Turkish Hostility

TURKISH HOSTILITY Troubles on Turkish and Arabian Frontiers.—The early years of King Feisul's reign were troubled without and within. To the north Turkish nationalism adopted an attitude distinctly hostile to 'Iraq. Turkish garrisons on the frontier were increased, the tribes flooded with propaganda, and the whole of Southern Kurdistan was kept in a ferment until finally in the spring of 1923 the Turks were ejected.

On the Arabian frontier, since the beginning of 1921, the opera tions of Ibn Sa'ud against Ibn Rashid had profoundly disturbed the nomad tribes. As early as April 1921 the Shammar of Ibn Rashid began to seek safety in 'Iraq, where a large section of the tribe resides. Their presence embittered relations between 'Iraq and Nejd, and after the fall of Ibn Rashid's capital, Hail, in Nov. 1921, Ibn Sa'ud's pretensions increased, and he claimed the allegiance of the Anizah on the eastern side of the Syrian desert, who had always been attached to 'Iraq. In March 1922, he per mitted the leaders of his Akhwan, or Brethren, to attack the 'Iraq desert camel corps and the shepherd tribes grazing under its protection about 3om. south of the railway between Baghdad and Basrah. Heavy loss was inflicted.

Anti-Mandate Agitation: the Preliminaries of the 'Iraq Treaty.—These dangers on the frontier coincided with a serious divergence of views between the British and 'Iraq Governments as to the nature of their relations with one another. King Feisul and his prime minister asked for the complete abrogation of the unpopular "mandatory" relation and its substitution by a treaty of alliance, whereas the British Government were contemplating a treaty within the scope of the Mandate. The difference was largely technical, but it gave rise to great misunderstanding and embittered controversy. It was even suggested that the attack by Ibn Sa'ud, who at the time was in receipt of a subsidy from Great Britain, had been instigated by the latter in order to expose the weakness of the 'Iraq Government. At this point the Shi'ah divines took a hand in the matter and summoned a conference at Karbala; nominally to consider measures of defence against the Akhwan, but really with the object of protesting against the British Mandate. The conference assembled, but the Sunni shaikhs held aloof, the wiser among the Shi'ahs nipped any subsidiary in tentions in the bud, and the meeting confined itself to petitioning King Feisul to take steps against the Akhwan. But the heat engendered was not extinguished, and the anti-Mandate agitation continued throughout the summer, though in June the Council of Ministers accepted the treaty with Great Britain, subject to its acceptance in due course by the Constituent Assembly. On Aug. 16 the cabinet resigned, and Sir Percy Cox when paying an official visit to the king on the anniversary of his accession was greeted by an anti-Mandate demonstration. He demanded and received an instant apology, but at the same moment it was an nounced that the king was struck down with a dangerous attack of appendicitis and an immediate operation was necessary. Thus by a singular combination of circumstances, the country was left with no authority but that of the High Commissioner, who pro ceeded to use it. He issued a proclamation explaining the situation, arrested and deported certain agitators, and induced two of the Shi'ah divines to leave voluntarily for Persia. By Sept. 1o, 1922, all agitation had died out and on Oct. i o Sir Percy Cox and the Naqib signed a treaty of alliance between Great Britain and 'Iraq for a period of 20 years (British Treaty Series No. 2). Ratifi cation, however, was delayed and negotiations over the subsidiary agreements dragged on until No sooner was the internal situation stabilized than the north eastern frontier again demanded attention. With Shaikh Mahmud in Sulaimaniyah and the Turks in Ruwandiz and its neighbourhood, effective administration had ceased east of Erbil, Kirkuk, and Kifri. In Oct. 1922 a measure decided on at the Cairo Conference was put into force and the air marshal, Sir John Salmond, assumed charge of all imperial forces in 'Iraq, ground troops, levies and air force. By his vigorous action he forced the Turks to retire to Ruwandiz. But the autumn of 1922 was the period of Mustaf a Kemal's great triumph over the Greeks. It influenced both the Shi'ahs of the Euphrates and the tribes of the North. On Oct. 21, 1922, the king issued an Iradah ordering elections for the Constit uent Assembly to begin ; it was countered by a fatwah, signed by the Shi'ah divines of Karbala and Kadhimain forbidding partici pation in elections. In Nov. the Naqib resigned, and Abdul Muhsin Beg al Sa'dun formed a new cabinet. In the same month elections were held in Great Britain, during which a campaign was con ducted against the fulfilment of British pledges to 'Iraq. Mr. Bonar Law's cabinet came in under obligation to consider the question, and Sir Percy Cox was summoned to London in Jan. 1923 to take part in the discussion. He left in charge Sir Henry Dobbs, who had come out as Counsellor to the High Commission in the previous December. The position of the British Govern ment was extremely difficult, but a solution was found in the re duction of the term of the yet unratified treaty from 20 to a maximum of four years after the ratification of peace with Turkey (which took place on Aug. 6, 1924), with the prospect of renewal at the end of that period. The treaty would lapse in the event of 'Iraq becoming a member of the League of Nations. The protocol embodying this agreement was brought back by Sir Percy Cox on March 31, 1923, and signed on April 3o.

