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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE AL-BURAIMI DISPUTE; A CASE STUDY IN INTER-ARAB POLITICS by Saeed M. Al-Shamsi submitted to the Faculty of the College of Public and International Affairs of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations Signatures of Committee: Chairman: / \ f I U J P. C&j BSanof the College Date 1986 The American University (fiUol Washington, D.C. 20016 THE AffiBICAH UHIVEESITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © Copyright by Saeed M. Al-Shamsi Ail Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE AL-BURAIMI DISPUTE; A CASE STUDY OF INTER-ARAB POLITICS By Saeed M. Al-Shamsi ABSTRACT The Al-Buraimi dispute has been briefly written about in most of the political and legal literature related to the region. The main thrust of this thesis is to examine the issue of the Al-Buraimi dispute as it influences the poli­ tical transition, in the region, from a tribal to a modern nation-state. The study also examines the historical and current relationship of the Oasis and its people to the surrounding region. This work provides further knowledge of the influence and work of the British and American oil companies in the region. It also assists in understanding the process of political modernization. Since the Western concept of politics and the nation­ state system is a institution recently introduced to the traditional tribal way of life, this study is based on an historical descriptive approach to examine the issue. At the same time the integrative Federation of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), is examined, as well as the Arabian Gulf ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Cooperation Council (AGCC) and how the border disputes influence the process of the federations in the region. The findings of this study show that traditional tribalism is deeply rooted in the political system of the U.A.E., as well as the AGCC. Finally, the study shows that the Al-Buraimi dispute could be resolved by a combination of tribal loyalty and the principle of self-determination under international law, however, this achievement will depend on the degree to which the people of Al-Buraimi are directly represented during the negotiations. Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedicated to my family, my teachers my friends and a special person for their support and encouragement Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.............................................. Ü LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS................................ vi INTRODUCTION.......................................... 1 CHAPTER I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND..................... 8 A. The Gulf of Eastern Arabia............. 8 B. The Tribal Social Organization......... 15 C. The Disputed Areas..................... 23 1. Al-Udaid Area........................ 26 2. Liwa Area............................ 31 3. Al-Buraimi Area...................... 36 Buraimi, Kenasa, Al-Ain, Al-Jini, Al-Hili, Al-Mutiridh, Al-Muwaifi Al-Qattarah, Sa'arah CHAPTER II; THE PRESENCE OF FOREIGN INTERESTS......... 46 A. British Presence....................... 49 B. Saudi Arabian Presence................. 53 The First Saudi Dynasty.............. 53 The Second Saudi Dynasty ............ 57 The Third Saudi Dynasty.............. 59 C. U.S.A. Presence....................... 63 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER III: THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLAIMS AND CHARGES, 1949-1955 .................. 70 Claims and Counter-Claims .............. 71 CHAPTER IV: THE TURNING POINT, 1952-1955 .............. 93 The International Tribunal................ 109 CHAPTER V: THE PEOPLE OF AL-BURAIMI AND THE ENDLESS NEGOTIATION........................ 119 A. Exile to Saudi Arabia.................... 121 B. Going Home................................ 124 C. The Negotiations.......................... 126 Negotiations 1934-1949................ 133 Negotiations 1949-1955.................. 134 Negotiations 1955-1970................... 135 Negotiations 1970-1975................... 137 CHAPTER VI: THE TRANSITION OF TRIBAL SOCIETY TO A MODERN FEDERAL STATE.................. 140 A. The United Arab Emirates.................. 150 B. The Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC)............................ 161 CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION ............................... 172 APPENDICES.............................................. 185 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................ 254 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Maps 1. Tribal Map of the Arabian Peninsula............... 17 2. Central and Southern Arabia....................... 25 3. Southeast Arabia ................................. 33 4. Al-Buraimi Villages............................... 41 5. ARABIA Circa 1925................................. 73 6. The Saudi Arabia— Abu Dhabi Frontier, 1955-77. 131 7. The Internal Land Boundaries of the United Arab Emirates................................ 157 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION The history of Ancient Eastern Arabia is characterized by alternating periods of tribal war and peace. These rivalries, however, never forced the combatants to leave tribal properties and lands. The usually brief and narrow conflicts involved disputes over the location of water wells, camel herd ownership, farm land jurisdiction, and matters of honor. While the pattern of movement of Bedouin tribes is normally fixed, occasionally it may vary in response to changes in grazing due to rainfall or other factors. In order for the chief of a tribe to claim the territory over which his tribe roams, he must establish and maintain the loyalty of the people. Traditionally, territorial boundaries were of little significance because Tribal allegiance— not territory— defined political relationships.^ However, the loyalty of a tribe was not always constant. It might be shifted from one ruler and pledged to another or even withheld completely. This type of pledge of loyalty could lead to conflicting claims over the territories of the defecting tribes and become objects ^Alastair Drysdale, and Gerald H. Blake, The Middle East and North Africa; A Political Geography (New York, N.Y.; Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 8-89. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 of dispute. For these reasons, the concept of territorial sovereignty in the Western sense did not exist in the Eastern Arabian Gulf. However, the traditional tribal order could not withstand the tide of 19th Century British colonialism and the subsequent discovery of major oil reserves in Arabia in the first half of this century. These two develoments injected the modern concept of territorial sovereignty and, for the first time, necessitated the delimitation of boundaries in the region. The undefined borders constituted a major obstacle to the precise deliniation of oil con­ cessions secured by competing Anglo-American oil companies during the first half of this century. The problem was particularly complicated in the border areas with large potentials in oil reserves,