Middle East Chronology: March 1st to May 31st, 1947

8/10/2019 Middle East Chronology: March 1st to May 31st, 1947

1/14

Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology March 1 - May 31, 1947Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul., 1947), pp. 307-319Published by: Middle East InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4321891.

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2/14

V L O

P M N T S

O

T

QUARTER

COMMENT

N D

CHRONOLOGY

MARCH

I-MAY

3,

I1947

N

CONSEQUENCE

f

an

announcement

by theBritishGovernmenthatit would

not be

able to

continueits

support

of

the

GreekGovernment

eyond

the end of

March

I947, President

Truman

went

before

a

joint

session

of

Congress

on March I2 with

a

re-

quest that

financial

assistance

n

the

amount

of $400,000,000

be

extended

to

the

govern-

mentsof Greece

and

Turkey.

In

the course

of

his

address,

the

President

declared hat

"it

must be

the

policy of the

United

States

to

support

free

peoples

who are

resisting

at-

temptedsubjugationby armedminoritiesor

by

outside

pressures . .

. we must

assist

free

peoples to

work

out their own

destinies

in

their own

way

. .

.

our

help should

be

primarily

through

economic

and financial

aid which

is

essential to

economic

stability

and

orderlypolitical

processes."

Elaborated

by Acting

Secretaryof

State

Dean

Achesonin

his

testimonybefore

the

House and

Senate

Foreign

Relations

Com-

mittees on March

20

and

24,

and by the

Departmentof

State's

answers o

I I

ques-

tions

submitted by

members

of the

Senate,

these

principles

came to

be known

as the

"Truman

Doctrine."2

Althoughthe

Depart-

ment

of State

denied

that similar

requests

would be

supported

on behalf

of other

na-

'All

items

in

the

Chronology

are

drawn

from

the

New

York

Times

unless

otherwise

indicated.

2

A

complete

file of

the

documents

pertaining to

the

Greek-Turkish aid bill may be found in,"Aid to Greece

and

Turkey:

A

Collection

of

State

Papers,"

Department

of State

Bulletin,

Supplement,

XVI, No.

40g

A,

May

4,

'947.

tions,

it

was

made

abundantly

lear

that

the

United States wouldpursuethe underlying

principles

of

the

policy

by

whatever

means

appearedmost

effective

in

each

particular

case. Thus the

extension of

financial

as-

sistance

to

Greece

and

Turkey

was

essen-

tially

a

further

application

of

the

principles

already followed

n

the

Iranian

dispute be-

fore the

Security

Council n

1946.

By

the

formulation

f

these

principles n a

manner

concrete

enough to

be

termed

a

"doctrine,"

and

by

their

application

o

Iran,

Turkey,andGreece, he UnitedStates took

the first

steps toward

evolving

an

over-all

policy

in the

Middle

East.

Its

emphasis

was

still

largely

negative

from

the

point

of view

of

the

Middle

Eastern

states

themselves,

or

it

was

centered

upon

the

exclusion of

dis-

ruptive

Russian

communist

nfluence

from

those

states

bordering

Soviet-controlled

areas.The

doctrine's

more

positive

corollary,

that

is, the

promotion

of

political

and eco-

nomicstabilityin theMiddleEast itself,was

explicit

in

President

Truman's

enunciation

of the

policy but

its

working

out

necessarily

would be

a

matter

of

slow

and

long

develop-

ment.

Owing o

the

fact

that,

although

applied

n

the

Middle

East, it

was

not

primarily

di-

rected

toward

the

Middle

East, the

Truman

Doctrine

arousedno

great

response

among

the Arab

nations.

Attention

there

was

cur-

rently

focused

on

relations

with

those

Euro-

peanpowers,notablyGreat

Britain,

already

established n

the

area.

However,

he

evident

earnestness

of

American

opposition

to

com-

307

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3/14

308

THE MIDDLE

EAST

JOURNAL

munism

demonstrated

he determination

f-

the United

States to

fulfill ts

role

as a

major

power,

andto that extent

boredue

weight

in

America's

relations

with

the Middle

East.

Aden

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Apr.

15:

Peter

Davey,

a

political

officerof

the

Aden

WesternProtectorate,

was

murderedby

tribesmen

5

miles

east of

Dhala. He was killed

while

tryingto arrest

he

Sheikh

of

the Ahmedi

section

in the

Amir

State,

Muhammad

Ibn

Awas, who was also killed. (London Times,

Apr.

I9, I947,

page 3.)

Afghanistan

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Apr.

i3:

The

USSR

and

Afghanistan

igned

an

agreementon wirelesscommunications.Lon-

don

Times,

Apr.

2I, 1947, page

4.)

Apr.

26:

An

Afghan

group,

headed-by

Gen.

Abdul

KayumKhan,

met

a

Soviet group

n

Tashkent,

USSR, to

discuss

he demarcation

f

the

frontier

between

he

Soviet Union and

Afghanistan.

Arab

League

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Mar.

17:

The

seventh

general

ession

of

the

Arab

League

Councilheld its opening

meeting

in

Cairo.

Mar.

23:

The

Councilof the

Arab

Leaguepassed

a

resolution iving

support

o

Egypt's

demands

for

independence

nd its desire

to submit

its

case

to

UN.

Apr.

I4:

The

Syrian

and Lebanese

Governments

requested

a

meeting

of

the

political

committee

of

the

Arab

League

at

Damascus

for further

study of the Palestine case before the UN

meeting.

Apr.

17:

The

political

committee

of the Arab

League,

meeting

in

Damascus, agreed

to de-

mand

the end of Britain's

mnandatever Pales-

tine

at the

UN

meeting.

Egypt

The spring

months

saw

an

ebbing

of the

possibility

of

compromise

between

Egypt

and Great Britain over the questions of

evacuation

of British

troops

rom

Egypt

and

the future

status

of

the

Sudan.

The

resigna-

tion in

March

of

Sir HubertHuddlestonand

the

appointment

of Sir Robert Howe as

Governor-General

f the Sudan indicated

a

renewedattempt by

the British to remove

all causes of

irritation between themselves

and

the

Egyptians,

but

the door

to further

treaty

negotiationsappeared

o be

definitely

closed

by

the

repeated pronouncements

f

Prime

Minister

Nuqrashi

Pasha

that

Egypt

wouldsubmit

the

controversy

o

the

Security

Councilof

UN.

The

completion

f

the

British

evacuation

of

Cairo, Alexandria,

and the

Delta did little

to

appease

the

Egyptians

or

quellthe

fervent

outbreaks

f

nationalist en-

timent

in

denouncing

the

1936 Treaty

of

Alliance.

In

the

preparation

and

presentation

of

their

case

before

the

Security Council, the

Egyptianswereconfrontedwith threeprob-

lems: the

establishment

of

national

agree-

ment on the method

of

presenting

he

case;

the

securing

f Arab

League

upport;and

the

building

up

of

world

sympathy.

As

the

quarterended

and the time

approached

or

Egypt

to

present

ts

case,

the

Arab

League

had

expressed

ts

willingness

o

offer upport,

but such

national

agreement

s

was

achieved

was based

on

expediency atherthan

on

any

meetingof minds,and the extent of world-

wide

sympathy

remained

a

matter of doubt

and

speculation.

CHRONOLOGY

1947

Mar.

3:

Prime

Minister

NuqrashiPasha

an-

nounced

he

decision f

the

EgyptianGovern-

ment to

appeal

he

issuesof Egyptian over-

eignty

over

the

Sudan

and evacuation

f

British

roops

rom

Egypt

o the UN Security

Council.For ext,seepage320.)

