NEGOTIATIONS WITH EGYPT

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25092, 25 January 1947, Page 7

NEGOTIATIONS WITH EGYPT

“Acute Difficulty” Over Sudan POSSIBILITY OF BREAKDOWN (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, Jans 24. The British-Egyptian negotiations for revision of the 1936 treaty may not yet have broken down, but the diplomatic correspondent of “Thex Times” emphasises that “acute difficulty has undoubtedly presented itself.” He adds: “The two sides cannot agree pvpr the future of the Sudan, and officials in London admitted yesterday—before Mr Bevin’s second meeting with the Egyptian Ambassador—that they could not see a way forward. “Since Norkrashy Pasha became Prime Minister, suggestions have been made for breaking the deadlock. As the other parts of the treaty are virtually complete, it was thought that the Sudanese question might be detached from the treaty and be settled later by a conference at which the Sudanese would be represented, provided that in the meantime both sides acknowledged the Sudanese right of choice for the future.

“As there is common agreement that the Sudanese are not at present equipped to make their choice, it was hoped that a satisfactory arrangement satisfying all interests could bp made, but those hopes have not yet been fulfilled, and even those Egyptians who hold most strongly that an alliance with Britain is essential are now beginning to say that Anglo-Egyptian accord can only be obtained by removing the Sudan question from the present negotiations and referring it to UNO.”

“If a break occurs in the BritishEgyptian negotiations it will have been caused solely by the Egyptian Government’s obdurate refusal to admit that when the time comes the Sudanese people shall be free-to choose whether they shall be united with Egypt or independent,” says the diplomatic correspondent of the “Daily Herald.” “Everything else has been settled, but the Egyptians insist that the Sudan protocol shall be so framed as to imply that union of Egypt with the Sudan under the Egyptian Crown is permanent. It is a claim no British

Government can accept. The Egyptians have been offered the main treaty without the Sudan protocol, leaving the whole question for future discussion, but they have refused everything except some formula whereby the British Government would admit and endorse their claim to permanent union. “If the negotiations definitely end the legal position is that the 1936 treaty remains in force.” Failure Alleged in Cairo “The British and Egyptian negotiations have failed and the Egyptian Government no longer entertains the slightest hope that the parties will arrive at any agreement,” said a prominent Egyptian official. He added: “Our recourse to the United Nations is now inevitable. The 1936 treaty has died a natural death. Every Egyptian regards it as null and void. The Egyptian Prime Minister (Nokrashy Pasha) saw King Farouk to-day about the negotiations for a new British-Egyptian treaty. , Aft agency report from Cairo said that while Nokrashy Pasha was at the palace, reports spread in The city that the Egyptian Government had decided to break off negotiations and take the matter to the United Nations. A correspondent in the Middle East, however, said that these reports were purely rumours. A British spokesman said nothing was known about any decision to stop negotiations. The correspondent added: “The initiative is with the Egyptian Government to decide whether or not to go ahead with the affair. So far as the Sudan is concerned, the only proposal the British could accept would be one that did not involve going back on their undertaking to the Sudanese that ultimately they would have the right to choose union with Egypt or independence.” _ „ The Lebanese Chamber of Deputies has carried a resolution supporting Egypt’s demand for the of British forces and the incorporation of the Sudan under the Egyptian Crown. ATOMIC ENERGY CONTROL BRITISH MEMBERS DENY U.S. REPORTS (Rec. 9 p.m.) NEW YORK, Jan. 23. The British delegation to the United Nations denies American reports that it is seeking the British Government’s approval for a new atomic energy control plan giving the responsibility for defining violations and punishing them to an atomic energy authority in which there would be no veto. ~ , . Members of the delegation said that efforts were being made to find a solution of the atomic energy control problem acceptable to both Russia and the United States, but it was much too soon to suggest any definite plan, particularly on the lines of the American reports. .

NO OBSTRUCTION OF SPANISH SHIP

MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL WORKERS’ DECISION

(Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 23. Manchester Ship Canal dock workers, who earlier threatened to hinder the passage of the Spanish ship Mar Rojo, decided, in view of urgent production needs, to unload her cargo of iron ore, ensure a speedy turn-round, and permit her free passage to sea. TRANSPORT WORKERS IN BRITAIN CONSTITUTION FOR UNION (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 24. Two Conservative Party backbenchers, Messrs Christopher Hollis and Boyd Carpenter, have tabled a motion calling upon the Government to establish a time limit within which the Transport and General Workers’ Union shall adopt a democratic constitution under which its officers will be subject to direct election or removal by its members, and shall give members of the union an opportunity of declaring whether or not they wish to belong to the union or some other union.