Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20, 1935. UNREST IN EGYPT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 303, 20 November 1935, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20, 1935. UNREST IN EGYPT.

The wave of self-determination that arose from the Great War among the smaller nations of Europe had a serious effect upon the political situation in Egypt, and the cry of “Egypt for the Egyptians” became the dominant note. The leader of the Nationalists or the Wafd Party, Zaglul Pasha, shortly after the signing of the Armistice sought permission from the British foreign Ufhce to send an Egyptian delegation to London to discuss matters of peculiar importance to Egypt, but though the High Commissioner (Sir R. Wingate) supported the request a curt denial was received. A second time Zaglul was refused permission, so he announced his programme early in 1919 to be one of complete independence for Egypt. The sequel was the banishment of the Wafd leader to Malta with other prominent Nationalists, and intense rioting for several months against British people and British property in which many lives were lost on both sides. Under General Allenby’s firm rule order was restored, and on February 28, 1922, the protectorate declared by Britain when the Great War broke out was terminated and Egypt was recognised as an independent sovereign State, Britain, however, reserving several important points relating to the protection of her interests. A new Constitution was drawn up and the first election in November, 1923, brought Zaglul to the Prime Ministership. The Nationalists immediately sought complete independence and the return of the the Sudan, and a few days later horrified the world with the assassination of Sir Lee Stack, the Governor-General of the Sudan. In spite of efforts by Britain to settle the difficult situation that had arisen the Nationalists rejected each proposal, Foreign Secretaries in Sir Austen Chamberlain and tlie late Mr Arthur Henderson finding the Wafd demands beyond reasonable bounds. Nahas Pasha, who had succeeded Zaglul in the leadership of the party, was no less truculent. In the intervening period Egypt has had several ministries. In 1930 there were severe riots and the Constitution was amended, Parliamentary Government having been suspended two years earlier. But always the Nationalists have been a powerful factor in Egyptian politics.

The riots that have taken place in Cairo lately are a symptom of the unrest that will suddenly become grave though not manifest to any extent. It is, however, of more consequence today because of Egypt’s key position in regard to Abyssinia. The spark that inflamed their feelings was the speech of Sir Samuel Hoare in which he rightly claimed that the Governments of Great Britain and Egypt were in agreement upon matters of common policy, including the steps taken to assure the security of the sources of the Nile, and of Egypt as a whole, in view of the Italo-Abyssinian dispute. He further expressed a desire that Egypt might return to constitutional government. Anxious to return to Power, the Wafd have used this speech to attack ilie Government and create dissension against Britain. Recent Egyptian history shows how bitter they are. In 1930 King Fuad after using the Wafd to overthrow his Prime Minister, Mahmud Pasha, turned upon liis own allies, who, it is related, were strengthening then- thinly veiled party dictatorship at the expense of the Crown, and chose Sidky Pasha as his Prime Minister. So successful was the move that the Wafd Party was defeated and reduced to lmpo-

tence; the Constitution was modified to the Nationalists’ disadvantage and the Waf'dist boycott of the elections gave the King a Parliament he sought. But the King’s dangerous illness later led to British intervention, supported by a large body of Egyptian opinion, and to Nessim Pasha being appointed Prime Minister of a non-party government. The new Premier had been supported previously by the Wafd,, AA’hose cause revived, but Nessim Pasha refused to hold an election and the party then, strangely enough, found new hope in an alliance Avith the King. There has since developed a movement within the party of' extreme violence towards Britain, and Nahas Pasha’s threat that unless Britain_ recognises the fundamental grievances behind the students’ riots the trouble may be more serious than in 1919 and 1930 is sinister. A delicate situation has been created, but British interests cannot be left to the mercies of Egyptian fanatics.