Initial

Anglo-Egyptian

alks on sterling

balanceswere

concluded

without inal agree-

ment.

London imes,Mar.

4,

I947, page

4.)

Mar.

I:

PrimeMinister uqrashi asha old he

Egyptian

enatehe

intendedo appeal o the




4/14

DEVELOPMENTS

OF

THE

QUARTER

309

Security Council

to

cancel

the

I936

Anglo-

Egyptian

Treaty

and

to

force

Britain o

remove

hertroops

rom

Egypt

and

the

Sudan.

British

Prime

MinisterAttlee

replied n the

Houseof

Commonso

NuqrashiPasha's

peech

on the causes of the breakdownof Anglo-

Egyptian

negotiations. For

text,

see page

320.)

Mar.

i4: Prime

MinisterNuqrashi

Pasha

an-

nounced here

wouldbe

no

resumption f talks

between

Egypt and

Great Britain.

Mar. 16: Sir

Robert

Howe,

Assistant Under-

Secretary

of the

British

Foreign

Office,

was

approvedby the

EgyptianCabinet or the

post

of

Governor-General f the

Sudan

replacing

SirHubert

Huddleston.

Mar. i8: An

unoccupied lassroom

f the

British

Institutewas

damagedby

a

small bomb.

Mar. 29:

British evacuationof Cairowas com-

pleted two

days

ahead

of

schedule

with

the

removal

of

the last

troops from Kasr

al-Nil

barracks.

Mar.

30:

The

British

Supply

Mission

in

Cairo,

formed

n October

I945

to

take over the

func-

tions

of the

Middle

East

Supply

Center, was

closed.

(London

Times,

Mar.3I, I947,

page

5.)

Mar.

31:

Egypt celebrated the

evacuation of

British

troops; the

Egyptian

flag was raised

over the

Kasr al-Nil

barracks.

Apr.

3: By a unanimous ote, theEgyptianmem-

bers

of

the

Anglo-Egyptian

Union

(formed

n

I937

to

promote riendly

relations

between

he

two

countries)voted

to

disband

the

organiza-

tion,

the British members

having

previous

to

this

action

withdrawn

rom

the

meeting.

Apr. 7-12:

The

36th

Conference

of

the

Inter-

Parliamentary

Union

held

meetings in Cairo

with

24 nations

represented.

Apr. 13:

Sabri

Abu

Alam

Pasha,

Secretary-

General

of

the Wafd

Party, died.

Apr.

19: The

third

Congress

f

the EgyptianSo-

ciety

of

InternationalLaw

convened

n

Alexan-

dria.

(7ournal

d'Egypte,

Apr.

20,

2I, 23, I947.)

Apr.

20:

Gen. Ibrahim

Pasha

Atalla,

Chief

of

Staff

of

the

Egyptian

army,

arrived

n

the U. S.

to tour

military nstallations.

Some

300

Britishsoldiers

on

their

way

to

the

United

Kingdom

rom

the

Sudan were

turned

back at the

Egyptian

frontier

and forced to

embarkat Port

Sudan

nstead.

Apr.

24: Lieut. Gen.

Sir Alan

Cunningham,

Brit-

ish

High Commissioner

or

Palestine,

visited

BritishMiddleEast MilitaryHeadquarters t

Fayid

in

the Suez

CanalZone to

confer

with

Gen. Sir

Miles

Dempsey,

British

Commander

in Chief

n

the

Middle

East.

May

j:

Prime

Minister

NuqrashiPasha n

a

radio

speechreproved

his

people

for

the recent

inci-

dents

directed

against oreignvisitors.

May 6:

Four

personswere

killed and

I2

injured

when a time

bomb

exploded in

the Metro

cinema

n

Cairo.

May 7:

Sir Robert

Howearrivedn Khartoum o

assume his duties as Governor-Generalf the

Sudan.

(London

Times,

May 8, I947, page

3.)

May 9:

An

Egyptian

Governmentequest or an

$88,ooo,ooooan from

he U. S. was

rejected

on

the

grounds hat

legalauthority ora

long-term

stabilization

reditwas

lacking.

May so:

The U. S.

light

cruiserDayton,

the de-

stroyersCompton nd

Gainard,

nd the

aircraft

carrier

Leyte

arrived

n

the

harbor

t

Alexandria

for

a

stay of

severaldays.

Abd

al-Salam

Fahmi Jumah Pasha

was ap-

pointed

Secretary-General

f the Wafd

Party.

May

I2:

The

Italo-Egyptian

greement oncluded

in

Paris September 946 was

approved

by

the

Constituent

Assembly in Rome.

Under the

agreementtaly is to

pay

reparations

o

Egypt

of 4,500,000

pounds.

(London

Times,May I3,

I

947,

page 3.)

May

I6:

British

Foreign Minister

Bevin,

in

a

speech

on

foreign

policy,

stated

that

Britain

would

make "no

attempt to

appease

the

Egyptian

Government

at

the

expense

of the

Sudanese

people." For

text,

see

page

32I.)

May

I8:

PrimeMinisterNuqrashiPasha,reply-

ing

to

British

Foreign

Minister

Bevin's

speech

of

May i6, called

for

the

immediateand

com-

plete withdrawal

f all

British

roops,

he

unity

of

the Nile

Valley, and

the termination f the

I936

Treaty of

Alliance. (For

text, see page

322.)

lndia

The

major political

developments

in

India

came

in

reaction to

the

British

Government's

announcement

n

February20, 1947,

of its

intention to

"take

the

necessary steps

to ef-

fect the

transference of

power

into

responsi-

ble

Indian hands

by

a

date

not

later than

June, I948."

Viscount

Mountbatten,

after

taking

the

oath

of office

as

the

new

Viceroy

on March

24,

at

once set

himself to the task

of ascertaining the degree of flexibility in the

apparent

intransigence

of

the Moslem and

Hindu

leaders.

By

the

middle of

May

he was

ready

with his

suggestions,

and was

called to

London

for

the

drafting

of

compromise

pro-

posals to be

presented to

the Indian

leaders




5/14

3IO

THE MIDDLE

EAST

JOURNAL

on

June 2. The

compromise

involved

the

recognition of a

limited Pakistan

set

up

on

the

basis

of a

partition

of

the

Punjab

and

Bengal. The British

Government

looked

upon

the proposal

as

second

choice to

the

plan for

a

unified India

propounded

by

the

Cabinet

Mission in the

spring

of

I946,

but

permissible

if

it served

to effect the

transfer

of power

into

"responsible

Indian

hands."

There

were indications that the

Working

Committee

of the

Congress

Party

would be

willing to

accept this

much

of

a concession

to

the

Moslem

League.

Gandhi,

however,

re-

mained

strongly

opposed

to

any

form

of

par-

tition,

even

expressing the

opinion

that it

would be preferable for India to remain in

dominion status

under the

1946

Cabinet

Mission

proposal.

Those

Congress

Party

leaders,

notably

Pandit Nehru

and Sardar

Patel, who

were

willing

to

modify

their

in-

sistence on a

unified

India

were

possibly

swayed

by

the

continued

violence

of

com-

munal

riots, which in the

Punjab got

com-

pletely out

of

hand.

They

possibly feared

that

a

prolongation

of

such

disturbances

might

persuade the British Government to post-

pone

its

announced

date

of

withdrawal.

There may

also have

been the

expectation

that

a

Pakistan

set

up

in

such

restricted

form

could not

survive as

an

independent

entity,

and that

by compromise at this

time

unity

eventually

might be

attained.

