Window on the world; Sir Reader Bullard

The National Association of educational broadcasters in cooperation with the British Information Services presents a window on the world of tape recorded series of talks by eminent British citizens. This week our speaker is Sarah reader Bullard Britain's foremost expert on the Middle East. His subject some problems of the Middle East solved. Here now is Sir reader bollard. When I was in the United States two years ago I used to talk a great deal about certain unsettled problems which were causing great difficulty. Two of those have been settled and the third is went on its way to settlement that have a few words about those problems. The first easy oil dispute in Iran at that time there was a complete deadlock. Dr. Bashar Dick the prime minister of Iran had made great promises to whose people he said that Iran could run the oil industry quite well and it would bring in a large sum perhaps as much as eight or nine hundred thousand dollars a day. In

fact there was no revenue and no agreement. Though various proposals had been put up several of them with the participation of the United States government. United States had also given Iran economic help point for help to enable the country to carry on until an oil agreement should be arrived at. But there came a time when this could not continue. Dr Mossadeq asked President of the United States for special help and the reply was that the United States taxpayer could not go on helping Iran unless Iran helped herself by trying to arrive at an oil agreement. This seemed impossible. Dr. Mosaddeq had no positive proposals he had full powers and yet accomplished not nothing. He quarreled with the shark. He called with the Senate and dismissed it. He even dismissed the House of Representatives. And when the Shar appointed another Prime Minister Dr.

Mossadeq could not go to parliament to try to get a vote of confidence because he dismissed it. And so after a short Civil War General Zod became prime minister constitutionally. Now very good agreement was in arrived at in place of the old British company. You have a consortium in which a British company has a 40 percent interest 40 percent interest is held by the five great United States companies and the other 20 is divided between the Royal Dutch Shell and French companies. Now one of the great stumbling blocks was a question of compensation because the Iranians said well the Anglo Iranian Oil Company has made plenty of money out of us. Our country and we're not going to pay any more. In fact Iran is paying only about 70 million dollars. But the anger Iranian is to get compensation from its friends in the consortium who are

buying an interest. In fact the the other member of the consortium want to pay about 90 million dollars down and over a period of years. Six hundred million dollars in the form of so many cents per barrel. And provided this kind of arrangement lasts long enough the total compensation collected by the Anglo Iranian will be seven hundred and sixty million dollars. Iran will keep a small oil field to work and a small refinery for local use and will have a right to sell direct to 12 percent of the crude oil if it wishes. There is one important change certain things which the company used to do such as housing medical services training employ the making of roads and provision of water electricity and so on that have to be done by the Iranian authorities in future and that will be a test

of the progress that Iran is making. The medical services of the Iranian Oil Company were pretty good in fact it was the only area in the country where Malaria had been wiped out. Now the second important question is that of the CAN I was only need you to. You know that Egypt was occupied in 1882 by the British when it seemed as though the French who had already taken Algiers and Tunis might take Egypt too. In those days there was no League of Nations no United Nations. And the foreign critics are used protection to severely United States here or should remember the interest which they have OR's attached to say Cuba and Samoa and who was in 1922 in Egypt became independent. Those certain questions such as the Sudan and foreigner. Through

communications were left to the British government in 1936 a treaty was concluded which excluded only the question of those who don't. Egypt and Britain made in the alliance by which some British troops were allowed to remain for 20 years. Now that treaty came under heavy Gyptian criticism after the war but it was popular enough at the time in fact the prime minister the Egyptian prime minister who concluded it had a special stamp postage stamp struck showing himself and Mr. Reagan as he then was signing the treaty. However after the war the Egyptians want to know how the matters up but no agreement can be arrived at until the present military government came in strong enough to deal with this question because it gained popularity by taking abuses such as the largest large landlords and other problems. On the other

