Fo#371/128221

1 2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE mi I «./ ay i Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the Public Record Office's tejms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of Public Records' leaflet

!-. U0> nut ( ictt BRITISH EMBASSY, CONFIDENTIAL FT" BBIKUT. (10217/5/57) January 31 > 1957.

This is our weekly letter on conditions in Egypt and Syria; as before, we are reporting on the Damascus trials separately. The information on Syria comes mostly from the Syrian press (mainly as reported in the Lebanese papers, since the ban on Syrian papers entering Lebanon has been extended. AS for the Egyptian press, however, which the Foreign Office do receive (via this Embassy) we shall in future only refer to it in this series when we get local confirmation of reports in it, presumably the ample evidence in it on matters like Egyptian reorganisation of foreign trade and (under the "Five "fear plan") of domestic industry is collated in London.

2. With reference to paragraph 8 of last week's letter, the Lebanese Press widely reports that the populist party has elected its new executive. Its Chairman is still Rushdi Kekhi*, but he is expected to resign shortly and retire from active politics. Adnan Atassi, Nazim Qudsi, Rashad Jabri and Shaker el Aas, of the right wing of the party, are said to be excluded. The party has announced a new policy condemning the Bagdad pact, denouncing the alleged authors of the "Plot", and supporting the policy of "positive neutrality", 3* A Lebanese working for I. C. I. » who some time ago told us that the Syrian Government had made it practically impossible to obtain import licences for British and French goods, now says there are signs that they are making this easier. k» A leading Aleppo lawyer tells an ex-member (Syrian) of our Vice-Consulate there that the economic situation there is bad, and payment of debts is b^ing delayed. He thought the Baath Socialists were not sufficiently confident of their support - particularly in the Army - to risk elections yet. He also said that though he had no knowledge of a "Russian base" at SBSAFB (the story carried recently by the British press) he had been firmly discouraged by the local authorities from visiting the place. 5* The Inspector of the British Bank of the Kiddle East has been told by the Syrian Government that he must "gyrianise" his bank within two months (i.e. put in Syrian managers) or close it in Syria, MO» was he allowed to visit Syria to make the necessary arrangements. He expects that the Bank will comply and that nationalisation will follow. The Bank is doing no business. 6, The stories of the arrival of Russian technicians, to the number of 250, seem well authenticated. 7» The Director-General of the Lebanese Ministry of Defence and another high official were agreed in saying that the real power in Syria rested with Akram Hpurani and Michel Aflak; and that in two or three months one could J. H. A, Watson, Esq., /expect FOBEIGH OFFICE. -2- expect a coup within the Army whereby Sarraj would oust Nizamuddin. 81 An I. p. C, official here, who is normally very we

Jordan, and considered A^ram Hurani dangerous. According to "Nahar", well-informed circles in Egypt are saying that Nasser relies on Kuwatly co restrain the excesses of the Baathists in Syria. King Saud on the other hand is afraid lest Nasser has himself lost control of the leftist trend. The internal division in Egypt is likely to be accentuated by the trials said to be going on in secret of a number of political personalities - /notably cms

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notably All Maher, Dr* Sanhoury, Pouad Sara;} Ed Din - accused of treason for having advised Nasser to accept the Franco- British ultimatum of October 31 last* Haeaer claims to be in possession of documents proving complicity with Paris and London* and showing Ali f aher as the Anglo-French candidate for leader of the Egyptian Government which would have negotiated with the two powers* According to ^ahar", howeverf this accusation commands little public belief and is likely to cause trouble* The "Nahar" despatch has appeared in other Lebanese papers - one of which adds that Nasser has not forgotten that Akrairi Rurani and K haled Riled ache used to call his government "The Government of the Bikdachi". A Lebanese informant who may be connected with a Counsellor of the Lebanese ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that, according to a report received by the Lebanese Government, fabri Assali himself had asked Saud and jiasser, when he was in Egypt for the quadripartite meeting, to do something to put the brake on Russian influence in Syria; and alleged that zakaria Mohieddin held the real power in the revolutionary Council. I3« The POAC representative in Egypt (Eg ptian born but of a Syrian mother) relates that "islamisation" and "Egyptian- isation" are the order of the day. The official identity card shows one* s religion and is the first item t> be looked at in any official business* one muet either by a Muslim or "Egyptian! sed" - which appears to mean being descended on both sides from Egyptian-born parents as far back as can be traced. The Copts are being relegated to the junior or provincial posts and o'-her ; religions, apart from Islam, are being treated likewise. Indeed, a law is on the tapis whereby firms would have to employ 75 '• Muslims and 20t "Kgyptianioed" - which, in view of the comparative lack of talent among Muslim Egyptians for certain professions such as banking, would cause chaos. The only way to run staff matters is apparently to put an Egyptian Muslim in charge of them and let him "fix* the authorities* This tendency is confirmed by the Head of the Overseas Section of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see cur letter No, 1011/16/57 of to-day to Levant Department), who tells us that the expulsion of Egyptians of Lebanese origin is proving a headache for Lebanon. liu The informant quoted in paragraph 11 above had also heard that the Egyptian Finance Minister, Kaisaouni, sees the crash coming but that the Military Junta will not allow him access to Hasser, and threaten him with press attacks based on hie having an English wife. 15. On January 29 the buying rate for the Egyptian pound in Beirut was 6*35 (Bank Hote) and 5.50 (virersent inte"rieur) •

(I. D. Scott) cms

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V. (1028/20/57) BRITISH EMBASSY, IRUT. UNCLASSIFIED February 7> 1957.

