Page 98 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

84 Records of Bahrain

CONFIDENTIAL

Bahrain tjolograa No. 771 to Foreign OfflQ-Q
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persons appointed toy Her Majesty's Government, and that its terms
•f roforenoe should specifically include courts and police to well
to the ether subjects of thoir petition,
5, I told the* that DritiBh participation in ouch a committee
was out of the question, that it was illoaioal to object to the
oeamittoe’u being composed of peraono oeleqtod toy the Government
when thoir object was to obtain the OoYernnent*b oar, and
unreasonable to object to its composition before its members
were announced,
6, I think my assurance that the torns of reference were wider
than appeared had 6«oe effect, tout they maintained that Her
Majesty's Government's oral aeauranoe was not enough to persuade
thoir supporters, and they could not call off the strike, I
urged them to wait until they had seen the names ©f [gp.undeo.]
oommittee and possibly some wore detailed statement of an agenda
and the terns of reference, tout they insisted that the
"peaceful" strike must begin on Saturday.

7, They had asked whether the British Government would
intervene in oaBe of trouble, I replied that in the view of
Her Majesty’s Government those who called the strike would bo
responsible “for its consequences and that wo, in any oaso,
supported tho Ruler of Bahrain in the line ho was taking,
8, It is, in my view, essontial that tho [gp,undec,?oryptlo]
announcement of yesterday should bo expanded to make dear the
sense of [Vgrp.omitted] that you urged on the Ruler, and I shall
try to effect that today, but I huve little hope of achieving
anything that will dissuade at any rate tho miners from striking,
9, It is now announced that the strike will begin at 6 a,m, on
December 4 and end at sunset .December 10.

Foreign Office pass Boirut as my telegram No. 45,
[Repeated to Belrtot]
DISTRIBUTED TO:-, ADVANCE COPIES
Eastern Department Sir I. Kirkpatrick
News Department Private Secretary
Labour Adviser to. Hard
Head of Eastern Department
TTTT