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Arabs and Indians came to see the Indian leader during his short stop at Bahrain’s

Muharraq airport. 707

Referring to past visits by Nasser, Al-Sadat, Lloyd, and Nehru; Gault

expressed his fear to the FO that Nasser might be tempted to visit Bahrain. Though

the Egyptian now had the capability of traveling directly from Egypt to locations like

India and Pakistan, but the Political Agent feared that Nasser might ‘seek to do so

deliberately just to “show” us and to symbolise Egyptian penetration of the Persian

Gulf’. 708 However Nasser’s short visit to Bahrain in 1955 proved to be his first and

last.

The NUC celebrated the second anniversary of those who had fallen during

the Police Fort clash in 1954 on 15 June at the Mu’min Mosque in Manama. Two

thousand people attended the meeting. Al-Shamlan gave a speech in which he

described the NUC’s meetings with the Ruler. He said:

Our four meetings with the Ruler were absolutely fruitless and we
have been unable to reach any result because, during the course of the
conversation, the authority has not shown any good-will and real
intention to fulfill our demands. 709

Fearing an escalation by the NUC the Adviserate responded with a swift

public statement about recent events. It declared that the Government had

presented to the Party the names of its nominees to both the Health and Education

Councils to which the NUC had objected. The Government then requested the Party

to provide reasons for their objection in the following meeting, but the NUC failed to

707 TNA, FO 371/120547, Despatch 578, Gault to FO, 21 June 1956.
708 TNA, FO 371/120547, Gault to FO, 25 June 1956.
th
709 TNA, FO 1016/467, Report on the Meeting held Yesterday 15 June 1956 at Masjid Moamin by the
National Union Committee, 16 June 1956.

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