Dear Department, The proceedings in the Damascus trial, which we have "been trying to follow, (our letter 1028/17/57 of January 29), were to be resumed on February 5. All we can add this week is a translation / h' (part verbatim, part summary due to -/» pressure of other work) of the continuation of the Prosecution's closing speech of January 28 - 29 as reported piecefie<4 in Beirut paper 'Jarlda'. The first part was enclosed with our letter referred to above. 2. We understand that the complete record of the proceedings so far is on sale in Damascus at £Syr.28 a copy, in French, and we could, obtain one if you wish. Yours ever,

CHANCERY

Levant Department, Foreign Office,. London, S.W.1. cms

On the fifth of July, 1956, the Syrian Parliament, in accordance with a decision "by the Syrian Government, issued itself a decision supporting the government's move for union with Egypt. This came as a third "blow to imperialism. If we examine Bourhan Adham's statement in which he said that Salah Shishakly called him to meet his brother Adib Shishakly in Beirut in July, we infer that Shishakly's corning to Beirut was motivated "by this decision, as was Salah Sbishakly's and ivlahmoud wla'rouf's trip to Paris to meet Adib Shishakly delegated by the P.P.S. and the Iraqi Government, motivated "by the expulsion of Glubb from Jordan. This decision, while reviving hopes in the hearts of the Ara~bs, and incited hatred in the heart of imperialism and the P.P.S. Said TakiedJine has stated that the 3?. P. 3. favour any union among the Arab States, Tout not a Syro-3gyptian union. They ;allege that they support union with Iraq, tut we tell them that had Iraq, been free f rorn treaties and alliances, they would have objected to any sort of a Syro-Iraqi union. Why is it that the P.P.S. are so keen on a Syro-Iraqi union and do not work for a. Syro- Lebanese union despite the many things in common be'.ween Syria a::d the Lebanon especially as both countries are free from foreign commitments. The P.P.S. hate Syria, Iraq, Egypt and the Lebanon because they are the genuine enemies of the Arab nation. (Then comes a long story on how the P.P.S. first received Adib Shishakly in Beirut, and on the house he first lived in facing the British Embassy, and a long description of the conversations which took place between Shishakly on the one hand and Bourhan Adharn, Hamdi As-Sa.leh, Said Takiedciine, Salah Shishakly, Ghassan Jedid and Khodr Mohammed Ma'rouf on the other). During the talks the question of a coup d'e*tat in .Syria was raised, but Adib Shishakly was convinced that such an attempt would meet with a complete failure. He then decided to go back to Prance. He was presented with a cheque of 15,000 dinars from the Iraqis, of which 5 to 10 thousand Lebanese pounds were left to his brother Salah. At the airport, he was seen off by General Ghazi Daghestani, This is a proof that Shishakly did not altogether abandon the idea of a coup d'etat, for had it been otherwise why should Daghestani see him off at the airport. Further- more, Daghestani stayed after this event in Beirut where he met both Adnan el-Atassi and Sami Kabbara. General Daghestani, as has said the accused Soubhi el-Omari, is a friend of the British on whom they rely, It thus appears that any move towards union between Syria and Egypt is confronted with activity on the part of the conspirators. (Then the Attorney-General relates the statement of Hamdi As-^aleh on the plans and steps for a coup d'etat ) If we closely examine this statement, it appears that the witness met Salah Shishakly in the beginning of August, that is after the nationalisation of the Suez Canal. - the nationalisation which caused imperialism to lose its head. Imperialism could not resist the fourth blow, and so it decided to put an end to the regime in Syria. This is confirmed by the discussions between Salah Shishakly and the Witness, Hamdi As-3aleh, following a meeting between the former, the Iraqi General Daghestani, Gas s an Jedid and Mohammed. Ma'rouf, when Shishakly outlined to Hamdi As-Saleh the details of this criminal plan. It is worthwhile examining some of its points; The first is the establishment of a Revolutionary Council headed by Adib Shishakly. This confirms What we have previously said that when Shishakly travelled to Paris he did not altogether abandon the question of a. conspiracy. The second point is Shishakly's view on the necessity of killing the President of the Republic because he is afraid that he might return back to Syria if deported. The plotters en the other hand are in favour of his assassination simply because he did not go back on his support of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Thus it becomes evident that the motive behind the idea of assassination with the Iraqis and the-P.P.S. is always the question of support for Egypt/. cms

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Egypt. The third point, and that is which discloses their pro-Israeli policy, is the fact that they intended to cut the only road which connects Damascus to the Syro-Israeli border where most of the Syrian army had been massed, for they f-cared that the army might, by its intervention, put an end to their movement. The plotters, had they been allowed to implement their plan, would have stabbed the army in the back by cutting its only line of communications and. supplies and rendered a valuable service to Israel. Luckily enough, this plan has not been implemented; the reason bein.7 the fact that Shishakly received news that Ilomdi As-oaleh was not sincere to the cause and that he had unveiled the secret. Therefore the whole plan should be revised The .Witness Hamdi As-Ss-leh was not the only man who spoke about the question of a coup d'etat in Syria. In his statement, Adnan el-Atassi also acknowledged having discussed this question with Ghassan Jedid and Said Takieddine in Ba"Ibeck. It is also worthwhile mentioning a point which cropped up in the course of investigation, namely the demand for the re-employment of the dismissed Syrian officers. This step is part of the conspiracy especially as control- ling the army would facilitate their plan. This is made evident by the testimony of the accused Mohammed el-Xozbiri. (The Prosecutor then explains how the P. 3. . Col. Safa arid the Iraqis - all backed up by imperialism - sent meet certain politicians and talk over matters with them, and on how Hussein el-Hakim, Mounir Ajlani and Adnan el-A'idi met together and laid down the plan for the coup d'etat) The proposed coup d'etat was to have three different fields the training of armed men which is the charge of the P.P.S.; the supply of arms and money which Iraq has offered to co and the political campaign which Mounir el-Ajlani wanted to launch within Parliament. The Prosecutor then outlined the role played by Adrian el- Atassi in the conspiracy and referred at some length to the different meetings he had had with the P.P.3. elements both in Syria and in the Lebanon, He examined the different details of Adnan Atassi s statement. The Prosecutor outlined how Ghassan Jedid met Mounir Ajlani and discussed the question of the formation of a government upon the success of their revolt. They also discussed with Said Takieddine the measures that should follow such a step such as the distribution of pamphlets etc... In this meeting a political Committee was set up of Mounir el-Ajlani, Adnan el-Atassi, Mikhael Elian, Hassan. el-Atrashe, Jalal As-Sayyed and Mohammed el-Fadel to prepare the political side of the coup d'etat. This Committee met with trie P.p.3. and Col. Safa in Beirut, agreed on the policy to follow, deplored the intervention of the Syrian army in politics, criticised the alleged Syrian inclination towards the Eastern bloc and consequently decided that the best remedy was to effect a coup d'e*tat and bring about the downfall of Parliament, Government arid the President of the Republic. The Prosecutor then focussed his criticism and attack on Mounir el-Ajlani and c ited extracts of his speeches"in the»8yrian Parliament to prove that he was working in the interest of imperialism, and leaned towards Iraq. The prosecutor inferred that Mounir Ajlani's policy, far from being in the interest of Iraq, was harmful to both Iraq and the other Arab States. sh/Embassy, 10212/9(8) Anka ra > February 8.