Attempts

under the

guidance

of

Mo-

hammed

Ali

Jinnah

to

establish

immediate

Moslem rule in

the

predominantly

Moslem

areas

of the

Punjab and

the

North-West

Frontier province ended in failure. The Mos-

lem

League's civil

disobedience

campaign in

the

Punjab succeeded

in

bringing

about the

resignation of

the

coalition

ministry

on

March

2, but

the

League's

subsequent at-

tempt

to

form

a

ministry

was blocked

by the

aroused

opposition

of

the large

Hindu

and

Sikh

minorities,

and by its

inability

to

unite

the

whole

Moslem

population

behind

it. The

violence of

the

resultant

rioting

forced the

governor of the Punjab to proclaim Gover-

nor's

Rule

in

the

province.

The

experience

did

not

augur

well for

the

League's

ability

to

control the

Punjab

should

it be

set up in

its

entirety

as part

of

Pakistan.

Nevertheless

Jinnah,

at

least

in

his public

utterances,

still

steadfastly

refusedto admit

of

any proposal

to partition

the

province.

CHRONOLOGY

1947

Mar.

I:

MohandasK. Gandhiannounced e

would

continue

is

walking

our for

peace

n

Bihar

Province.

Mar.

:

Representatives

f

the

Indian

rincesnd

theConstituent

ssemblygreed

hat

delegates

from the

PrincelyStates

to

the

Assembly

wouldbe

elected ither

by legislatures

r

elec-

toral

olleges.

In the

Punjabhecoalition

abinet

Congress

andUnionist

arties) f

SirKhizar

Hiyat

Khan

Ti

wana

resigned.

Mar.4: In thePunjab, he demandoran all-

Moslem

League

cabinet

lead

to

rioting

in

Lahore,

ausing 0

deaths

and

47 injured he

first

day.

Sir

Khizar

HiyatKhanTiwana

esigned

s

PrimeMinister f

Punjab

Province.

Mar.5: The Governorookover

he

administra-

tion of

Punjab

Province,

n

accordance ith

Section93 of the

Government

f India

Act,

1935.

Mar.

6: The

BritishHouse

f

Commons

pproved

the

Government'secision

o

withdrawrom

Indianotlater hanJune

948.

Mar.

7: Rioting

n

the

Punjab pread

nto

the

northern

arts

of

the

province.

Mar.

8:

The

Congressarty

nvited

he Moslem

League

o

appoint

epresentatives

o

meet

with

Congresspokesmeno

prepare

orwithdrawal

of

the

British

rom

ndia.

Mar.

9:

Airborne

roops

rrived

n

Punjab

o

try

to

quell

he

rioting.

Mar.

II:

The

Reserve

Bank

of

India

issued

a

notification

nstructing

uthorizedealersn

foreignxchangenIndianottoopenettersof

credit

expiring

ater than

July IS,

1947,

or

to

extend

xisting

redits

beyond

hat

date.This

action

was

ollowed

y

an

order

by

theImport

Trade

Controller

dvancinghe

expiration

ate

from

Dec.31,

1947,

to

June30,

I947, on

all

import

icenses

xcept

those

covering

apital

goods,

apital oods or

postwar

econstruction,

and

heavyelectrical

lants. Foreign

ommerce

Weekly,

Apr.

26, 1947,

page

I9.)

Mar.

72:

Rioting

broke ut in

North-West

ron-

tierProvince,where he MoslemLeaguehadbeen

conducting

civil

disobedience

ampaign

against he

Congress

Ministry.

London imes,

Mar.

13,

I947, page3.)

Mar.

4:

Pandit

Nehru

oured he

riot-torn

reas

in

Punjab.

Mar.

15:Punjab

Government

iguresisted

,036




6/14

DEVELOPMENTS

OF

THE QUARTER

3II

killed

and

II

10 seriouslynjured n the

Punjab

riots.

The

Government of India

cancellation

of

Open

General icense

VIII

of

Sept. I2, I946,

becameeffective,

meaning hat thereafter

any-

oneimporting ny of the 92 items istedtherein

must

obtain

an

individual

mport

icense.

(For-

eign

Commerce

Weekly,Apr.

5, 1947, page 7.)

Mar. 17:

Mohammed

Ali

Jinnahurgedmembers

of the Moslem

League

n

Punjab

to

co-operate

fully in the

efforts to

restore order in that

province.

Mar.

i8:

Afridi

tribesmen emporarily revented

movement

hrough

Khyber

Pass

as an

expres-

sion of

theirgrievanceagainst he

government's

decrease

n

their

food

subsidies.

Mar. *i:

CongressPartymembers f theauxiliary

"Redshirts"went

into Peshawar o

attempt

to

pacifyHindu,

Moslem,

and

Sikh

elements.

Mar. 21:

ViscountWavell,

retiring

Viceroy

of

India, delivered his

farewell

message

to

the

people

of

India.

Mar.

23:

The

Asian

Relations

Conference, pon-

sored

by

the

Indian Council

of

World

Affairs,

began

its

meetings

n

Delhi.

Renewed

rioting

brokeout in

Bombay.

Mar.

24:

Viscount

Mountbatten took office as

Governor-General

nd Viceroy of

India, suc-

ceedingViscountWavell.

Mar.

26:

Communal

ioting

brokeout in Calcutta.

Mar.

30:

Calcutta

riots

continued;

Hindu-

Moslemriots in Bombay

caused

40

deaths the

first

day.

Mar.

31:

Mohandas

K.

Gandhi

discussed

the

Indian situation with

Viceroy Mountbatten,

beginning

a

seriesof

conferences

between the

two

men.

Apr.

I:

The Government f

India

inaugurated

new

export policy under which25

percent of

the total quotaof certaincontrolled ommodi-

ties wouldbe

reserved orthose

entering xport

business

or

the first time,

and those also who

in

the

past had exported

onlycommoditiesnot

subject

o

control.

ForeignCommerce

Weekly,

May 24, I947,

page

IS.)

Apr.

3-4:

Hindu-Moslem

ioting spread

nto the

area around

Gurgaon n southeastern

Punjab.

Apr.

i:

Acting

Secretary

of

State Dean Acheson

announced hat

Henry F. Gradyhad

been ap-

pointedfirst U.

S.

Ambassador o India.

Apr.

5:

The Viceroy

begana seriesof

conferences

withMohammedAliJinnah.

Apr. 8:

The

Premier

of

Hyderabad

announced

that

his

state

hoped

to

enter

an

alliancewith

the future central

governmentof

independent

India.

The

LegislativeAssembly repealed

sections

4o

and

41

of

the Reserve

Bank of India

Act

which

made

t compulsory

or

the Reserve

Bank

to buy

and sell

sterling

for rupees

at

certain

fixed

rates

without

limit

of

amount.

This

De-

linking Bill

thus

severed

the

legal tie

with

sterlingand made the rupee an independent

currency.

Though

the

Reserve

Bank was

thus

empowered

to

purchase

any

currencies,

it

wouldcontinue

to

deal only

in

sterling

until

clarification

of

India's

exchange

position

was

determined

ollowing

settlement

of the

coun-

try's sterling

balances.

Under

new

amendments

the

Central

Government

will

fix exchange

ates

instead of

the Reserve

Bank.

(Foreign

Com-

merce

Weekly,

May

IO, I947,

page

i6.)

ASpr.

2: The two weeks

of

intermittent

confer-

ences held by Gandhiand the Viceroy

were

ended.

Apr.

15:

Jinnah

andGandhi

ssued

a

joint

declara-

tion asking

all

Indians

to refrain

rom

all acts

of

violence

and disorder.

