BRITISH POLICY IN SOMALILAND

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19986, 19 December 1934, Page 9

BRITISH POLICY IN SOMALILAND

SEQUEL TO ITALY’S ULTIMATUM PLAIN STATEMENT BY MINISTER British Official Wireless (Received December 18, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, December 17. The situation on the Italian Somaliland and Ethiopian frontier was the subject of a statement by Sir John Simon in the House of Commons. He said that on November 23 the AngloEthiopian Boundary Commission, which had lately completed the demarcation of the frontier between Ethiopia and British Somaliland, and which also was charged with an investigation of the watering and grazing areas which for generations had been used by the nomadic British Somali tribes, arrived in the vicinity of wells at Wallal and Wardair, which always had been so used. These wells lie in the neighbourhood of the undefined border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia, and had been in Italian occupation for some time. v The Italian Government previously had been notified of the joint Commission’s movements, but, unfortunately, had hot been passed on to the officer commanding the Italian troops at the wells, and he had declined to permit the joint Commission to enter the area.

Sir John said that a formal protest was recorded by the British representative, Colonel Clifford, and his Ethiopian colleague, the Commission subsequently withdrawing to a camp 30 kilometres distant. On December 5 a serious encounter, in which the joint Commission was not in any way concerned, occurred between the Italian colonian troops and the Ethiopian forces in the vicinity of the wells. Since then the Ethiopian Government had made an offer to the Italian Government to submit the dispute to arbitration, and they now have reported the matter to the League of Nations. As the disputed ownership of these wells had given rise to local unrest, Sir John Simon said he had instructed the British representative at Roe and Addis Ababa, prior to the above incident, to recommend the desirability of the early demarcation of the frontier. Before the news of the clash on December 5, the Italian Government had informed the British Government of their willingness to allow Colonel Clifford and his Ethiopian colleague to enter the area of the wells and carry out their work. As soon as the news of the clash was received instructions were immediately despatched to Colonel Clifford to withdraw his section from the affected area. Similar instructions were being sent by the Emperor of Ethiopia to the Abyssinian Commission.