Syria, Please refer to your letter of December 31 (JE1015/112Q-). The follov/lng items .of nev/s or r;ossip about Syria have "been gleaned here during, the past r;eek. (a) On February 2, the Istanbul nev/apaper "CUMHURIYBT" reported a rumour from Diyarbekir that members of a nationalist Syrian tri"be ambushed a Syrian military convoy near an army "barracks in the neighbourhood of the Syrian-Turkish "border. The Nationalists are supposed, to have seized arms shipped from the Soviet Union and in the clash one Syrian soldier and. three nationalists are said to have been killed and. tv/enty- three tribesmen v/ounclod. The nev/apaper added that according; to some rumours a Soviet officer v/as killed. ("b) An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a mornber of my staff on February k that an increasing number of Syrians wc-'-e seeking and "being granted, political asylum in Turkey, He said that the refugees included a number of army officers and fairly senior politicians., Some were slipping across the frontier and others v/ore cominc first to Beirut and then by air to Turkey , (c) On February 5 the Anatolian Nev/s Agency, under a Damascus date-line, said it \;raa learned "from an official source" that explosives had beun thrown at certain houses in Aleppo. They are said to have caused no casualties tout only material damage. The perpetrators are said to have ITU on arrested. (d) On February 6 , the "ZAFER" correspondent in Beirut reported, as evidence of tho increase, of Left-vdng and Communist tendencies in Syria, that:- (i) the Govern or of Aleppo has "been replaced "by a judge close to t ho Socialists;

(ii) Left-wing elements have filled positions in "both the Governor's and .Police Departments in Damascus; (ill) the nev/ Damascus Chief of Police is a Communist;

0000.

. Tatson, Esq., Foreign Office, London, S.Y'.l, (iv) the Secretary General of tho Ministry of Agriculture has "been replaced "by a Government nominee; (v) the ^oplacement of tho Under Secretaries of tho Ministry of the Interior and tho Ministry of Ptfblie and further appointments of Loft-wing elements v.dll "bo only a .natter of days; (vi) Ir.rgc crates are arriving from Russia which, according to some, contain MIG aircraft; "but more reliable reports say that they contain Radar apparatus, (e) The Government paper "ZAFER" on February 7 contained a lonr; report from a special correspondent in Beirut, craphssisIng tho continuing atmosphere of terror and tho degree of Russian control in Syria. All facilities wore accorded to the Russians and there v/oro Russians in tho region of "Silimye" :* near the Turkish "border. A campaign against the President of the Lebanon, similar to that against the Prime Minister of Iraq, v/as in progress. Moreover, various commercial and financial measures against tho Lebanon wore contemplated "by the Syrian Government - o.g, exit visa foes for Syrians entering the Lebanon; diversion of commercial activities from Beirut to Latakia; prevention of the flow of oil through tho Lebanon; prevention of the export of cereals to the Lebanon, The correspondent claimed that 200-300 agents of the Second Bureau of the Syrian Chief of Staff are in the Lebanon, to collect information, to interfere v/ith t he forthcoming elections and to print and circulate counterfeit Syrian (sic) currency. Three recently arrested counterfeiters in Beirut ere said to hava admitted that they did thoir» work on "behalf of Syrian Second Bureau agents for distribution in the Lebanon, The Lebanese aovernmont are aaid to IDG making ruproacn'bf.'bions aliout the caso to the Syrian Government.

V/o have Toecn unalolc to identify any place of this name, (10217/8/57(3)) CONFIDENTIAL BiilHUT February 7» 1957.

This is our weekly letter or? conditions in Syria and Egypt. Syria 2* The Lattakia Lianaser of a British firru with its head- cuarters in Beirut reported, a few days ago three Russian ships in. lattakia port discharging nau.dtions and, he rather thought, aircraft. He said it was rumoured that these cargoes were accompanied, by numerous personnel. 3, Our Military Attache" has reported to the War Office (MA/38/3/100 of February 2 to L.lJj-(b)) thpt the Lebanese Chief of Staff and the. Swiss Military Attach.*? have both said that considerable numbers of Soviet technicians are finding their way into syriae It was the Swiss military Attache" v/iac gave the figure of 2 .Uierrr-ioi'&u. J.n pHx-a^r-uph b of i:y las' letter. •'{-• A source of unknown r eliuoility hae rev. or Led that tire Soviet Aubassador in Damascus h^s re

eateu pciiiiiywio:^ frc-c: tl:. Linistry of poreign Affairs there to open a ecncu.late in Al'";^ 5« "Sada Lubnan" on debruary 2 pub"! i^hed the text of a Byro—Russian cultural a'"i'e;V-.:ieiit u.iif::fted Ins1 Ai-:'',"i;.si- and

of the t}:i-C"..-il-.g -f boi-fDo Ut • i

today's beb^nese pi-ys) cay tr.ut ^vch strations; tiia'c tam-ts ana armourea cnrs :.j-ie streets; and that 250 arrests have been ;aade.

j ^ *!/ r ( \a

A. .Vatson, is'.> , frican p/epai-ti-erit, ins

10, Ahout a week ajo conflicting "Deports' were current in the Leljenese preins auov.t General Ilejuilj. lie was variously reported not to "be dead; to he pa~"ti.-Oly paralysed; r-'.nd to*"be in jeod healths 13. The Beirut Director of point Four tells us, on the evidence of American "businessmen in C^iro, that lanje nu:;n.)ers of Jews are oeinj snueesed out of Jjypto 12. Once Liore, 1 would point out Iiov/ '/eny i-'unerficinl oinl disjointed the we pieces of joesip ax-e, ',,'e her-' cannot jive, them a true value and, if they related to Lebanon, would, not report the .greater part of them at all« Cur informants are" nearly always "biased and in no position to jive an overall assessiueirto pex'haps you will let i e know -whether you consider this weekly exercise \vorth-vvh.ilo0

(loD. Scott) PUBLIC RECORD QFFirc

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BRITISH EMBASSY (10217/9/57 "S") BEIRUT RESTRICTED February ,15, ^ 1957

