were also
grist to the Freedom Front mill. The violent abuse of “ international reaction ’
and of Seyyid Zia, and the, at times, exceedingly flimsy grounds upon which these
attacks are based, coupled with the insistence by the Russian Embassy on the
suppression of certain papers may, perhaps, be taken as an indication that the
counter-campaign in the pro-Seyyid Zia and Independence Front papeis against
the Tudeh and their Soviet masters has been more effective than they care for.
39. The official organ of the Tudeh party, Rahbar, has had articles stating
that Bahrein was an integral part of Persia and that all changes made b\ a
servile"Majlis under Reza Shah were invalid. Zafar, the official organ of the
Workmen’s Union, has consistently attacked the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
for alleged maltreatment of workers. . 1
40. In internal problems, e.g., the successive Cabinet crises and the Majlis
crisis, the line-up of the press has followed similar lines : the Freedom Front
on the one side and the pro-Seyyid Zia and Independence Front papers on the
other. The keynote of the two' last-named groups has been one of anxiety over
the internal economic and political situation. The serious nature of the financial
situation and the danger of unemployment have been emphasised, though few
constructive proposals have been made to remedy the situation. As for the
political situation, a growing fear is evinced of possible attempts by the army
and Court to reimpose dictatorship.
41. Public opinion has been preoccupied with the unsettled condition of
the country, and has looked with growing apprehension on the struggle between
the Tudeh and Seyyid Zia, largely because the support which the Soviet
authorities have given the Tudeh party has, in recent weeks, beep becoming more
open. While many are prepared in private to praise the activities of Seyyid Zia
and the trenchant' articles in the press exposing Soviet activities in Persia and
the true nature of the Communist regime, there is a lively fear lest these may
not provoke the Russians to even greater interference in the internal affairs of
the country. The general tendency is to wish to buy the Russians off by