Page 378 - UAE Truncal States
P. 378

The Formation of the Federation

        serious difficulties have now arisen. My Government will be
        extremely disappointed if these difficulties cannot be overcome. I
        strongly urge all the Rulers to do their utmost to find a way of
        resolving their difficulties . . . ”53
          Nobody in the assembly doubted the honourable intentions of the
        Political Resident, whose message was just one link in a long chain of
        meetings and exchanges between officials of the British Foreign
        Office and Rulers and officials in the Gulf. However, at this particular
        moment the message served as a convenient pretext for some parti­
        cipants to break up the meeting and not to sign the communique,
        which was also—as became immediately obvious—strongly op­
        posed by Iran. The Rulers of Ra’s al Khaimah and Qatar walked out
        of the meeting while the British Political Resident’s message was
        being read, claiming that it was an offensive interference and that
        the British were trying to impose the Federation. After a short
        time the Ruler of Qatar rejoined the meeting, which was adjourned
        without the communique being signed, to be reconvened two
        weeks later.
          The reason why some delegations balked at this stage was their
        apprehension of the reaction of neighbouring powers with claims on
        parts of the area, in particular Saudi Arabia and Iran. Whether Iran
        had in fact issued a warning to some members during the Abu Dhabi
        meeting,54 or whether the increase in Iranian statements regarding
        Bahrain and the other disputed islands was enough discouragement,
        a declaration of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, issued a day after the
        Abu Dhabi meeting broke up, proved correct the fears of those who
        wanted to avoid antagonising Iran. It emphasised that “so long as the
        future status of Bahrain has not been legally clarified the Federation
        will under no circumstances be acceptable to Iran . . . The Imperial
        Government expresses its regret at the decision taken by the Abu
        Dhabi Conference without consideration of Iran’s views.”55
          The October 1969 meeting did not reconvene in November as
        planned, ostensibly because two States did not reply to the
        invitations, but more likely because a great deal of further consul­
        tation was going on privately.56 The nine Rulers never met again as a
        Supreme Council.

        Preparing for the possibility of withdrawal from the
        federation
        In the meantime both Bahrain and Qatar continued to build up
        institutions, preparing for the moment when the British umbrella
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