Page 235 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

Disturbances and strikes, 1956 221

CONFIDENTIAL

FROM BAHRAIN TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Cypher/OTP, FOREIGN OFFICE SECRET AND
WHITEHAIL SECRET
DISTRIBUTION

Sir B. Burrows
D: 6.31 p.m. March 13, 1956.
No; 215 R; 6.48 p.m. March 13, 1956.
March 13, 1956.
IMMEDIATE *r .~n
CONFIDENTIAL r
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No: 215 of March 13
Repeated for infoiroatlon to; P.O.M.K.F..
C.-ln-C. East Indies.
Air Officer Commanding Aden.
/
My telegram No: 207: Bahrain Internal Situation.
Partial stoppago of work lias continued, but many workers
have been anxious to resume work. Hooliganism on the roads
has Increased, particularly in Manama, and the passage of official-
looking cars to Muharraq is still difficult or impossible.
There have been repeated cases of road blocking, stoning of
cars and one car, belonging to European, was burned this
afternoon in Manama. The Police have been fully extended.
There have boon cases of stray shooting from cars. One Arab
was wounded, not seriously, in this way yesterday evening.
2. Representatives of the High Executive Committee told
us today that they were prepared, for the time being at any
rate, to drop the demand for the removal of Belgrave and that if
the Government announced an independent enquiry into the Pollco
shootings in which a British legal expert would participate,
they would issue a notice calling on the people to return to
work. However, another source stated at about the same time
that the Committee had, in any case, decided not to support the
strike and that they wished to arrange for some of their
members to see the Ruler. (He would not bo willing to do this
in present circumstances but he will almost certainly be ready
to resume negotiations on "recognition" of the Committee under
a new name when the situation is calm again). After
0 \9Vi discussions with Belgrave, the representative of the Committee
'" a z^Jth whom we are in touch, was told that an outside enquiry
to yU$1 our participation such as was held on the previous
vocqaslon cannot be hold now because of its effect on the
V
efficiency of «.. •