Page 240 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

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226 Records of Bahrain
Iji
com-’xiiiniTTAi.

from rahrath to foreign office
Cypher/ Oil* FOREIGN OFFICE (SECRET) ATI1)
1; IVHITEHATJi (SECRET) DISTRIBUTION

Sir 13. burrows
Wo. 207 D. 5.41 p.m. March 12, 1956
March 12, 1956 R. 6.15 p.m. March 12, 1956
IMMJTATS
COWFTDRIITIAL

Afldrftsac.fl t;o Foreign Office telegram Mo. 207 of March 12
Repeated f or information to: (\'Oa\
P.O.M.E.F. Doha
Kuwait Beirut (for R.I.O.)
My telegram llo. 202: Bahrain Internal Situation.

It looks us though the security situation con bo kept
under control, I hope without the use of Rritish troops. If
the crowds in Nuharraq (mostly young hooligans) have not
dispersed by tomorrow it may be necessary for the Police to
carry out a major operation there to clear the streets and re­
assert authority. This might well involve further casualties.
The passage of petrol tankers to the airfield will bo necessary
later, but existing stocks will Inst two days more. The strike
is likely to be more effective tomorrow, but judging by the
previous one, can hardly last many days.
2. The political way out of the situation is, however,
not quite clear. The chief demands will clearly be an enquiry
into Police action on March 11 and the removal of Uelgrave. The
enquiry, arranged as « result of pressure from us into the Police
shooting in duly 1954 and conducted pnrtly by the Rritish legal
representative (Judge Haines), resulted in criticism of the
Police, which seriously affected their morale over a long period.
I doubt if we can afford to have this happen now. The Police
ure working very much better than before and their morale is high.
Diminution of it would bring nearer the possibility of
intervention by British forces. My ovm very provisional estimate,
on incomplete reports, is that the Police suffered extreme
provocation, thut there were people in the crowd inciting it
against them (though not the known leaders of the High Executive
Committee), and that there were probably shots from the crowd
before the police fired. Bullet has just been extracted from
ope of the casualties which is from an automatic pistol of
/a type • • • • #