Here is our weekly letter on Syria and Egypt0 Syria; Whatever disturbances there may have been in Aleppo (paragraph 7 of my last letter) seem to have fizzled out; and to have been exaggerated. The United States Embassy confirm this, from their representative in Aleppo. So far as one can gather by comparing press reports, it all began with the distribution of pamphlets in Aleppo attacking the Government for its left—wing tendencies and, according to one report, urging parents to keep their children away from school on February 50 This suggests a connection with the concurrent trials of those guilty of the burning of schools in Aleppo last October, who were given what appear to be moderate sentences (maximum one and a half years) by comparison with those demanded in the Damascus trials. One or two bombs also appear to have been thrown, harmlessly. The prime Minister, Assali, is reported as saying on February 7 that those guilty were "hirelings"« It was on that day that certain Lebanese papers blew the whole affair up into terms of mass demonstrations, mass arrests, and the calling in of the Army0 All that appears definite is that over the following weekend the new Mohafez of Aleppo, Ismail,,Quli, was appointed Military Governor of Northern Syria. The affair has now dropped out of the newso 2. The Damascus trials will be reported separately; Munir Adlani is said to have made a fighting speech in defence*, 3« The new Secretary-General of the populist Party, Maarouf Dawalibi, (and not Rushdi Kekia) appears to have been mending the party's fences. On February 5, he is reported to have denied an alleged rapprochement between the people's Party and the Nationalist party, and also that Communism exists in Syria. On February 12 he is said to have given a press conference strongly attacking Israelo 4. There seems some confusion in the reactions of prominent Syrians to the Eisenhower Plan and the Eisenhower-Saud communique. Salah Bitar, on February 7, told Soviet visitors that if the Eisenhower doctrine was something to be imposed by the United States it would be rejected; if however it was simply an American analysis of the Middle East the Arabs would have their own analysis to put forward. When the United States understood this analysis, there could be cooperation* (He also said that the presence of the united Nations Emergency Force would cause trouble, but that it had been agreed that they should go if Egypt so askedo) Assali, in a statement at the same time, took a similar line on the Eisenhower Plan and denied that Syria had become Communist just because it had purchased Communist arms0 The same day Khaled Al Azm spoke not inconsistently with this, but stressed the principle of neutrality. By February 10, however, after the Russian warning issued on their radio services to the Arab world that any nation permitting a foreign power to set up military bases exposes itself to the threat of Russian atom bombing, Azm told "pravda" that Syria rejected the Eisenhower doctrine categori- cally. Akram Hourani on February 9 was quoted on Damascus radio as denying that Syria wished to Join any Bloc, and on /February

J.H.A. Watson, Esq., African Department, FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.I, cms PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE ins I

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February 10 he denied to Middle East News Agency previous reports quoting him as saying that Syria would refuse the Eisenhower doctrine even if Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan accepted it. On February 12, however, commenting on Mr, Hammarskjoeld's report, he warned a Syrian left wing paper that the imperialists were manoeuvring for a further war "between the Arabs and Israel, Radio Damascus has been reasonably objective in its reporting, and none of the Syrian papers had, up to February 12, commented on the Eisenhower-Saud communique, except indirectly in that pro-Communist papers in Damascus reported that Israel welcomed it0 5» A Chinese press (and also apparently trade) delegation has been touring Syria extensively. This seems likely to be the origin of reports of numbers of Chinese in Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia, 6, on arms shipments, there is nothing worth reporting except repeated confirmation that Russian ships now once more frequently arrive at the "Army" quai at Lattalcia and depart empty. The United states Embassy, like ourselves, have had reports of extensive areas in the Jezira forbidden to access, 7, Nor is there anything new about the Czech refinery, No news is, one hopes, good news, 8, The press of February 8 reported an official ban on the sale of meat from Thursdays to Saturdays until the end of March "following the Iraqi and Turkish ban on the export of livestock"* This might be seasonal, 9, We asked the United States Embassy here what their impressions of Syria were, as a cross-check on our own. They read us a long report of two weeks ago from the united states Ambassador in Damascus to Washington, the main interest of which was that it painted (if anything; an even blacker picture than the one we see from here. It summarises Syria as "approximating to an inefficient police State in evolution towards subservience to either Egypt or Russia "0 It has all the classical machinery of a Police State:: effective one-party Government (the National Pact, with the Opposition ceasing to oppose); a perpetual State of Emergency (and with it censorship, so exercised as to cut out all news and comments favourable to the West); purging of the Administration of pro-western elements; dependence of the Government on Army (purged), Secret police, and an inner cabinet; selective taxation designed to weaken the wealthier classes; plans under consideration for state Trading organisations as a basis for bilateral agreements with the East; and so on« Its characteristics: xenophobia; anti-Zionism and anti-christianism; pan-Arabism; and an "immodest conviction of the ability of the Syrians to outsmart the Egyptians, the Russians or anyone else," As a tail-piece, we have been reliably informed that Mr. Henry Labouisse, Director-General of U.N.W.R.A., has been declared "persona non grata" by the Syrian Deuxieme Bureau - to the embarrassment of the Syrian Cabinet who have promised U.W.W.R.A. not to enforce this, Egypt 10, I have heard nothing about internal conditions except for reports on Cairo Radio that Arabic is to be used for commercial correspondence and advertisementso The case of Doria Shafiq, the Egyptian feminist leader, and her hungei? strike • /"until in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of Public Records' leaflet

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"until Israel quits Gaza and Egyptians are again free" seems to have been covered in the international press, and she has evidently been hushed up quickly. You will also have seen that Nasser, with his speech on February 11, has returned to the public eye after what appeared a rather lengthy absence, 11* There has however been a lot of talk in the Lebanese press about changes within the Revolutionary Council, - not confined to parti Populaire Syrien and right wing papers0 On February 8 the story (in "Sada Lubnan") was that Gamal Salem was leading a movement against Nasser and had suddenly disap- peared; and that this was connected with the reports about Neguib's death or ill-health (seera y last letter, paragraph 10), and with the dismissal of Salah Salem from SHAAB (paragraph 4 of ray letter of January 10), On February 11, "Dunia" (opportunist) reported prominently that forty army officers had been gaoled for "acquiring illicit wealth". On February 12, "Nahar" (P.P.S*) carried an exclusive report that Nasser was poised to strike a final blow against the left wing of the Army, which wanted him to commit himself against the Eisenhower piano The project was said to be being carried out under the guise of a military re-shuffle. On February 13 the Belgian News Agency (BELGA) from Cairo reported that Salah Salem was under arrest pending trial for conspiracy against the regime while serving as Commander of the Forces in Suez? a command which he had taken up on his retirement from "Al Shaab"0 "Nahar" reported that the officers awaiting trial with Salah were of the Left; BELGA however did not say this.