Operations in Mosul.

Meantime, in March 1923, it had again become necessary to take vigorous steps against the Turkish threat in the north. The strong stand taken by Lord Curzon at Lausanne reacted on 'Iraq. Shaikh Mahmud, who was in league with the Turkish band at Ruwandiz, was dealt with, and in April, by a brilliant movement supported by air action, the Turks were ejected from Ruwandiz, and a Kurdish chief put in as Kaimmakam under the Mutasarrif of Erbil. As it was not considered feasible for the time being to set up a local administration in Sulaimaniyah it was decided to give Shaikh Mahmud another chance of rehabilitating himself, but in 1924 his intrigues made his expulsion again necessary. The Sulaimaniyah liwa became included in 'Iraq in March 1924 and sent representatives to the Constituent Assembly.

Settlement with Nejd.

In the winter of 1923-24 an at tempt was made to settle the growing differences between 'Iraq and Nejd by a conference of representatives held at Kuwait under Colonel Knox. The main point of difference was the repatriation of Nejd tribes which had taken refuge in 'Iraq. The 'Iraq repre sentatives rightly pointed out that apart from the violation of tribal custom involved, they had not the requisite force to con strain these unwelcome guests to return to their own country but they agreed to abide by stipulations considered satisfactory by the British Government. Though on lesser matters agreement was reached Ibn Sa'ud proved obdurate on the major issue, and just as the conference was about to reassemble, in March 1924, his followers carried out a brutal raid on the 'Iraq shepherd tribes. The conference thereupon broke up. Other raids occurred during 1924-25, and as a result, the 'Iraq Government made a determined effort to remove the tribes from the vicinity of the frontier.

Ibn Sa'ud likewise gave orders to his Akhwan leaders to desist from their raids. Finally, at the conference held at Bahra in the Hejaz between the Sultan and Sir Gilbert Clayton in Nov. 1925, a treaty was drawn up between 'Iraq and Nejd on the lines pro posed by H.M. Government and the 'Iraq Government, at Kuwait.

Ratification of Treaty.

Sir Henry Dobbs and the 'Iraq Government had been engaged during the winter of 1923 in dis cussing the details of the agreements subsidiary to the treaty. These agreements were signed on March 25, 1924, and the instru ment of alliance being thus complete, the Constituent Assembly was opened by the king on March 27.

The debates on the treaty and agreements continued until June 1o. There was much misrepresentation but undoubtedly some solid ground for dissatisfaction at the heavy burdens imposed on `Iraq by the obligation simultaneously to expand the army, redeem the capital cost of the railways, and shoulder a large share of the Ottoman debt. H.M. Government gave an undertaking that after the ratification of the treaty they would be prepared to reconsider certain of the financial obligations of 'Iraq towards Great Britain, and the debates were brought to a close by the announcement of the determination of the British Government to raise, at the June session of the League of Nations, the whole question of the continuance of their Mandate, and by the warning that failure to pass the treaty through the 'Iraq Assembly by June io would be regarded as a rejection. King Feisul and his Government clearly discerned the attendant risks, the cabinet called on its fol lowers for support, and the treaty and agreements were accepted before midnight on the appointed date. The instrument was accepted by the League on Sept. 27, 1924, and was ratified by King George and King Feisul in the winter of 1924. The Constit uent Assembly then passed the Organic and Electoral Laws, and was dissolved on Aug. 2, 1924. The question which now over shadowed all others was the settlement of the northern frontier with Turkey (see LEAGUE OF NATIONS; MOSUL).

It had not been considered advisable to disturb the proceedings of the Frontier Commission sent by the League of Nations to Mosul in the spring of 1925 by the holding of elections; on March 21, 1925, however, the Organic Law was promulgated and elec tions for the first parliament began. Yasin Pasha's cabinet had previously passed four notable measures, vital for the further prosperity and stability of 'Iraq. The first was the signature with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company of an agreement for the dredging of the Shatt-el-Arab. The second was a trade transit-agreement with Syria. The third was the granting to an international group, known as the Turkish Petroleum Company, of a concession for the development of oil in the Baghdad and Mosul vilayets; while the fourth was the signature of long term contracts with over a hundred experienced British advisers and technical officials.

The visit in April 1925 of the secretaries of State for the Colonies and Air gave opportunities for frank and valuable ex change of views, and also resulted in the adoption of a scheme which would provide for the speedier training of the 'Iraq army so that it may eventually assume responsibility for internal security and external defence.

Elections were completed by June 23, 1925, and Parliament met on July 16 in extraordinary session to consider the budget and certain necessary amendments to the Organic Law.