Page 46 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

32 Records of Bahrain

CONFIDENTIAL! i BRITISH RESIDENCY,
BAHRAIN,
Despatch No, 63 i
(10111/7/54) r June 23, 1954.
i ■ i/» I)
•UMI
Sir,
I have the honour to report that I took the
opportunity of a mooting with the Ruler of Bahrain
on June 20 to speak of my concern ;at the serious
i
state of communal feeling between'the Shi'a and
Sunna sects in Bahrain which gave rise to the
riot on the. 10th Muharram last year, which has
continued to be inflamed and which has lately
broken Out again in a communal fight at the
Bahrain Petroleum Company's Drum TJlant at Sitra

in which Shi'i and Sunni villagers of Sitra Island
joined and which resulted in a dozen or so
casualties, one of them fatal,
2. I said I was aware that there was some
talk of Sunni and Shi'i representatives getting
together to settle their communal differences and
that some meetings had been held with that purpose, )
but they had been discouraged by the Government,
because it appeared that those concerned wanted to
make these meetings an excuse for putting forward

/all

The Right Honourable Anthony Eden, M.C.;, M.P,
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary
or State for Foreign Affairs;
Foreign Office,
London, S.W.l,

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