hand there had been strategic developments for instance the hydrogen bomb made it desirable to disperse forces instead of concentrating them. Then the admission of Turkey to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization made it desirable that the defense could be on Turkey's right flank rather than farther away. Various reasons it was easier for Britain to accept the proposal that her Treaty troops should be withdrawn. There are to be withdrawn within 20 months from the signature of the treaty that is by about the middle of next year and in fact the removal is going on much faster than the agreement provided. The base was left there and be looked after by a large number of civilians under the direction of the British Federation of industries. And the base will be brought into use again if there is an attack

on Egypt or on Turkey or on any state which is a party to the joint defense of the Arab League. The treaty has to last for seven years now connected with this Egyptian problem is the problem of the Sudan. Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians early in the last century. It was lost in the early 1880s to a fanatical Sudanese leader the marketeer religious leader. And the country was not recovered until 1898 was recovered by a joint British and Egyptian expedition. And from that time the country was under the two flags Egyptian and British administrations carried out mainly by the British with some Egyptian help. But the situation was never fully defined. Now there's the feeling of nationalism in Egypt increased. It was

applied with a growing force to Saddam and his world and finally towards the end of his reign King Faruk claimed for sovereignty over the whole of the Nile Valley and proclaimed himself king of the Sudan as well as of Egypt. In fact he issued a decree which place to sit down in an inferior position in regard to Egypt. The king of Egypt was to run the financier's in the foreign affairs of the Sudan and this could not be accepted by the British authorities because by that time the Sudan was working towards self-government. And this Egyptian scheme would have been a step back. Well there was a long bargaining and finally air.

There had to be a compromise in order to get rid of this Egyptian claim to sovereignty over Sudarsan the British had to give up their connection with the Sudan which had lasted with very happy results for over 50 years. The arrangement now is this the administration of those who darn is being sued and eyes very rapidly. Already the police and the army completely Sudan ised and the Judicial Service and the other services will be completely run by the Sudanese in a very short time. On a given date the British troops and such Egyptian troops as there are will leave and eventually there will be a constituent assembly which will decide on the future of those who down to issues will be for the bee before the assembly or whether to vote for complete independence or for some form of union with

Egypt. Put Egypt there to question this prestige because Dawn has been connected more or less with Egypt pro a long time. But its mainly a question of bread and butter which depends on water the water of the Nile. Egypt has a fast growing population every year. There are a quarter of a million more mouths to feed and these can only be fed by having additional water from the Nile. But it doesn't depend only on the Sudan it depends also on countries higher up Uganda and Ethiopia. Let us hope that all parties will come to a wise decision for the division of water. And that when the Sudan takes this momentous vote the vote it takes will be for the general good. Now the last problem is that of what is called the Bahraini oasis.

It happens that Britain has had very close relations with the Arab states on the Persian Gulf for a very long time the first treaty was made very soon after American independence. Seven hundred ninety seven and from eighteen hundred and twenty eight. There's a long string of treaties with the small states ruling out piracy in the slave trade in joining on the states not to alienate their territory to foreign powers and so on. On the other hand most of the mainland of the Arabian Peninsula has come under the rule of the Saudi dynasty. You will remember the great even the South who died only two years ago. Now he Kingdom has a front which is largely defined on the east. No one knows quite where the Arab States and Saudi Arabia begins. Well that use

not to meto accept that there was a tribal squabble or quarrels on Front years but when a state like Saudi Arabia becomes modern It wants to have a defined front. Besides as a question of oil and there it introduces a new complication. Well after a great deal of negotiation it was agreed last year that two of the problems on the border should be submitted to arbitration. I cannot be expected to go into this matter because I am myself a member of the arbitration tribunals. There are five members one representing Saudi Arabia one Britain myself. Then we have a distinguished bodhran chairman and a Pakistani and a Cuban. And we may hope that you know the road to no one will think any more about this question any more than people think about the boundary between Canada

and Alaska which at one time cold much heart burning on both sides. You've been listening to Sir reader board Britain's foremost expert on the Middle East speaking on some problems of the Middle East solved. Listen next week when window on the world will present Rear-Admiral A.D. Nicol a leading British strategist. His topic western strategy for defense this has been a tape recorded presentation of the National Association of educational broadcasters and cooperation with the British Information Services. This is the end AB Radio Network.