BRITAIN AND PERSIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 January 1928, Page 9

BRITAIN AND PERSIA

AN . IMPORTANT MISSION. Sir Denys Bray, the Secretary of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, is about to visit. Mesopotamia and Teheran to investigate certain difficulties with Per sia (writes the Simla correspondent of the Sunday Times). It is an open secret that his mission is concerned principally with the spread in Persia of pernicious Russian propaganda, and every avenue is to be explored to exert British influence and to resist “Red” intrigue and activities. How serious the situation in Persia is becoming has been explained to me by Sir Sultan Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of Patna University, who has just returned from a tour. “I apprehend,” he said, “that if vigorous action is not taken, and Russia is allowed to have hqr own way in Persia, the time is not far distant when there will be serious trouble.” Sir Sultan had no hesitation in referring to “the dominating Russian influence in Persia.” He found that a remarkable improvement had taken place in the Persian Army, and that most of the senior officers were men who had received training in Moscow, Berlin, and in Paris. Mobilisation had become easy with the increasing use of armoured cars and lorries, and there was a good supply of military aeroplanes. Although the judicial system remained bad, there was an undoubted change for the better in the finincial administration. There were plenty of resources yet to be tapped, but capital was necessary and was not easily obtainable. “What alarms me most about Persia,” Sir Sultan went on, “is that when I was there in 1924 there were very few Russians visible in the country, and very few Russian goods could be found in the markets. There is now a great change. The markets are flooded with Russian goods and Russian influence is obvious in every quarter, both on the military and civil sides.”

In 1924 Duzdab was a small but flourishing town. British goods passed through freely. To-day it is a deserted village, with business at a standstill. The Quetta-Duzdab railway is now being run at a loss, due to Russian pressure from the north. The Russians, Sir Sultan explained, were hoping that the Duzdab railway would be abolished and in that case they would be able to proclaim their triumph before the Persians. This would have tremendous moral effect from their point of view. MANY FRIENDS LOST. “We shall have to strengthen our foreign policy in Persia if we are to meet the Russians effectively everywhere,” Sir Sultan declared. “I have intimate knowledge of Russian activities in the country, and I want to sound a note of warning so that the authorities will go deeply into th’e matter and take what steps are necessary. “The time has come for measures to be taken to irestore British prestige and to counteract, as much as possible, the sinister Russian influence in Persia. We have many friends there, but the number is much smaller now than it was three years Sir Sultan advocated that the Duzdab railway be retained at all cost, and he is convinced that a little relief to traders in the shape of reduced freights and other considerations would enable them to compete with thp Russians on the Eastern side of Persia.

If the railway was abolished he was afraid Eastern Persia would quickly become a Russian Protectorate. Tariff questions, too, must be adjusted. To demonstrate the vigour, with which Russian trade is being urged in Persia, he mentioned that Russian sugar and petrol were being sold more cheaply in the towns which were further away from the Russian frontier. “As the result of Russian intrigue,” Sir Sultan added, “the Persians as a whole, have been led to suspect every action of the British. Public opinion must be educated to counteract this. Leading Persians must be taken into confidence and convinced that India’s only ambition is to see Persia a strong, healthy, and independent country. Loss of the independence of Persia can only mean a clash with Russia,.” . . Persia was becoming too-Russianised While every European country and the United States were represented in the recent appointment of foreign officers for the organisation of railways and finance, there was more or less a total absence of British officers. Sir Sultan concluded with the hope that Sir Denys Bray’s visit would have a salutary effect, and would considerably improve relations with Persia.