Apr.

i5-r6:

The Viceroy

conferred

with the

pro-

vincialgovernors.

Apr.

18:

The

Viceroy

met

with

Pandit

Nehru,

Sir Olaf

Caroe, the

Governor

of the

North-

West Frontier

Province,

and

Dr.

Khan

Sahib,

its

Prime Minister.

One result

of the

meeting

was

the granting

of an

amnesty

to

all political

prisonersailed by the province'sministry.

Apr.

1g:

Pandit

Nehrutold

the

annual

session

of

the All-IndiaStates

People's

Conference

meet-

ing

in

Gwalior

hat

any

Indianstate

not enter-

ing

the

Constituent

Assembly

would

be treated

as

a

hostile

state.

Apr.

2 :

It was

announced

hat casualties

n

Cal-

cutta's riots

to date

were

85

killed

and

730

injured.

Apr.

2':

The

Earl of

Listowel

replaced

Lord

Pethick-Lawrence

s

Secretary

of

State

for

IndiaandBurma n the BritishCabinet.

Apr.

24-25:

Communal

rioting

was renewed

in

New

Delhi

and spread

o Lahore.

Apr.25:

In Calcutta

an

estimated

o

to

14 were

killed and

go

injured

in

the worst

Hindu-

Moslem

outbreak

or

a month.

Apr.

26: Nehru and

Jinnah

cabled

the

Arab

League

assuring

it

of their

support

of inde-

pendence

or

Palestine.

Apr.

28:

The

third session

of

the

Constituent

As-

sembly opened

in New

Delhi.

In

his

opening

speech

Nehru

said

that

the

Congress

Party

might have to accept the politicaldivisionof

India

after the

British

eft

in I948.

The

Viceroy

visited

the

North-West

Frontier

Province.

Apr.

29:

The Constituent

Assembly

adopted

the

provision

that "untouchability

n

any form

is




7/14

3I2

THE MIDDLE EAST

JOURNAL

abolishedand

the

imposition

of

any disability

on

that accountshall be

an

offense," or

inclu-

sion in the proposed ndian

constitution.

May

I:

The

Congress Party's

Working

Com-

mittee

convened

n New

Delhi.

The ConstituentAssembly adoptedclauses

forafundamental

ightscharter

n

the

proposed

Indianconstitution.

May

3:

The Indian

Labor

Service

Organization

severed relationswith the All-India

National

Trade

Union

Congress

on

grounds

that the

latter was dominated

by communists.

May

4:

Gandhiagainconferredwith the

Viceroy.

Hindu priests

and ascetics demonstrated

before Nehru's

home in

protest against

the

move by the

ConstituentAssembly

on

Apr. 29

favoring he abolition

of

untouchability.

May 6: Jinnah and

Gandhi conferred

(for

the

first time since

Sept.

I944)

and disagreedon

the

subject

of

division

of

India into

Pakistan

and Hindustan.

May

7:

Sir

Evan

Jenkins,

Governor

of

Punjab,

orderedMoslems

of the Rawalpindidistrictto

pay

a

collectivefine of Rs.

3,ooo,ooo

for the

riots that occurredhere.

Jinnahsaid that he couldnot

adviseMoslem

League leaders in the

North-West Frontier

Province to call off their civil

disobedience

movement.

May

Io:

Freshriots brokeout

in

Punjab

Province.

May

r4:

Communal

riots

broke

out

in

Lahore,

with

I2

killed

during the day.

May

x6:

Lo

Chia Luenpresented o

the Viceroy

his credentialsas

first ChineseAmbassador o

India.

The

Government f Indiaannounced revi-

sion

of

its

import

trade-control

policy

which

wouldbecome

ffective uly

,

I947, andwas

for

the purposeof making

maximumuse of

India's foreign exchangeresourcesand of re-

stricting mports

of

certain

consumer

oods

and

nonessentials.

ForeignCommerce

Weekly,May

31,

1947,

page 5S.)

May 17:

British

troops were sent to quell the

riots

n

Lahore.

May

S8:

The Viceroy

eft India

for

conferences

n

London

on

the new Britishplan for

India.

May I8-I9:

Thousands of people

left Lahore

because

of theriots

there.

May

19:

It was reported that

Sir

Mohammed

HamidullahKhan,

the Nawab of

Bhopal, had

resigned as Chancellor of the Chamber of

Princes.

May

20:

An

improvement

of

the situation

in

Lahore

wasreported.

May

2 :

Jinnahgave an interview n

New Delhi

in

which

he

revealed

his

stand:

demand

for a

corridor through

Hindustan connecting

the

two parts

of

Pakistan

n northwestandnorth-

east India;

opposition

to

partition

of

Bengal

and Punjab;hope

for

an

alliance

of

friendship

and reciprocitybetween

Pakistan

and Hindu-

stan.

The Secretaryof State

for India announced

to theHouse

of

Lords

hat since

Nov. I

8, 1946,

4,014 persons

had beenkilled and

3,3I6 injured

in

the disturbances

n India.

May 23: The

Viceroy'splan

for transferof power

to Indian hands

was

approved

by the British

Cabinet.

May

26:

The Indian

Defense

Ministry

announced

that

io,ooo

additional roops

would be

sent

to

Punjab to quiet disorders

here.

May

30:

The

Viceroy,

Viscount

Mountbatten,

returned o IndiafromLondon.

Fifty

villages were reported

to have been

destroyed

in the

Gurgaon

area of

southeast

Punjab.

Iran

CHRONOLOGY

1947

Mar.

23:

Renewal

of

fighting

between Barzani

Kurdsand

the

Iranian

armywas reported.

Mar.

3I:

The

Iranian Army Chief of Staff

an-

nounced

the

execution

of Qazi Mohammad,

Kurdish

eader,his brotherSadr Qazi,

and his

cousin

Seif

Qazi.

Apr. so:

An

Iranian

militarymissionunderGen.

Hedayat,

Under-Secretary

o the Minister of

War,

arrived

n the U. S.

to discussthe

buying

of

arms

and

ammunition.

Apr.

ig:

Abdul Hussein Sadri was appointed

Governor-Generalf Fars Province, ucceeding

Emad

Fatemi.

May

3:

U.

S.

Ambassador

o

Iran

George

Allen

stated

that

the

U. S.

was

considering

he sale of

$2s,000,000

worth of

army surplusequipment

to

Iran.

May

8:

Maj. Sadeq Ansari,

Dadar

Taqizadeh,

and

Haritoun

Harapetian,

he

first

two

being

members

of

the

AzerbaijaniParliamentunder

the

Pishevari

government,

were

executed

ac-

cording

o

reports

romTabriz.

May iS: Iransent a note to Moscowdemanding

repayment

of

3

million

pounds

in

gold

and

2

million

pounds

n

paper

currency or debts in-

curred by Russia during the occupation

of

northern

ran.

May

2i:

FeridounIbrahimi,attorney-general

n




8/14

DEVELOPMENTS

OF

THE QUARTER 3I3

the

Azerbaijangovernment

of Pishevari,

was

hanged

n Tabriz.

May 30: Brig. Gen.

H.

Norman

Schwartzkopf,

American

adviser

to the Iraniangendarmerie,

arrived n the U. S.

fromIran to

obtainsupplies

forIran'sarmyand gendarmerie.

Iraq

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Mar.

so:

Election results

were

announced;

he

Iraqi

Governmentparty

received a

majority

of the votes.

Twenty-two deputies

had been

added

o the members

f

Parliament,

making

a

totalof

138.

Mar.

17: The new Parliament

held its opening

session.