(I.Do Scott) BlilTlGII M.I5ASSY, (10212/10(3)) SECRET February 15, 1957-

Syria M In my letter of February o (10212/9(3)} I reported that a number of Syrians are "believed to be seeking political asylum in Turkey. This now seems to be confirmed by the arrival in Istanbul, reported in "/Safer" of February 13, of Mikhail Ilian, u former Syrian Minister I'or Foreign Affairs (Syrian Personalities Ko. 55). From confidential sources we have learnt that Ilian came via Beirut and is believed to be one of the leaders implicated in the recent action against the Syrian Government. It is understood that the Turkish Government are accepting several of these exiles, probably at the request of the Lebanese Government and on a short-term basis but on the definite understanding that they do not engage in any political subversive .activities while in Turkey. The only other item this week has been a report in the Independent newspaper "Cumhuriyet" on February 11, from Hat ay, about the establishment in Syria of a nationalist organisation called "The Islamic Society for the Salvation of the homeland from Russian Oppression". The newspaper states that this Society is undertaking many subversive activities and has recently secretly published and circulated two booklets, one of which contains the revelations of a Russian technician who has joined the Nationalists because he could no longer tolerate the inhuman treatment of G^rian nationalists, who are being tortured under the supervision of Russians in Syria. The newspaper adds that following the publication of these booklets many more nationalists have been arrested in Aleppo, Hama and Horns. Meanwhile, the great majority of Armenians in Aleppo are said to have joined the Nationalists and to be collaborating with them "in an unprecedented manner" for the overthrow of the Government.

//l^.A-i

J.1I.A. V/atson, Ssq. , Foreign Office, London, S.W.I. BRITISH EMBASSY, (10217/11/57 "3") BEIRUT. RESTRICTED February 21, 1957-

Here is our weekly letter on Syria and. Egypt.

Syria. The Syrian Minister of Public Works received on February 12 the Czechoslovak Military Attache" and a representative of the Czech "Techno-Export". We are told however in commercial circles that no decision on the construction of a refinery has yet been taken. /i-o 2. Maarouf Dawalibi (paragraph 3 of my last letter refers) came under attack in the conspiracy trial and had to defend himself in a letter to the court. The following further items of news may be of interest :- (a) Khaled El Azm told the Chinese Press Mission that another Bandoeng-type conference should be called, U.N. having shown it was impotent to defend small powers. (b) The Damascus press generally welcomed the Soviet proposals on the Middle East. (c) One Damascus paper alleges a split in the Parti Populaire Syrien Party0 (d) A Supreme Aviation Council has been formed by the Syrian Government to coordinate civil and military aviation (press report). (e) The U.S. firm of H.L. Dillon and Company are to be allowed to prospect for oil in Syria (press) and two experts are said in business circles to have arrived there. (f) A Belgian company (SSGPACO) is preparing a technical survey for the construction of a railway to link Lattakia, Aleppo and the Jezireh (Arab News Agency). (h) India and Syria are to raise their diplomatic representation to Embassy level from February 25 (Radio Damascus). (i) The tone of Radio Damascus news broadcasts has been unobjectionable and unadventurous, and no firm trends in treatment of major news items can be observed. (j) Saleh Akil (Minister of State in charge of Information) told press correspondent that the state of emergency would not be ended until all fear of plots against the State was removed. the 3. Gossip in commercial channels is that/general market situation is calm, with prices more or less stationary and merchants' stocks ample. There has been greater activity during the last week in colonial produce and the price of United Kingdom sugar is tending

,/to J.H.A. Watson, Esq.,, African Department, Foreign Office, S.W.I, T

iand

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to rise. Rain has "been plentiful and farmers expect a good crop t>ut it is rumoured that they have "been reducing areas planted, due to lack of confidence in the political situation. Stocks of wheat carried over are showing alarming signs of deterioration. The Agio on the Syrian pound against the Lebanese pound was firm throughout the week at 12? per cent. It is also reported that the cap ital of the Lattakia Port Company is to "be increased to £S.5U million, of which the Government will hold £S,U9. k» The Belga report of Major Salah Salem1 s arrest (paragraph 11 of my last letter) was denied "by the Egyptian Information Service,, Cairo Radio Hews Bulletins have "been moderate and objective "but the commentaries following them' are invariably aggressive0 The principal themes have "been the alleged "Dulles Plan11 for guarantees of free navigation to Israel (which v/as at first violently attacked in .the pr>ess "but then much ,more mjjdly dealt with "by Cairo Radio after the official interpretation of it "by the State Department); and the Soviet "Plan for the Middle East". On this last, certain papers were at first cautious - which the Beirut P. P.O. organ Nahar promptly interpreted as signifying a division of opinion,, The U.S.A. has come under heavy criticism in the press for failing to get Israel out of Gaza and the Gulf of Aqaba, and indeed for secretly supporting Israel. /mother theme of Cairo Radio was Egypt's community of interest with Syria and there were a number of reports favourable to the Indian case over Kashmir. Further items of interest are :- (a) A Middle East News Agency report of a 600 KW "broadcasting station to "be set up in Egypt in mid-May was picked up in Beirut and "by Radio Damascus 1 the equipment was said to tie from Czechoslovakia and installation done "by Czech experts. ("b) Reuters report extensive civil defence works which might conceivably "be public works projects to mitigate unemployment. (c) The Egyptian press reports the arrival of 3 more tankers with 27,500 tons of Roumanian oil. (d) According to Cairo Radio a meeting is to "be convened in Cairo to consider the unification of the educational systems of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt „ (e) A Soviet/Egyptian trade protocol for the exchange of goods worth £E 500,000 has been signed (same source). (f ) A wealthy Syrian "businessman well-known to us says that France is "buying Egyptian cotton through the Dutch, who pay in florins. 5. It is interesting that Egyptian papers should have reported the seizure by Jordan of £j-g million worth of arms from British military bases in Jordan.

