Page 249 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

Background and claim to Hawar islands, 1936-1942 237
Minute Paper. Department.

There are two points for decision at the moment

on this file.
(I) The question of the ownership of the Islands
of Hawar. Please see the Resident's letter of the 25th
May, P.Z.4362/36, the Political Agent's letters of the
6th and 9th May at P.Z.3969/36, and the Government of
India's telegram of the l3t July, P.Z.4670/36.

It will be seen that in 1919 certain claims wore
put forward by the Sheikh of Bahrein to an area called
"The papers to whichJ Zubara on the mainland of Qatar.* It was then decided
Colonel Loch refers!
arc in the Bound that the Bahrein claim to this area could nob be
Volume attached
(P.4673/1919 Ft.IlD, sustained and that it belonged to the Sheikh of
!
Qatar. No mention was then made of the Hawar Group
of Islands anrt although, as Colonel Fowle points
I
out, the group is in comparatively close proximity to
i
Zubara the fact that there was no mention of Hawar
at that time seems to make it unnecessary to regard
the 1920 decision as affecting the present case.

It i3 clear from the Political Agent's and
Political Resident's letter that, in point of fact,
Hawar is and has long been treated as part of the
territory of the Sheikh of Bahrein, i.e. the Sheikh
and his father have exercised active jurisdiction there

for more than 50 years and he has no reason to suppose
that the Sheikh of Qatar lays any claim to it.
In these circumstances, it seems olear that
Colonel Fowlo's conclusion, whioh is supported by the
Government of India, is right, viz. that Hawar should
be regarded as belonging to the Sheikh of Bahrein and
that the burden of disproving his olaim lies on the

Sheikh of Qatar.
7173 WtHU0(l/m 10,000 MS
a/ •••;