Salih

Jabir

was

elected

president

f

the

Senate

and Abd al-Azizwas

electedto head

the

lower

house.

Mar.

3o:

New cabinet was

formed

with Salih

Jabir (Shiah) as

Prime Minister

and

Minister

of the

Interior.

Apr.

4:

Nuri

al-SaidPasha was

elected

president

of the Senate.

Apr.

8:

The chief

rabbiof

Iraq,

Sasson Khaduri,

declared hat IraqiJewswereopposed o Zion-

ism.

Apr. so:

Nuri

al-Said

Pasha, president

of

the

Iraqi

Senate,

arrived

n

Amman,Transjordan,

to

begin

discussions

of

steps

to

bring

about

a

unionof the

two

countries

n

regard

o

finances,

foreign

affairs,and defense.

Apr.

ii:

Ali

Jawdat

presented

o President

Tru-

man

his letters

of

credenceas

first Iraqi

Am-

bassador

o

the

U.

S.

Apr.

i6:

It

was

officially

announced

that all

British land forceswould be withdrawn rom

Iraq by

autumn

with

the

exception

of

two

small

RAF

detachments

at

Habbaniyahand

Shaibah

airports.

Lebanon

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Mar.

3:

Antun Saadi returned

from

Brazil to

Beirut to head the People's Party. (Oriente

Moderno, an.-Mar.,

1947, page37.)

Mar.

4:

Fourteenpersons

were

killed in Tripoli

in

a

political

demonstration

ollowing

the ar-

rival of Fawzi

al-Qawuqji

romCairo.

Mar.

17:

CharlesHilu presented

his-credentials

as

first

Lebanese

Minister

to the Vatican.

(Oriente

Moderno,

an.-Mar.,947,

page

37.)

A pr. 8:

President

Bishara

al-Khuri

dissolved

Parliament

and set new

elections

for

May

25

andJune

.

May

25:

Parliamentarylectionswereheld.

May 28:

The

results

of the

electionsshowedthat

49 seats

in the Chamber f

Deputies

had

been

filled

by

the

Government's

upporters,

ix more

to

be decided

on

June

i.

Kamal

Jumblat,Minister

of

National Econ-

omy and

Agriculture,

esigned

n

protestagainst

the

conduct

of

the elections.

May29:

Lebanese

roopsbarred

he

entrance nto

Beirut of

Druze

tribesmen

who

intended

to

stage

a

peaceful

demonstration

rotesting

the

election

results.

Premier

Riad

al-Sulh

banned

any further imilarmeetings.

May

3z:

Tripoli

workers truck

in

answer

to an

appeal for

a

demonstration

rom

the

newly

formed

opposition

party "National

Libera-

tion."

North

Africa

Realizing

hat time

was

running

hort, the

French Government

continued its

attempt to

bring

about

more

liberal

and stable

relation-

ships

with its

territories in

North

Africa.

It

had to

move

forward

in

the face of

openly ex-

pressed

opposition on

the

part of

the nation-

alist

leaders,

and

under the

handicap

of

re-

actionary

sentiments

among

the local

French

population

in

North

Africa.

Animosity

to-

ward

the

French

administration

was intensi-

fied by

the

April

riot

in

Casablanca

in

which

Senegalese troops killed Moroccan civilians.

France's

apprehension

was

apparent in

the

numerous tours of

inspection

made by

promi-

nent

government

officials,

principally Minis-

ter of

Interior

Edouard

Depreux's tour of

Algeria and

General

Leclerc's

visit to Mor-

rocco;

in

the

appointment of

an

inspector

of

land, sea, and

air

forces

in

North

Africa;

in

the

dismissal of Eirik

Labonne,

Resident-

General

in

Morocco,

for

his

failure

to

keep

the Sultan of Morocco in line, and his re-

placement by

General

Juin, a

career

army

officer,

instead

of

the

usual

peacetime ap-

pointment

of a

civilian; and

in

the

discussions

in

Parisof

French

Qolonial

olicyand

French

Union,




9/14

3I4

THE MIDDLE

EAST

JOURNAL

In the meantime

the French

Government

worked

on measures

o thwartnationalist

de-

mands.

French

NationalAssemblycommit-

tees

were

considering

statute which would

define

the relationship

f

Algeria

to

France,

and which the Ministerof Interiorpromised

the Algerians

would incorporate

he

results

of the findings

he had made

on his tour

of

inspection.

Prospective

reforms

also

en-

visaged

a NationalAssembly

for Algeria,

a

greater

degreeof

local self-government,

n

extension

of

co-operative

ocieties,

and

more

schools

for nativechildren.

As a

precaution-

ary move,

however,

the French

in

April

made

a modestdisplay

of

military

trength

n

eastern Algeria, where Messali Haj, Arab

nationalist eader,

had been

makingspeeches

the

month

before.

Reformmeasures

alongsimilar

ines

were

under

consideration

or Morocco and

Tu-

nisia.

To

persuade

he

Sultan to

accept

the

reformsplanned

for

Moroccowas one

of

the

chief

responsibilities

f

the

newly appointed

Resident-General.

o convince he Tunisians

of the

good

faith of

France,press

censorship

was removed.On the other hand, urgently

needed

decisions

on colonial

policy

were de-

layed by

the

failure

of the coalition

govern-

ment

in

Paris

to

agree

on

basic

principles.

Until

these

were made

all measures were

likely

to be but

temporary

topgaps.

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Apr.

7:

In

a

riot

resulting

rom

a

street

brawl n

Casablanca,enegaleseroopsired n a crowd

of

Moroccan ivilians.Sixty-three ersons,

principally

Moroccans,

were killedand

II9

wounded.

Apr.

9: The

Sultan f

Morocco,

idiMuhammad

Ibn

Yusuf,

eft

Rabat

or

a

visit

to

Tangier.

Apr.

O: The

Sultan

f Morocco

poke

t

Tangier

along trongly

ationalistines.He praised

he

Arab League,

but

omitted

a

statement

of

loyalty

oward he FrenchProtectorate hich

had

been

n

the

prepared

ersion

f

his speech.

TheU. S. Army eleased

heCasablanca

ir-

field,husmarkinghecompletionftheevacu-

ation

of

FrenchMorocco.

Edouard epreux,

Minister

f

Interior

n the

FrenchCabinet,

eft France orAlgeria

o in-

vestigatehe

situation

here.

Apr.

r3:

TheSultan f

Moroccoounded ut

his

visit to Tangierwith a

speech

n which

he

made

friendly

reference to

the Arab

League

and

claimed

"full

rights"

for

Morocco.

(London

Times,Apr.

15, I947,

page

4.)

Apr. I4:

Arabs in Tangier

staged

anti-French

demonstrationso expresstheir sympathyfor

the Moroccanskilled in

Casablanca

n

Apr. 7.

Apr.

z6:

Abdal-RahmanAzzam

Pasha,

Secretary-

General

of the

Arab

League, was

reportedto

have

telegraphed he Sultan of

Morocco

prom-

ising full

supportof the

Sultan's

demands

for

independence.

London

Times,

Apr. I7,

I947,

page

4.)

Apr.

MS:

eanMons,

Resident-General

n

Tunisia,

waspresent

at

a

special

meetingof

government

andmilitary

experts

n

Paris to

study

the prob-

lems

of French Union

and French colonial

policy. Gen.

Alphonse-Pierre

uin,

Chief of

Staff

for National

Defense,

Lieut.

Gen.

Georges

Revers,armyChief

of

Staff,

were

also

present.

French

Air

MinisterAndr6

Maroselli

visited

the

airbase

at

Sidi

Ahmed

n

Tunis.

