Page 47 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

Disturbances and strikes, 1953-1954 33

all Kinds of unacceptable political demands.

While I knew that the leadership,of this movement
had got out of the hands of the sensible and
respected leaders of the communities and for that
reason ulterior and highly undesirable motives on
the part of the present promoters of communal
understanding v/ere to be suspected, I thought it
necessary that the Government should encourage

some proper measures to reduce the heat of communal
feeling and might itself indeed take the lead in
promoting agreement, I offered for His Highness's
consideration an idea that had occurred to me as
possibly useful, namely that His Highness might
himself appoint a joint commission of good men

from both parties to enquire into the causes of
the ill-feeling and advise him on measures likely
to reduce it. Their report might serve tv/o
purposes: it might produce some useful practical
ideas and,secondly, it would show the people that
the Government was doing something about the
situation.
3. His Highness replied at some length.

His objections to my suggestion were;-
(i) that any persons he appointed would be
repudiated by the ignorant agitators on
both sides;
/(ii)