(I.Da Scott)

*> cms

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(1023/22/57) BSIT13H

. ~-,^i '-'•*- j-'eDPuary 7 we enclose a translation of the remainder of the speech for the Prosecution, as puulifih in the Lebanese ppe?;^

^evant Department, foreign Office iipndon. ~ ' cms ins js?ag" conditions and that y ln the enclose Conditions of supply Of Pub.i, Records" " ^ d '

THE STATEMENT OP THE MILITARY PROSECUTOR ON THE SYRIAN TRIALS (Continued)

Adnan el-Atassl continued to meet with P.P.S. Leaders and with Ghassan Jedld and to plot with them the details of the proposed coup d'etat. When he went to Turkey, he delegated Faydi el-Ataasi to replace him. When, in the earlyd ays of October, he went to Beirut to place his son at the University, he met Saleh As-Samrai' , the Iraqi military Attache" who later visited with Atassl General Daghestani who was then in Beirut. They both discussed the question of a coup d'etat, and Daghestani asked Atassi whether his father, (a former President) would agree to becoming President under such circumstances. It thus "becomes clear that the role played by Adnan el-Atassi in this conspiracy is that of an organiser. Later on he contacted Mikhael Elian several times. Mikhael Elian stressed the importance of Atassi's father accepting the post of President of the Republic following the coup d'etat, and added that he had intervened with the Iraqis and had t aken t heir word that there would be no assassination, nor any cold murder, but that certain military and civilian personalities would simply be arrested. When aggression against Egypt took place at the end of October, Atassi met Mikhael Elian and asked him to intervene with the Iraqis to put off the implementation of their plan, especially as the P.P.S. wanted to carry it out at all costs, but since then he had not seen Mikhael Elian. Atassi'a logic is very much similar to Mounir Ajalani's logic, and over and above, his statement and the part he played in this plot make him its organiser and. founder especially as.he has the power to contact the Iraqis and tell them when to start and when to stop. The Prosecutor then outlines the role played by Sami Kabbara in the plot and his relations with Mohammed Ma'rouf. Upon knowing oi the plans for a coup d'etat, Sami Kabbara approved them, but told Mohammed Safa that he would not take part but would be prepared to take power after the success of the plan. ++4.4. The Prosecutor then speaks of the part which, according to the statement of Mohammed el-Kozbari, Adel Ajalani had to fulfil in his capacity as deputy in the Syrian Parliament. Adel Ajalani had to work for the re-employment of the dismissed Syrian Officers, as such re-employment would help in the success of the coup d'etat. Hassan el-Atrache was also approached on this question, and expressed his preparedness to help in return for 100,000 dinars. Here Adel Ajalani intervened and said that such a sum was rather huge especially as Hassan el-Atrache did not represent the whole of Jebel El-Druzc. Adel Ajalanl also promised to talk the matter over with the leaders of ^ebel El-Druze in due time, and when money became available. It thus became evident that money, in the opinion of this accused, was above all other considerations. Aa to Hamed Man»our and All Hassan Ibrahim, they were introduced to the headquarters of the plot through Hussein el-Hakim. Then the Prosecutor cites the different activities of these two persona in preparation for the coup d'etat, and how another accused Ali el-Mir, insisted that both of them should go to Beirut to carry the arms necessary for the action. They did not go, and it later became evident to them that the P.P.S. wanted to implement the coup d'etat to serve Anglo-French interests. Soubhi el-Omarl enjoyed a special position in this plot, and his role squalled that which was to "be played by Adnan el-Atassi. This man witnessed the different stages of this plot, and it was agreed that together with Said Takiedciine he would take part in political Committee; Ghassan

plot now alleged that when he felt that the P.P.3. were motivated "by vengeance and not "by a national feeling, gave up his plans. One certainly could not 'believe him especially when one realised that in his diary, it was established that Philip stands for Mohammed Ma'rouf George for Ghassan Jedid and that his name was cfcanged into Araer, for camouflage purposea. The role to "be played "by Fayeq Shishakll was to safeguard the family of Adi"b Shiehakli, and to prepare those who were to t ake part in this plot in Hama, To this effect he had submitted a list of the different members of families in favour of the movement together with the arms they possessed. He also submitted another list of families which were not in favour. Thisw as established,d espite the denial of the accused, "by the testimony of Bourhan Adham. Bibros Anjoq,, a dismissed army officer, and Nash'at tdatroud, a lieutenant in the army, had both "been used as tools in the hands of P.P.S. elements. Further- more, it had Toeen e established beyond doubt that Kash'at "iatroud, despite all his oaths was a devout P.P.S. member. Shawkat Safitli, Abido Wettbeh and Mounir Haddad, together w ith Izzedine Jarrah formed the military side of the plot within the army. Shawkat Safitli had witnessed the different stages of this plot in its headquarters in Beirut. He played the part of a confidential messenger especially as he enjoyed the confidence of Ghassan Jedld, in v lew of his position in the P.P.S. The Prosecutor thencited the missions this accused had been asked to fulfil, and. ended b»y reading the last sentence of his statement, namely: "I now say that when I was working I thought I was after something ideal, but 1 now realise that Iw as in the wrong, and that those responsible whom. I had met were betraying the cause of their country and party, in particular Ghassan Jedid and Said Takieddiie. As to Mounir Haddad who is a Corporal in the Air Force, he weit with Shawkat Saf itli to visit Ghassan Jedid and Said Takieddine soms true in the "beginning of 1956. He later contacted Maj or Abdo Wetibeh and a 3d him to go and see Ghassan Jedid in Beirut. After that Shawkat Safitl Mounir Haddad and Abdo Weh"beh met and were informed that those responte in the P.P.S. wanted them t o "be on the alert and -wait for Instruction The Prosecutor then outlines the role played "by A"bdo Wehbeh •fho was a strong pillar in this plot in view of his position at the ai port. He next said that the role played "by Hayel Srour in this plot was far more dangerous than this person himself. At the time when the P.P.S. were active preparing the different details of the coup d'etat, he was approached by Shakib lahhaTo on the question of transporting a quantity of arms. Wahhab told him that Hassan el-Atraahe would, in clu time inform him about the idea "behind the arms. In fact Hassan el- Atrashe, and in the Syrian Parliament, told his colleagues that the arms came from Iraq, and were intended to "be used against the socialist and communists, Shakib Wahha"b agreed that Hayel Srour should go to Beirut to meet the conspirators. In f act he did and in turn agreed with Said Takieddine and Ghassan Jedid whom he was introduced to as George, on the way and lieu for the transport of arras. Whe Hay®l Sr^ returned to Damascus and met Shaklb lahhsb , it was agreed that the da\ for the transportation of arms should "be fixed on October 3, 1956. The appointment had not been observed "by Hayel Srour - a thing which upset Hassan el-Atrashe, Zeid el-Atrashe, Said Takieddine, Ghasaan Jedid anc Mikhael Elian. The Prosecutor then describes how 3haii"b WahhaTo hired trucks and c ars for the t ransportation of a rms and how the consignment was handed over to them from an Iraq.1 camp. The officer divided the arms while handing them, 300 rifles for Hayel Srour as well as two machine gun-s , and 500 rifles and foir machine-guns for Shaklb Wahlia"b The rifles were distributed among the tri"bes, but when the car "belonging to Hayel Bellan was confiscated "by the Syrian army and Hazz Srour/. cms PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE ins