A4pr.

rg:

The French

Government

appointed

General

Jacques

PhilippeLeclerc,

hen

on

tour

of

inspection in

Morocco,to

be

inspector

of

land,

sea,

and

air

forces

n North

Africa.

Apr. 21:

The

fourth annual

congressof the Al-

gerianCommunist

Party

was concluded.

Apr.

26: Censorshipof the press was ended in

Tunisia.

May

8:

The Control

Commission f the

Tangier

International

Zonevoted to

suspend

he

French

languageweekly,

La

Voix du

Maroc,

for

six

months.

May 13: The

Communist

Party

in Morocco

n

a

telegram

o the Sultan

demanded

he termina-

tion

of the

French

Protectorate

and the inde-

pendence

of

Morocco.

May

I4:

The

French

Government

appointed

General Alphonse-PierreJuin as Resident-

General

of Morocco

in,

replacementof Eirik

Labonne,who

wasgiven

a

special

appointment

as

adviser

o

the

President

and

Prime

Minister

of

France

on

questions

egarding rench

Union.

(London

imes,May

i6, 1947,

page3.)

May

22:

The U. S.

Armyannounced

he

closing

of

the Mellaha

airfieldat

Tripoli.

May

28:

Gen.

Alphonse-Piere

Juin

took

up

his

duties

in

Rabat

as

Resident-General

f Mo-

rocco.

May

3r:

On

his way

from

R6union

sland

to

the

Riviera, where the French had grantedhim

permission

o

live,

Abd

al-Karim,

xiled

by

the

French or

his activities

n the Rif

war

of

I925,

left

his

ship

at

Port

Said

to

seek

sanctuary

n

Egypt.

The

French

Government

efused

o

allow an




10/14

DEVELOPMENTS

OF THE QUARTER

3I5

Egyptian oodship

to enter he portof Tunis

on the grounds hat the alleged eliefmission

was"political"nnature.

Palestine

Great Britainformallyrequested he

Sec-

retary-General f

United Nations on April

2

"to

summon,

as

soon

as possible,

a

special

Sessionof the GeneralAssembly or the pur-

pose of constitutingand instructing Special

Committee o

prepare

or the consideration"

of the

Palestinequestion

at the next regular

sessionof the Assembly.A majorityof the

nations signifiedtheir

concurrencewith

the

British

proposalby

April 3, and the opening

of the specialsessionwas set for April28.

On

April

2I-22

the

five Arab membersof the

United

Nations

requested

hat

an

additional

item

regarding

"

the

termination

of the

mandate over Palestine

and the declaration

of its independence"

be included

on the

agenda,

but

the requestwas

turned

down

by

the Assembly.

The British

proposal

was

discussed,

fre-

quently

with

considerablepassion, during

fifteen plenary

meetings

of

the

Assembly

(April 28-May 6,

and

May

I47-I

),

and

twelve

interveningmeetings

of the

Political

and Security

Committee(May 7-I3).

The

JewishAgency

and

theArab

Higher

Commit-

tee, non-governmental

rganizations,

were

specifically iven permission

o

testify

before

the latter body.

The

Arab

states, supported

consistentlyby Afghanistan ndTurkeyand

frequentlyby

India and

Iran, presented

he

Palestine

Arab case

at

great length.

Their

position

was

challenged primarily by

the

delegates

of

Poland, Czechoslovakia,

and

South

Africa,

who

took

up

the

Zionistcause.

The

debate

boiled

itself down to two

main

issues:

the

composition

of the

proposed

n-

vestigative body,

and its termsof

reference.

As regards

he

first,

the

differences

mong

the Big Powers over the Palestineproblem

were

brought

nto

clear focus.Great

Britain,

with

the

backing

of the

United States

and

China, urged

that

the-inquiry ommittee

be

made up entirely

of "neutral"

members

and

that

the

Big

Five

should thereforebe ex-

cluded.

To

this

viewpoint

he

USSR

took

ex-

ception,

arguing

that

the five

permanent

members of the

Security

Council

"should,

along

with

all

otherMember

nations,

assume

responsibilitynot

only

for the

final solution

but for all preparatory teps leadingto it."

France

emained

ukewarm,

lthoughprofess-

ing

no

objections

o

Big

Five

participation.

The stand

of Great

Britain,

the

United

States, and

China

was

finally endorsed

by

the

Assembly,

which

resolved that

the

inquiry

committee

hould

consistof the

rep-

resentatives

of

Australia,

Canada,Czecho-

slovakia,

Guatemala,

India, Iran, Nether-

lands,

Peru,

Sweden,

Uruguay, and

Yugo-

slavia.

With

respect

o

the terms

of

reference,

he

Arab states

insisted that the

problem

of dis-

placed

persons should

not

be

linked with

that

of

Palestine,

that the

committee

hould

be instructed

o

examine

only conditions n

Palestine,

and

that the

committeeshould

concern

tself with the

grant

of

independence

as the most

appropriate solution.

These

views werenot shared

by

the

majority

of

the

delegates,as evidencedby the Assembly's

resolution.The

inquiry

committee was

en-

dowed

with "the Widest

powers

o

ascertain

and record

acts,

and to

investigate

all

ques-

tions

and issues relevant

to the

problemof

Palestine;

.

.

.

[to]

determine

ts own

pro-

cedure;

.

.

.

[to]

conduct

investigations

n

Palestine

and

wherever t

may deem

useful;

.

. .

[to] give

most careful

consideration

o

the

religious

nterests n

Palestine

of

Islam,

Judaism,

and

Christianity;

. .

[and to]

preparea report to the GeneralAssembly

not ater han

September,

I947.

.

The

Arab

delegates

reserved he

positionof

their

governments

egarding

he final

recom-

mendations

of

the

inquiry

committee.

The first

meeting

of

the

inquirycommit-

tee was

held

on

May

26,

when

t

was

disclosed

that

the

membersand

their staff

would

pro-

ceed by

plane

to

Palestine

early

in

June.

On

the

same

day,

Secretary-General

rygve

Lie

disqualified Jewishanda Moslemmember

of

the

Secretariat taff from

accompanying

the committee n order

o

preserve

ntact

the

latter's

"neutrality."

On

May

I4 the Soviet

delegatedeclared

before

the

Assembly

that if a

unitary

Arab-




11/14

3I6 THE

MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

Jewish

state

with

equal

rights

for both

peo-

ples

proved

unrealizable, t

would be neces-

sary

to

consider as

an

alternative

"the

division

of

Palestine

into

two

independent,

separate states-

one, Jewish, and one,

Arab."

Any

optimism

engendered

by this

statement with

respect

to

the

possibility

of

Big

Five

agreement n a final

solutionof the

Palestine

problem

was

temperedon

May 29

by

British

Foreign

Secretary

Ernest

Bevin,

when he

asserted that he

personally

would

not

be bound

by

any United

Nations de-

cision

regarding

a

final

settlement unless

it

was unanimous.

J.

C. HUREWITZ

New York'City

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Mar.

i:

British officers'club

in

Jerusalem

was

blown

up by

the

Irgun

Zvai

Leumi

(IZL).

Protestersto the

British seizure

on

Feb. 28

of

I,398

unauthorizedJewish

immigrants

on

board

the

Haim

Arlosoroff

et

fires and

caused

explosions

n

Haifa.

An attack

was

made on the

British

Army

campat Nathanya.

Mar.

2:

Statutory

martial law

was

imposed

on

certain

districts

n Tel

Aviv,Jerusalem,

nd

the

coastal

area 20

miles

north

of Tel

Aviv.

Mar.

