Page 353 - Records of Bahrain (6)_Neat

Bahrain-UK relations 341

aw.. u POKEIGII OFFICE, S.lY.l.

(E 2903/1037/91) 31st March, 1%9.

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Youi* telegram Mo. 9 the 9th March regarding the
Sheikh of Bahrein's deal re for an usaurunce of protection
against aggression has put us in some difficulty. ft was
reuliseil here that a strict Interpretation of the 106.1
Agreement only coumiltted us to obtain reparations for
injuries inflicted upon buhrein by sea lit local tribal
war lure. '.Vo decided only to re-afflrrn it partly because
we thought it reusouublc ..ot to go beyond, at least in the
letter-, whut had previously been embodied in un agreement,
but mainly because of the unwelcome attention v.hich u new
Uivrecmt.it, which would require to bo published, would ho
likely to attract to our special positiou in the Gulf. You
huve *.ot CwiiJiieuted on this point..
I would agree with you that our position in Dauroin
probably obliges us to afford the Sheikh protection against
oil kinds of aggression but. it 1s n moot, £»o.1nt whether v/e
should jive a written assurance to this effect. A:; far as
I can ooc, oui obligation to afford protection to the Sheikh
beyond whirl, the 1061 Agreement lays down arises from the
fuel thnt he is under* British protection, from the point of
view ol international Jaw. Our legal advisers have accordingly
considered thnt at law the right of buhrein to be protected
agai..ct ujg.ereion ia as woOd as thnt of any other port of
lii» l.bijrj.ty's dominions. but that is not to suy Unit each
nepnrnit- part of these dominions hus u right to a written
assurance to that effect.
V/e huve been thinking, therefore, thnt it is perhaps
time tiint v/e undertook the embarrassing tusk oJ' explaining tu
the Gltolkh thnt, through the fact, of his foreign relations
huving bt-6n managed lor u6 .lo««g by Ilia Majesty(u Government,
his state in now looked upon under international law us
being under British protection, in the saint v.uy us u large
nuyiber of other native states with native rulers both in the
Gulf, huluya, the Pacific (ll. 8. Tonga) Africa (Zanzibar). lilt*
(X/>cop!e arc britlch Projected persona, see the brltluh protec*
'//'*hiiton and Persons Order in Council 19b9* 1 tuko it that ht^
// unav.a.-c of this fact und that it may huVt his pride to rou...
it. it seems to me, however, that wo must in fairness to h
bxpluin this position tu him oomc .time or other und 1 suggeul
that the present occasion, of hia deairing guarantees againd
aggression, is convenient. If you felt able to explain the 1
position tu him tactfully und point out the corollary that h<
in tu. much entitled to protection ugulnat aggression aw any
purl or the brltluh dominions it might be that this would
fa
O
/till tier.
Lieutenant colo,.e!
C.b. I »»
uil* huport bay, K.C.i.E • i
buhrein.

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