Page 151 - Records of Bahrain (7) (ii)_Neat

Bahrain-Qatar dispute over Zubarah, 1953-1960 541

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BRITISH RESIDENCY,
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•ONPIDENTIAL BAHRAIN.
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1009/6/53) 20th March, 1953.

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\W.
I regret to have to inform you that the Zubarah case to whioh
I last referred in ny letter No. 10110/12/52 of the 11th December,
1952, has reared its ugly head again. Towards the end of February
Shaikh Salman sent a party of over 100 schoolboys to the place,
accompanied by his Director of Education and a number of schoolmasters,
some of whom wore Lebanese or Egyptians. Y/hilo there the boys
chalked "El Bahrain" in large letters on the fort and so on. Shaikh
Ali sent two policemen to the spot to investigate and Ewart-Biggs also
went thore. Subsequently, after the withdrawal of the boys, Shaikh
Ali stationed a few police in a tent a few hundred yards from the fort.
He also entered a violent protest against Shaikh Salman's action.
The latter first protested against the despatch of Qatar policemen to
Zubarah and the questions which Ewart-Biggs asked during his visit there,
and has now protested against the establialiment of the small police post
and threatened to cut off conmunications between Bahrain and Qatar.

2. Shaikh Salman acted very foolishly in despatching the party of
schoolboys to Zubarah without prior notice to us or Shaikh Ali. ’Little
hopes to discuss the whole matter with him on the 21st March and the
boot that wo can hope for is that he will be persuaded to agree to
consult us before he despatches any partios to Zubarah in future and
that it may then be possible to persuade Shaikh Ali to withdraw the
police post.

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A.D.M. Rosa Esq.,
Eastern Department,
Foreign Office,
LONDON, S.W.l.
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