خارجي ٤١/٥٠٠١ "بلاد فارس - الشؤون الداخلية (إرساليات متنوعة)". [و‎‎٧‎٤] (٢٤٨/١٤٧)

3
V4*
<»ct Shtya
1 ) ICiflC*
l4fT70ll ^ 0< -
0.-WC.II .
proved a disappointment, the Persian Government is for the present in no position
to take a strong line against the tribes of the south.
9. The situation at the moment is that the Qavam is still Governor-General
of Ears, though he has not returned to Shiraz, that Khosrow Qashgai has given
solemn assurances to me that he will hand over the Germans—assurances which
I find less reason to believe as time passes—and that the policy of appeasement
is being pursued with consistency unusual in a Persian by the military commander
of the south. At the same time, most tortuous intrigues, allegedly with the object
of setting brother against brother and tribe against tribe are in train, all this
with a view to splitting the tribes to such an extent that in the spring they will
be unable to combine against disarmament by the Persian forces. But, on the
other hand, the two principal tribal chiefs who have been in rebellion against the
Government, Nasir Qashgai and Abdullah Zarghampur Boir Ahmad i, are
making use of the liberty and the responsibility for the maintenance of order
given to them by the Persian authorities to consolidate their position and to
obtain the adherence of other tribes who had hitherto remained neutral or had
supported the Government. I see little reason to hope that in the spring the !
relative strength of the Persian forces and the tribes will be more favourable [
to the Government than it is at present.
10 . For the time being there is peace, and that is our principal immediate
consideration. There is, I think, good reason to hope that in present circum
stances no responsible tribal chief will abet any attempt to damage important
British interests, such as the oilfields or the railway, but while Germans with
money are still in tribal territory there will always be the possibility of their
collecting a band of malcontents to assist them in sabotage. It is known that three
Germans are now with the Boir Ahmadi tribe, and until they are apprehended
there will be cause for anxiety.
11 . The Persian Government intend shortly to carry out operations for the
disarmament of certain small tribes living along the eastern flank of the oil-fields
—the Taiyyibi, Bahmai and Western Janeki. These tribes inflicted a minor
disaster on a garrison of Persian troops at Malamir (Izeh) in March last, for
which they have not yet been punished, and they have been a constant cause of
disorder, creating anxiety among employees of the oil company. The Persian
Government hopes by these operations to re-establish some of their lost prestige
in this area. Their troops will be assisted by some Bakhtiari levies.
12. A minor operation is also in progress for the disarmament of the small
tribes of Dashti and Tangistan. The Royal Navy assisted with this operation
by providing a ship to transport Persian troops from Bushire to Daiyir, enabling
them to capture this town, the headquarters of the rebel chief, Ali Ismail, with
little or no opposition.
13. In the Kerman Province long overdue operations have been undertaken
against the notorious robber, Hussain Buchakchi, 'which resulted in his surrender
and the capture of some at least of the arms of his tribe.
x
(b) Bakhtiari Region.
14. There are certain dissident elements and inter-clan dissensions in
Bakhtiari. but on the whole Morteza Quli Khan, the Bakhtiari Governor, appears
to be establishing his authority throughout the tribal area. Whether in the long
run this will be to the advantage of the Persian Government is problematical,
but for the time being there is a greater degree of order in Bakhtiari than has
prevailed for some time past.
(c) Kurdistan.
15. As is usual when the Kurds are left to themselves there is inter-tribal
squabbling leading sometimes to fighting, but in that part of Kurdistan adjacent
to British lines of communication the situation is fairly satisfactory, in the
Russian zone, where since their occupation the Russians have opposed any inter
vention by Persian forces in Kurdish territory, they are now pressing the Persian
Government to re-establish gendarmerie garrisons along the Turkish frontier,
presumably with the object of preventing the smuggling of food-stuffs from
Persia.
Security.
f 16. Out of the 162 suspects whom the Persian Government were requested
on the 29th August to arrest, 138 have been handed over at Sultanabad. The
names of ten additional suspects were handed to the Prime Minister on the
[48—51] B 2