3:

The

IZL

declared

"open

warfare"

n

Palestine;

ive

hand

grenades

were

thrown

nto

a

British

militaryoffice

n

Haifa.

Mar.5:

The

High

Court

n

Jerusalem

ejected he

application or

a

writ

of

habeas

corpus

filed

Feb.

28

on

behalf

of

the

unauthorized

mmi-

grants

of the Haim

Irlosoroff.

Mar. 6: British authoritiesannounced hat

25

"known

errorists"

ad

been

recently

arrested

within

martial-law

reas.

Mar.

9:

British

authorities eized he

AIbril,

ship

carrying

unauthorizedmmigrants

and spon-

sored

by

the

Hebrew

Committeeof

National

Liberation.

Mar.12: Morethan

8oo

unauthorized

mmigrants

were

captured in

southern

Palestine when

landing

rom

the

beached

hip,

Susanna.

Mar.

i3:

The

Palestine

Government

announced

that

78

persons,

allegedly

terrorists,had been

arrestedwiththe aidof theJewishcommunity.

Mar.

I4:

The

first

meeting of

the

emergency

session

of

the

Executiveof the

Jewish

Agency

for

Palestine

convened

n

Jerusalem.

Mar.

i6:

The

government

nnounced he offer

of

temporary mployment

n

the

Palestinepolice

forcefor Arabsdestitute becauseof drought

n

southernPalestine.

The Jewish

Agency office in Jerusalemwas

damagedby

terrorists'bombs.

British Army Naafi store near Hadera was

destroyedby terrorists.

Mar. 17: Statutory

martial aw imposedMar.

2

was ended.

Mar.

2.1:

The

emergency ession

of the

Executive

of the Jewish

Agencyended.

Mar.

24-28:

Lieut.

Generals

Sir Alan

Cunning-

ham, High Commissioner,

nd

G. H. A.

Mac-

Millan,militarycommandern Palestine,were

in

London or

consultations.

Mar. 26: The Privy

Council n Londonrejected

a

petition filed by Dov Gruner's

uncle

for

per-

mission to appealin his behalf. [Grunerwas

a

memberof the IZL sentenced o death by

a

Palestine

militarycourt.]

Mar. 3o: British

naval forces aided the listing

ship,

the

Moledet,

with

i,6oo

unauthorized

Jewish mmigrants board.

Mar.3i: Firesset by

the SternGroup

o Haifa oil

installations

of the Shell

Oil Co.

destroyed

tanks used for storing oil

for

domestic

use

in

Palestine and

caused damage estimated

at

$I000,000.

Apr.

2: Britain

formally requested

a

special

sessionof theUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly

on

Palestine.

Apr. 9: The

PalestineGovernment, y legislative

decree,assumed

powers

f

militarydictatorship.

Afpr.Ii:

A

Jew who

entered

the

precincts

of the

Haramal-Sharif n

Jerusalem

was

killed

by

a

Moslemmob.

A4pr.

3:

Members

of the United Nations

were

called to

an

extraordinary

session

of

the

General

Assembly, Apr. 28,

to

consider the

Palestine

ssue.

British forces took over the TheodorHerzl

(formerly

he

Guardian)

with about

2,700

un-

authorized

mmigrants

board.

Apr.

i6: Four

convicted

erroristswere

hanged

at

Acre prison: Dov

Gruner,

Dov

Rosenbaum,

Eliezer

Kashani,andMordecaiAlkachi.

Regulations

were

effected

which

abolished

the

right

of

appealagainst any judgmentor

sentence

of

anymilitary

court

or of

the General

Officer

Commanding

n

relation

to

any con-

viction by

a

military court. (London Times,

Apr. I 7, I 947, page 4.)

Apr.

i8:

Underground roups begana series of

attacks

on

British

forces in reprisal for the

hanging

f the

fourconvicted errorists,Apr.I6.

Apr. 21: Convicted

Jewish terrorists,Meir Fein-

stein

and

Moshe

Barazani,committedsuicide

in

prison.




12/14

DEVELOPMENTS

OF THE

QUARTER 3I7

Apr. 22: A

train from Cairo

to Haifa was blown

up by

the IZL near Rehovoth, killing eight

persons.

Apr. 25:

Five

Britishers

were

killed

in

a

Stern

Groupattack

on the Sarona

police compound.

Apr.

28: The specialsessionof the GeneralAs-

sembly

to

study

the Palestine issue

opened

in

New

York.

May

4:

2I 6

prisoners, 3

of whomwere

Jews,

were

freedby

an

IZL attack

on

the

central

prison

at

Acre.

May 7: ColonialSecretary

Arthur Creech

Jones

told the House

of

Commons

hat in the

year

ended

Apr.30, I947, 97

terrorists n

Palestine

hadbeen

sentenced

o

prison,

and 28

sentenced

to death.

May8: The JewishAgencycasewaspresented

o

the First

(Political

and

Security)

Committee

f

the General

Assemblyby

Dr.

Abba Hillel

Sil-

ver. (Text

in

New

York

Times, May 9,

I947,

page 4.)

May

9:

Henry

Cattan

addressed

he General

As-

sembly's

First Committeeon behalf of

the

Palestinian

Arabs. (Text

in New

York

Times,

May iO, I947, page 5.)

May

Ii:

Fifty suspected

errorists

weresent

from

Palestineto Gilgil, Kenya

Colony,East

Africa.

May

13: The First Committee

of

the

General

Assemblyadopted hetermsof referenceorthe

special

committee

of

inquiry

on

Palestine.

(Text

in New York

Times,

May

I4,

I947,

p.

4.)

May

i4:

Andrei Gromyko,USSR representative

at

the specialsessionof the General

Assembly,

stated

Russian

policy

on

Palestine:

t

hoped

or

one

nation n Palestinewithguaranteesorboth

Jews

and

Arabs; or,

if

that

were

impossible,

partition.

(Text

in

New

York Times,May

IS,

1947,

page 8.)

May

I4-5:

The railroad

between

Haifa and

Lyddawas damagedby terrorists'mine blasts;

two

Britishofficerswere

killed and seven

other

persons

were

wounded.

May 15: The

special ession

of

the UnitedNations

General

Assemblywas

ended after the Assem-

bly

had

accepted the resolution

etting up

an

eleven-nation

ommittee

of

inquiry

to

investi-

gate the Palestine situation

and report by

Sept.

1,

1947.

May r6:

Official igures isted 75 dead and I96

injuredas the result

of

terrorists' ctivities ince

Jan. I, I947.

May

17:

The

Ha-Tiqvah,

with about

1,400

un-

authorized

Jewish

immigrants aboard, was

taken

by Britishforces.

May i8.:

Jewish

extremist

groups proclaimed

their refusalto

cease

activities

during

the

UN

inquiryunless the British

forces

in

Palestine

also refrained rom

their actions against un-

authorized

mmigration.

May

i9:

It was announced hat the

New Zionist

Organization,

which

had split

from the

World

Zionist

Organization n I935, had

been

dis-

solved.

May

21:

Members

of

Haganah

attacked

a

group

of "Arab

brigands"

who

had been

assaulting

Jewishsettlers

nearTel Aviv in recent

months;

one Arab

was

killed and seven wounded.

May

22:

Speaking

at

the

final

meeting

of

the

three-daysession

of

VaadLeumi,

David

Ben

Gurion,

chairman

f

the Executive

of the

Jew-

ish

Agency

for

Palestine, indicated

that

the

Zionistsmight accept

a

formof

partition.

May

23: The Mordei

ha-Getaot,

with

i,0oo

un-

authorized mmigrantsaboard, was taken by

Britishforces.