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Spour arrested, a good number of the rifles distributed were taken back by the army. It thus appeared that the role played by Hayel Srour was most dangerous and his allegation that the arras were intended to fight communist was simply an act of camouflage, but the truth wa» there and his r esponsibility was double due to the fact that he was a deputy and the leader of a tribe who had put all its confidence in him. The Ocurt had heard Hazza* Srour who stated Intears that he would rather die than be depicted as a traitor to his country. In fact the danger of Hayel Srour emanated from the fact that he intended to make of this poor man and his like the fuel in this conspiracy. Thus he was responsible for their deeds. It had been established beyond doubt that Fares Douei'er, Jadallah Kiwan , Ahmed Qontar, Fadlallah Jabou' met at Hassan el- Atrashe's house by invitation from him and from Shakib Wahhab,.There were also Fadlallah Barbour and Rashrash Hannaoui. Hassan el-Atrashe told them about the proposed coup d'etat and all took the oath to Booperate and to be discreet. They all confirmed this and also went to Beirut and took money from Said Takieddine in return for the deeds they were to accomplish. Among this lot were two deputies - Fadlallah Jarbou* who was under custody and Hassan el-Atrashe who hadnot been arrested. Fadlallah Jarbou' got money from Said Takieddine and also from Hassan el-Atrashe in return for his betrayal of his country, aid here again was a man who placed money above all other considerations. As to Mohammed Ismail el-Hajali, it had become evident that together with Shakib i/Vahhab, he visited Beirut where they met aaid 1'akieddine who gave the former onethousand Syrian pounds in return forservices in preparation for the coup d'etat, One could thus infer from the different statements that the politicians in this affair were not requested to start the coup d'etat but to approve it and to cooperate with its authors. Inf act the cho ice of politicians who would accept such a mission was far more difficult for the plotters than the implementati on of the plot itself. The ^rosecutor then summarises what he has already said namely that the nationalisation of the Suez Canal came as a deddly blow to imperialism which decided to do all inxits "poi&rer to restore Its prestige in the Middle Bastj hence the Anglo-French aggression on Egypt and the cpestion of a coup d'etat in Syria to alienate her from Bgypt, thus bringing about the collapse of the, Arab front in the face of both Israel and Imperialism, By their action those accused intendei to do away with Syria a independence and prestige and to create chaos and disorder in the country. The Prosecutor then cites the different articles of the Penal Code in the light of which the accused are tb be tried, and asks for the application of sentences which vary from death penalty - life imprisonment, etc... to acquittal (as already reported). In fact, Sami Katobara had taken an active part in the preparations for the coup d'etat. He was the only politician who signed the proposed Charter for it. In return, he acted as the chairman of the different preparatory meetings, and was promised the premiership in the event of success. His successive meetings with Said Takieddine, with Mohammed Safa and others and the t estirnony of Earned Mansour proved that this man had played a positive role in this affair. This sick man travelled from Beirut to ^otae and back in 2l± hour-s at a time when Egypt was under the fire of the aggressors simply to meet Major Husseini and Adib Shishakli in preparation for the conspiracy. As a matter of fact, Dr. Sami Kabbara seemed certain, after the attack on Sgy:± and after Syria had supported her, that the situation in Syria was very precarious and that sooner or later Syria would, disintegrate as a result of the Allied action and the coup d'etat would be successful. That is why he flew to Rome. The Prosecutor then outlines the role played "by Izzedlne el-Jarah who is the only military personality in the plot who played both the role of a soluier anciof a liaison officer between the military end civilian personnel taking part. However the striking part in his story is the fact that he denies having taken part despite the testimonies of Aciel Ajalani, Mohammed el-Kozbari and Mounir Sultan. The Prosecutor then cites these testimonies which show that Izzedine el-Jarrah had met more than one personality and that he was working for a coup d'etat. ~l 21ans ^ykKfcCORDOFFICE

BRITISH AMMAN ' (107V6/57G(S)) SECRET February 2o, 1957.

•**^——«4

I have very little new to report this week about developments in Syria and Egypt. 2. The Americans are still anxious about the way things are going in Syria. The American Ambassador in Syria, Mr. Moose, visited the American Ambassador here last week and confirmed the story mentioned in paragraph 5 of my letter lo7V2/57 of January 16th, about the distribution of arms to communist sympathisers. 3. The Americans now seem to think that the Syrians may cut the oil pipeline - the Tapline - which brings saudi Arabian oil to the Mediterranean, if the American Government take any steps to guarantee Israeli shipping freedom of access to the port of Eilath. According to the U.S. Embassy here, the section of T^pline which passes through syria was actually mined by the Syrians last November, but King seud informed president Kuwatly that he held him personally responsible for the safety of the pipeline, and the mines were never exploded. k» one of the topics which is apparently creating a stir in syria is the pending trial of those alleged to have been plotting a coup in the interest of, and with the support of, iraq: as you know, large numbers of arrests were made in this connexion some little time ago. it seems that in the preparation for the trial the Syrian army elements who are forcing^the issue have produced details of charges and evidence which the legal profession in syria, including most of the senior Judges, consider utterly fantastic and liable to expose the courts to ridicule if convictions are to be forced on those bases. These people are said to have made strong protests to president Kuwatly. jn conversation with Jordanian friends, the Syrian Ambassador in Amman, puad Qadamani, has expressed critical opinions on this episode, and since the Ambassador is known to be close to Kuwatly it is thought by his friends here that he may well be reflecting the president's views. The implication is that Kuwatly is unhappy at the recent trend of events in his country, 5. i am sending copies of this letter to Michael Wright, George Middleton and John shattoek. i enclose four copies of this letter for distribution to overseas planning section, I.R.D. (2) and P.O. Research Department.

