WHY THE RIFF FIGHTS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 1 August 1925, Page 11

WHY THE RIFF FIGHTS.

BECAUSE HE LIKES IT.

DISSATISFIED WITH PEACE: RESTLESS FOR WAR.

Few - .people here have any clear idea as to why the Hitt' is lighting, especially since tihe carefully spread explanation that it was solely for independence ha« been completely exploded by five invasion of territories and tribes r.rider France which have nothing to do, geographically or racially, with the Hilt (.writes Boyd Cable in the Spectator). Probably the firsts—and to us perhaps almost incredible. —reason is that the Rifians are at war because they like it like lighting purely tor fighting's. sake. They lare, and always, from time immemorial, have been, born fighters, dissatisfied with peace, restless for war. When the Rill' tribes have not been combined to light some outsiders., Carthage liians, Humans, Arabs, or Spanish, they have been at war against neighbouring tribes. When not fighting, outsiders, .some of the Hill triibe.fi have fought- other Riff tribes, and when there was a. «s!laek season in inter-tribal wars, ia.rn.ily lends were taken up anti pursued hotly. The greatest hold Abdel Krini has over his people is that lie has given them plenty of war, and by successfully raising funds abroad lias provided the Hitt with plentiful rifles and cartridges. He played a. master stroke after the Spanish disaster of 192 T, when the Riff agents by treachery and intrigue raised a .sudden flame of revolt, took the scattered and ill 1-armed Spanish {ra.rri.sons completely unawares, drove them in, or when they .surrendered as prisonens of war butchered them —men, women sand children alike —by thousands, and held the survivors to ransom.

Abdel Krirn held them in his own stronghold at Adjir, and by inflicting deliberate and abominable hardship and toil ure upon them and letting Spam know of their sufferings managed to extract some millions of pesetas ransom Tor such at the unlortuma.tes as survived the imprisonment The fact- that the Spanish, troops advanced and recaptured practically all the lost ground and inflicted heavy losses on the rebels counted little against the gain of a large fund to arm the tribes with the rifles which the Rlifiaius have always worshipped. Abdel Krini became a thorn in the flesh of the Spaniards, continually stirring up trouble amongst the tribes which hatl settled down under Spanish rule. Up to now his propagandists have successfully spread the belief in Europe that tribes- which “revolted against Spain, were driven to it by Spanish oppression and injustice and a fear of losing their land. Only now are we learning—France and her tribes expensively and painfully so—the simple and eeffetive methods used by Abdel Krini. to induce such “revolt.'’ A tribe whose assistance is required receives an ultimatum that it can either join the Rifians or light them, a powerful and well-armed body of Rifians waiting the reply either in or around the villages or territory, while the French or Spanish forces are l'ar away with plenty of Riff forces between. Under such conditions a tribe does not long hesitate in its choice.

The cure for the half-hearted lighting or desertion which might be expected from these forcibly recruited tribes is indicated in a report from

the coM-rent Moroccan (Tangier) paper, A 1 Moghreb Al-Aksa: “From Meknes iib is stated that Abdel Knm has shot the chiefs of the tithes which fled befoie thie French attack, imprisoned many of Ids generals, beheaded deserters, and executed 400 men ... This is merely a sample of the known and accepted methods of keeping reluctant fighters up to the mark. Because deserting or mutinous tribes nuist leave their women and families, homes, and cattle within leach ol Abdel Krim, they have another excellent. reason for lighting on. Ihns must, not be taken to. mean the, Kin tribes are reluctant fighters. They a,e very much the, reverse, and the persuasion described is mainly to*. decide a tribe on which .side it will fighi. or to bring in tribes outside the

proper. Krim himself has another and substantial reason for desiring independence and for his skilful efforts to secure the backing Fu rope an .sup.porteis for his claims. For this reason we must go back a little in his. history. There are thirty tribes in the Kiri. two or three of Arab descent, the rest pure Biei'ber. The origin of these Berber's is lost in antiquity, but whatever they are they are not Arab, and since Ahde Krim’« tribe-is Berber this rather discounts his claim to. be of any ruling (Arab) descent, much Jess a descendant of the Prophet. The Time* correspondent. perhaps the best lnlorincrl European to-day on Moorish thought and opinion, ha.s stated that in this claim to ruling descent Abdel lvrim is regarded as an upstart. The point is of importance, since Abdel Krim is using it to. preach a “Holy War” and, with some success, to raise Mohammedan subscriptions lor a war of Cross versus Orescent. Abdel Krim is one of the two sons of a small local headman who (like most Moors) had a childlike faith in the limitless mineral wealth of his own locality. Having the wisdom to' see that he could best exploit such weai'.t-h by educating his sons in European fashion, he sent one son to Madrid to become a mining engineer. The studies were not very successful and the son returned with a very thin smattering of mineralogy which, however, has some use in impressing the ignorant tribesmen. Abdel Krim took

service with the Spanish, and early ill his career came in touch with, and under the influence of, the important German Manneisimann group or synclxpoited still to be, an agent of the Mannesmann interests which previous to 1914 fostered so many intrigues and made such exaggerated . claims about mining rights that an international Convention was set up to. study and decide upon the conflicting claims. The war broke off this work, but Germany naturally made good use of the Mannesmamn agent to. forward the efforts of the Germans and their Moorish allies against the French m Morocco So .successful was Abdel Krim in this work that repeated complaints were made by France to the Spanish authorities, who could not refuse to give ear to the complaints and proofs of K. rim’s activities, the- more so because he was then actually employed in the Spanish. Intelligence, was therefore involving Spanish neutrality in the war, and it was impossible for Spain to permit their official employee to help German intrigue to considerable purpose against f renen troops. The Spanish authorities finally shut Abdel Krim up in a fortress outside Meliila, from which he only escaped by a drop into the moat which broke his leg, and lelt him a cripple lor life with a virulent hatred for Spain. At. the end of Hie war the interrupted Cbnunis'sion on mining rights resumed its labours, concluding them in 1921 with a. set of clear and him rules, the first and most important of which —to Aibdel Krim especially —is that the exercise of any mining rights must be submitted to International Regulations, and all concessions and agreements must be internationally accepted and approved. There i.s nothing in this to prevent any. Moor, in or out of the Riff, selling land, or any mining right of it, which belongs to him. But it does prevent the same land or any mining right of it. which belongs to him. But it does prevent the same land or same rights belong sold several times to different individuals or companies, allowing the Moor to pocket the several sums, and leave the validity of confused and eo-n Hi citing claims to bo fought out in European court**. Abdel Krim wants independence for the Biff for the good reason that flu's would leave him sole authority over any and all mineral righs. It is idle to talk of nvaking any “peace” with him, because he could not keep it- il lie would. There will be no peace in Morocco until. Abdel Krim and his own tribe, the most warlike and domineering of them all, are subdued and disarmed, their strongholds of Alhucemais Bay and Adjir seized and garrisoned, their power to terrorise and force other tribes into war broken. Spanish Generals have known this for long enough, but. it is only during the last, year or so that under a strong and stable Government the adequate military preparations could be made for a decisive blow—such a blow as ni.ay fall .sooner than they expect on the mainspring of ail the trouble, Aibdel Krim and hie tribe.