EGYPT.

Grey River Argus, 7 June 1922, Page 3

EGYPT.

NATIVE OPINION OF NEW ‘ ‘INDEPENDENCE. ’ 5 Writing in the British ‘‘Labour Leader” Hamed Mahmud, N.8.L.8. (Edin.), says: The abolition of the Protectorate has been ■ declared, guns have been fired and Government buildings decorated. But all this has been useless, and the roaring of the guns was intermingled with the voice of tho demonstrators cheering the ■ name of Saad Zaghlul Pasha.” ’ Thus writes an Egyptian to his friends in England. The fact that the much-vaunted British declaration of In--1 dependence to Egypt was celebrated by hostile demonstrations, strikes and disturbances throughout Cairo and Alexandria and in the provinces is a significant comment upon the nature of that independence. The appearance in the Press at all of the news of these disturbances, in view of the rigid censorship in Egypt and the recent studied silence of the majority of the papers here, is -evidence of their extreme seriousness as showing the direction of public opinion in Egypt. The Egypt- . ians have been duped by promises too long and disappointed too often to i be deceived now by a mere show of independence. They are told that they > no longer have a Sultan, but a King. They are told that Egypt is free and • that a new era, which they are asked to acclaim with joy, has begun. What ' they know is that the leaders in whvin they have cofidence are deported and the very mention of their nam-es con--1 sidered a crime, that men whom they do not trust are set up in authority, that law and the censorship are as rigori ously enforced as ever, and they fail to find freedom in any of these conditions. An Elaborate Force. What wonder, then, that, deprived i of the right of voicing their opinions iin the Press, they should show their ’ disapproval by demonstrating against those who joined in the elaborate farce of rejoicing at this mockery of independence, and that they should publicly cheer the name and call for the immediate return from exile of the man through whom they believe that Egypt can attain the fulfilment of her legitimate aspirations and whom th-ey have chosen to voice their demands. I The only people who can be said to have ‘‘celebrated’’ Egypt's independence in the orthodox sense are the members of the British Residency, the foreign and American tourists, more con- , corned with pleasure-seeking than the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, and the Government officials, ■whose hands are obviously tied. Two Stories. It would be perhaps unjust to say that no other section. of the community had cause for rejoicing without quoting the following story contained in a private letter from Cairo:—‘ * The King (lately the Sultan) ordered £fi,Ooo to bo distributed amongst the poor on the occasion of this ‘happy’ day, and actually a largo number of poor of Boiilac quart-or were assembled and alms distributed amongst them, after which they all came into the streets dancing happily and shouting ‘Long live Zaghul Pasha! May God return him soon! Long live Zaghul Pasha! ” A further story from the same letter is illustrative of the way in which the Egyptian country-folk regard the new ‘‘independence.” A notable, before coming to Cairo to attend the Adbin Palace ceremonies to which he had been summoned, -was asked by his wife, ‘where are you going?’ On receiving his reply she then asked, ‘Why?’ He replied, ‘The English have abolished the Protectorate and have recognised our independence. ’ She looked happy and said joyfully, ‘Then the English are leaving Egypt ’ ‘No,’ was the answer. ‘‘Then Zaghul Pasha is returning.” ‘No.-’ Thon what is the meaning of th-.? abolition of the Protectorate and the recognition of independence ’ Her husband searched his mind, but could find no answer.” Not a Square Deal. And when he came to Cairo, what did he find? Meetings prohibited, lances and rifles displayed ami used to overawe the people, students who ' supported the popular party lassooed and J dragged (if independent reports corroborating each other can be trusted), tied to the tails of horses, to the police station, and every evidence of a ruthless military occupation continuing, i The fact which Egypt realises and the fact that England, too, must realise if the problem is to be solved is that up to the present time ‘‘the more changes there are, the more things stay the same.” "With their people under British military control and their leaders in exile the blessed word ‘‘.independence” does not help much with the people, (‘ven though all the British residents and all official Egypt declares that the millennium has come. It is not the millennium that the Egyptian people seek, but a square deal, and there has been no sign of it yet.