Why the Visit of King Amanullah is so Important.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17411, 25 May 1928, Page 10

Why the Visit of King Amanullah is so Important.

Many New Zealanders who have not time to keep Ihemelves in touch with world affairs must have wondered why tho visit of King AmanullaJi to England was sf such importance to tho Empire. Here is the reason : “Under Kemal Pasha, the Turks at long last turned the tide of European conquest; under Riza Khan, Persia, once merely spheres of influence, shook off tho burdens imposed by Britain and Russia; under Ibn Saud, Arabia has become more nearly a unity than at any time since the clays of the great Caliphs; under Amanullah Khan, Afghanistan has extorted a recognition of her independence and has entered as a kingdom into the comitv of nations. “Not one of the Middle Eastern States escaped the pressure of European imperialism; not. one of them but believes that that pressure, from which they have now obtained release, will be applied again tho moment they become week. They stand before the West suspicious, resentful and almost hostile. They fear the West even when it brings gifts, and they face a pajnful dilemma. “They cannot copo with the West unless they learn from it, but they fear to learn too much from it lest the new learning sap tho foundations of their strength.’’ —“Manchester Guardian.” “King Amanullah of Afghanistan has not been content with the reports of agents; he has come in person. _ That is a compliment not only to tho West but to his own country, for it implies that King Amanullah has brought Afghanistan, once a congeries of savage and lawless tribes, to a degree of civilisation that permits its monarch to leave it with confidence to its own devices as none of his predecessors even dared to do,” adds the “Manchester Guardian.” “While he studies Western civilisation in its own home tho work of civilisation whch he has so brilliantly begun is being pushed on vigorously in Afghanistan. “It has brought strange things to the Afghan. The peasant tunes in to the groat wireless stations of Eastern Europe; the soldier carries the latest arms and learns European drill; the merchant abandons bullock'transport for the motorlorrv; the gilded youth of'the capital take their pilot’s certificate; most wonderful of all, tho children of rich and poor go regularly to school. These, however, are but the beginnings, and King Amanullah comes to Europe with his staff of experts to gain fresh knowledge for further development and to test for himself what

type of men and of nations similar developments have produced in tho West. “The responsibility of this country is perhaps greater than that of the other countries of which King Amanullah has . been or will be tho guest, for it is political as well as cultural. It is significant , that for the work of modernisation King j Amanullah has preferred to use French, | German, or Russian helpers rather than British. “To Britain, as it seems to Afghan opinion, Afghanistan is still but an object of policy, tho possible battleground between Russia and the British Empire. The Afghan has no particular love for Russia, and has a shrewd distrust of the Red slogan of ‘Freedom for the shackled races of the East,’ since the actual policy of Aloscow is not very different from the old imperialism of Tsarist days. “The obstacle to that imperialism is once again Britain, and once again the Afghan is willing to believe that Britain’s aim is to use him for her own ends. It is of tho utmost importance that that feeling should be removed and that King Amanullah should be convinced that what used to be known as a forward policy is not the policy of this country, but that, on the contrary, Britain intends to treat Afghanistan as an equal and wishes only to : be of service to her. '• “That is very important to Afghanistan; it is perhaps more important to this coun- ■ try. The keys of our Empire lie in the Middle East, and a threat there threatens j the stability of the whole Imperial fab- j ric. In that region we have many cri- | tics who may naturally look for support j to an alliance of the liberated nations of the Middle East. . In that alliance, if it comes into being, Afghanistan and its King must of necessity play a predominant part. “It can be either a bridge between East and West, a factor in tho uniting of the civilised world, or tho spearhead of an Asiatic offensive against Europe. The decision will rest largely in the hands of the new men whom the convulsions and revolutions of rccont years have brought to tho leadership of their peoples. \ Opportunity of Great Moment. j “If they aro convinced that the policy of Europe—and Europe means largely this country —is peace ana co-operation instead of expansion and exploitation, the world will be spared a long period of unrest and danger. But. they need to be convinced. It is in the chance that it affords to convince one of them that the visit of King Amanullah is not merely an interesting social event, but a political opportunity of great moment.”