May 26:

A

JewishAgencyspokesman tated

that

Ben

Gurion'sviews

on

partition as expressed

on

May

22

werehisown

and not officialJewish

Agencypolicy.

May

27:

The

railroad

ine

was

attacked

in

three

places

near

Lydda

and Haifa

the first

act

by

terrorists ince May 14-15.

May 29:

BritishForeignSecretaryBevin, speak-

ing

at

the

Labor

Party

conference,

tated

that

he

personally

would

not feel bound by any

United Nations decision regardingPalestine

unless t was unanimous.

LondonTimes,May

30, 1947,

page 4.)

May

31:

399

unauthorized immigrants

from

French North

Africa reached Palestine

under

British

naval escort.

Saudi

Arabia

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Apr.

4:

L'Orient,quoting alif Ba,

Damascus

newspaper, eported hat King Ibn Saud

had

prohibited mmigration

nto Saudi Arabia of

nationals

of

the Yemen and the

Hadramaut.

Apr. 7:

The SupremeNational Defense

Council

of

Chinaapproved he

recent amity pact be-

tween China

and SaudiArabia.

Syria

CHRONOLOGY

'947

Apr.

2:

Paul

H.

Alling,

ConsulGeneral t

Tangier,

was

nominated American Minister to

Syria.

(Palestine

Affairs,Apr.

I947,

page 44.)




13/14

3I8

THE

MIDDLE EAST

JOURNAL

Apr. 1o:

Syria oined

the

InternationalBank for

Reconstructionand

Developmentand the In-

ternational

MonetaryFund.

Apr. 23: Nain Antaki,vice

president f the Syrian

delegation

o UN, and

Dr.

FaridZayn al-Din,

new Syrianminister to Moscow,arrived n the

U.S.

Apr. 28:

Syria and the U. S.

signed

an

air agree-

ment

allowing

Pan

Americanto make traffic

stops

at

Damascus.

May

12:

The Prime Minister announced that

Syriawouldget LS 750,ooo

a

year

for the

right

of

passageand protection f the IraqPetroleum

Company'spipe lines which

crossSyria.

May

20:

A

law

providing

or

a

three-yearprison

sentence

or

any Syrian

selling

and

in Palestine

to Jews or smuggling Jews into Palestine

through

Syria

was

promulgatedby

President

Shukri

al-Quwwatli.

May 27: President

Shukri

al-Quwwatlisigned

decrees

providing

or

directelection

of

deputies

to

Parliament, lections

being

scheduled

or

the

first twoweeks n July.

Trans

ordan

CHRONOLOGY

I947

Mar.

I:

The

new

constitution

or

the

Kingdom

of

Transjordanbecame effective. (For text, see

page

322.)

Mar.

22:

King

Abdallahdeclaredhis

opposition

to

partition

of

Palestine,

and

announced

hat if

Britain

evacuated any

of

the country, his

forceswouldoccupy

t.

Apr.

4:

L'OrientBeirut)reported

hat the

Turko-

TransjordanTreaty

became effective

through

an

exchange

of

ratifications.

Apr.

IO:

Nuri al-Said Pasha, presidentof the

Iraqi

Senate,

arrived

n Amman

to

begin dis-

cussions

on

steps

to

bring

about

a

union of

the

two

countries

in

regard

to

finances, foreign

affairs,and defense.

May

12:

It was reported

that

Transjordan

had

given

Petroleum

Development

(Transjordan)

Ltd.,

a

subsidiary

f

the

IPC, 75 year rights

to

explore

and

develop

oil

and

gas

resources

n

Transjordan.

(Terms

in

brief

in

New

York

Times,May I3, I947, page

27.)

Turkey

CHRONOLOGY

I947

Mar.

Zr:

Turkey

became

a

member

of

the

Inter-

national

Monetary

Fund

and

the

International

Bank for

Reconstruction

nd

Development.

Mar. 12:

In a

message

to

Congress,

President

Truman

urged an

extension

of

assistance

to

Turkeyand

Greece.

Textin

New York

Times,

Mar.

I3, 1947,

page

2.)

Mar.20:

EdwinC.

Wilson,

U. S.

Ambassador o

Turkey,

arrived n

theU. S.

Apr.

4:

L'Orient

Beirut)

reportedhat

the

Turko-

Transjordan

Treaty

became

effective

through

an

exchange f

ratifications.

Apr.

6-7:

By-elections

ornine

vacant

Parliament

seatswere

heldandwon

by

the

People's

Party

candidates;

he

Democrats

didnot

participate.

Apr.

9:

It

was

announced

hatnearly

Soo

British

fighter

planesof

World

War

II

type

had been

sold toTurkey,andthatTurkeyhadhirednine

American

xperts o aid

in

the

reorganizationf

railroads,

sea

transport,

and

telephone and

telegraph

ommunications.

Apr.

so: Ahmet

Emin

Yalman,

publisher of

Vatan,

and two

membersof

his staff

were

sen-

tenced

to five

months

imprisonmenton

the

chargethat

articles n

Vatan

had

offended he

dignity of the

mayorof Izmir.

Apr. 13:

An

American

elegation

of four

Senators

and

six

Representatives

isited

Ankara.

A,pr.

8:

Ambassador

Wilson

returned o

Ankara.

May

i:

Italo-Turkish rade treaty became ef-

fective.

May2:

The U. S.

aircraft arrier

Leyte,

he

cruiser

Dayton,

and

the escort

destroyers

Purdy

and

Bristol

paid

an

official

isit

to

Istanbul.

May

5: The

Simplon

Express,

Paris

to

Istanbul,

resumed

operations.

(London

Times, May

8,

I947,

page3.)

May

ii:

The

death sentence

was

approved

by

the National

Assembly

for

two

Turkish

citi-

zens,

Mustafa

Abdullah

Sagir

and Ivan

Mi-

emso,convictedof espionageon behalf of the

USSR

in the

Kars

area.

May I2:

President

Ismet

In6nii

announced hat

Turkey would

use the

prospective

U.

S. loan

for

military

purposes,

and

would

seek

in

addi-

tion

a

loan from the InternationalBank.

May I9:

The

ailing

Patriarchof the

GreekOrtho-

dox Church,

Maximos

V,

left Istanbul

for

Greece.

An

American aval

missionarrived

n Ankara

on

a

two-day

visit.

May

22:

President

Truman

signed

the

Greek-

TurkishAid Bill. (For text of bill see Depart-

ment

of State

Bulletin,June

I, I947,

p.

I070ff.)

May

2f:

Eight American-built

minesweepers

operated

by

the

British since

the

Normandy

invasionwere

turned

over

to

the

Turkish

Gov-

ernment.




14/14

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

3I9

May 25: Nazmi

Kismir,TurkishFinance Minis-

ter, announceddecrees ending restrictions

on

foreign capital,

so making it possible for for-

eign enterprise o invest

in

Turkish

industry

and to take profits

out of the country,

and also

facilitating he drawingof foreignexchangeby

tourists.

May

28:

Martial aw for Istanbuland

five

adjoin-

ing provinces

of

northwestern

Turkey was

ex-

tended

for anothersix months by Parliament,

the fourteenth

imesince 940.

The movewas

protestedby the oppositionDemocratic

Party.

Yemen

CHRONOLOGY

'947

May

24: An

agreementwas signedwith

the U. S.

granting he Yemencreditup to

$I,ooo,ooo

or

thepurchase fsurplusmaterial rom heForeign

LiquidationCommission eforeJan.

I,

I948.

Documents

Middle East Chronology: March 1st to May 31st, 1947