Page 454 - Records of Bahrain (6)_Neat

442 Records of Bahrain

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fit enough to drive ucross the peninsula, Tho blmlkh
cuuie saying that ho Viould iiv>t. have done the drive for
anyone but myself), /.bdulluh Darwish was viith him
but 1 not him to withdraw when I discunscd tho ..iuburah
question. I concentrated on tlse three points, ull
fairly specific, which tho Shaikh of buhraln hud made i>o
many times. I said that ho wanted (1) tho recognition
| of bis ''private rights", :1, e • > rights In private property,
houses, etc., in Zulurah recognised? (2) fro»-doin to go
thoro and for his people to ,.ruLO their flocks and herds
without lot or hindrance? and (3) the fort built ufter
tho 1036 disturbances to bo removed or ntloast neutralised.

In arguing tho first point 1 got nowhere. bhalkli
All was as udauunt ns Ills old father used to bo about
this. To tho argument that tho ill Klinllfah hau owned
property In Zuterah, ho used the reply of all successful
aggressors? he- said tl ; t tho Al Thnul had once owned
property In buudi Aral in - "but where now oro tho Al Thanls
in tioudl ArabiaV" /.bout tho second point 1 wan on more
hopeful ground. Kr even bboikh Abdullah bln Qaslui bod
frequently stated, in aeccrdnnco with tho nrul* ahuiuhly
convention, tin t if ibe Ai Knallfth wished to visit
Zuban.li they and their dependents would be treated with
honour, rc3pect, and hospitality provided that tl cy gave
due notice, made no claims and (by ir.plication) regarded
theusolvcs as obliged to the f.lmlkh of Qatar for permission
to visit his country, (Tho fdmiUh of iJnhr&lii'a reply
to this gambit wua invariably to tho effoct that the A1
Thani could keep their hospitality and their graclousness,
but should give him hi a "rights"). On this occusion
hiiail.h All went as far suylng that tho dependents of tho
fihaikh of hahraln might como to Zuburah for grazing but
»
that ho should be informed about them beforehand, As to
point throo, ho tried to chov: that tho fort at Zularah
wus built in retaliation for the building of the foit at
Uawur by tho Al Khali fab. lie said lh.# t he hod no sol­
di ors there, only men employed to look after his flocks
and herds. This was the gist of tho conversation and 1.be
result of it seemed to mo to be, that, atleost as regards
point (2), thoro had bean a alight advance towards u pos­
sible agreement.
6. Uy next 3top wts to scud for ;iuioh al Haul', tho
Shaikh of ata^s Secretary, sr..i to hand him a letter for
tho Shaikh of Qatar as u follow-up to our conversation.
In this latter, after si loss lug tho need for u settlement,
I wrote
"ouch a settlement shuujJ he a simple mattov.
Ilia liijiiiost the bnaikh of bohraln does not claim sovereignty
over Zularah or any oiluv part of Qatar territory, nor does
he clulm rights to oil or any ether material therein,
ho auioly ’/fishes to send his dependents with tl.olr flocks
for gruzlng to the /ubaroh area without supervision from
anyone and without the- Imposition of Casio.,s or other
controls on such people, as was the custom in the past.
An arrangement to allow this iL a simple mutter between
two friendly Arub States end ouch arrangements exlot between
Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordon on tho one hand, and oaudi Arabia
on tho other, where tribesmen vvunder freely between tho
two • t •