(C.H. Johnston) J.H.A. Watson, Esq., African Department, Foreign office.. cms -Pb ^., .j IQO c^\ S6?3£ Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the Public Record Office's leans and conditions and that your USB of it may be subject to copyright restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of Public Records' leaflet

SECRET

Sir M. Wright I&LJZ2 March 1,1957 f' 2.«6 p.,. March 1,1957 "• ^.43 p.®. Marck 1,1957 .SECRET

•«sa,M*'" w—- *ui«rii©TJM Itie sentences in the recent conspiracy trial in Syria have aroused indigntti®B In Bugdad. A group of deputies are reported by the Press t© haT3 seat telegraus to the Heads @f all Aral States expressing indignities at these sentences and requesting them t® use their g©ad ®f.flees t© sare those ©B wtooia the death, penalty has been passed. 2. I a® iaf®raed by the Chief ©f the R@yal Diwan that the Iraqi Government feel a certala resp@Bsibility for having cantrlfeuted t® e3Q>©se s@ne ©f these people t® these savage sentences and that the King @f Iraq has telegraphed t© the ©ther Arab Kings (but n&t Presidents) asking thes, and particularly King Sand, t® use the>ir g©»d offices. A slailar appr®acli is als® being made +•• the United States Government. 3. An unc@nflr®ed rep«rt brtught by an Iraqi Airways pil@t states that Quwatli was expected t® retura t® Damascus yesterday afcd; preparatl®ns were made t® greet hiia, but he did returnn»t she.w «p. There is speculatl«B here whether he will ever

FtrelgB Office pass t» Beirut, Rafeat, Tripoli, Asuaa and Saving t® Benghazi, fashingC@B, P.O.M.E.F, and Kh*rt0tm as ay telegrams 84, 5,4,13,9, U, 28 and 6 respectively. [Repeated t© Beirut, Rabat» Trlpili, Aiamae asd Savlag t® Benghazi,fashlsgtea, P,Q.M.".F. and Khart@iaiJ DISTRIBUTED T6: Levant Department Eastera Department AfricaB Departneat Mews Departieat G G G G 5 a d ^^^^^S^Conditions of supply Of P..hli. ™*^. £«£" '" «i"e enclosed^^^ionsahsdthat and-r

V (1028/2U/57) BRITISH EMBASSY, BEIRUT. , IMC LASS IF ISD 28, 1957.

'4- Dear Department, Please see your letter No.VY 1015/17 of February 20, 'and our previous reports on the Damascus trials. 2. The full put) li shed, report of the cdse for the Prosecution and the pleadings of the Partie Civile, will "be shown to you in London. Nothing has "been released of the case for the defence. 3. As Mr. Scott reported in his letter to _Mr. Watson No. 1021 7/f 2/57 of February 28, the verdict "was pronounced' on February 26.- The following were ••• condemned to death (par contumace): ! __ "'Michel Elian, Hassan Atrash/'Shakib Wahab, Mohammed Ma'rouf, Mohammed Safa, Salah Shishakly, Said Takieddin. Condemned to death and held in prison:

,. , V. . '. .<.' • f ipAdnan Atassi, Sami Ka-bbara, Hayel -..Srour , 'sein Hfekirn, ^Soubhi O'mari'^C Hayel Srour was condemned to forced labour for life, but with aggravating circumstances, so the sentence .is death) . Ghassan Jedi^ was also condemned to death but he is. of course di.adicral-ready so the verdict Is null. Forced labour for life: Adib Shishakly (par contumace). Forced labour for 20 years (raised from 15 through "aggravating circumstances"): Munir Forced labour for 15 years:

1 Fares Deuaiher, Hamed Mans our, Shawkat Safatly and (par contumace) Ali Al Mir and Fadlallah Abu Mans our. 10 years forced labour: Jarbouh, Ezzeddine Jar rah., Jadallah Kiwan, Mohammed Ajali. 7 years forced labour: Zeid Atrash (son of Hassan) and (par contumace) Abdo Wahb,eh. years/. Levant Department, Foreign Office, London, S.W. 1. cms ins Kef.: -o

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• 1 i

4 years forced labour: Adnan Aidi, Fayek Shishakly. k years prison: Munir Haddad. 3 years forced labour (reduced on account of age.') : Padlallah Barbour. 2 years prison (reduced for extenuating circumstances from 3 years forced labour)-: All Hassan Ibrahim. 5 accomplices of Hayel Srour who brought the arms from H.3 to, Jetoel Druze,: 3 months prison and £Syr.10 fine.

arms3 othe: r accomplices who. organised the transport of the

* 1 • year's prison and_ £Syr*25 fine. The•following were acquitted:

Y /^Faidi Atassi, Bebers Anjouk, Munir Sultan, Mohammed Kouzbari a,nd Adel Ajlaai. This is the fullest report we have seen, and we cannot guarantethree missinge its. accuracy - especially as there seem to be

I).. Those accused "par contumace" are given six months in which to give themselves up.

5, .The judgment was pronounced, to the accompaniment of denunciations of imperialism, by the President of the / Court Afif Bizri, beforfe a large assembly. The judgment was broadcast. The President of the Court exhorted those condemned to death to accept their punishment coolly and courageously. There was enthusiastic applause. 6. The Press reports that there is no-appeal against the sentences. BsL rut f'Le SoirM, however, discusses certain legal doubts of this, and suggests that the power to commute the death sentences lies with the Minister of' Defence Khaled el Azm, and,/'for the rest,, with Sabri Assali as Prime Minister and supreme Military Governor.

Yours ever,

CHANCERY PUBt , y-^ OT« | \C%1

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February 28, 19 5f.

IT*

II® the weekly letter om %ria and Egypt. *'

Embassy hare read us extracts from a telegram sent IB, Tsy their Embassy in Btmascus reporting that Kouatly ' that Khaled El Azm, following his innate oppor. t ©wards the right and to Kouatly *s sides and takes. 11 Azm to the Cairo meeting to offset the "$itar, He has incidentally left "behind as Minister the very left-wing Minister of Education

Brirae, Minister, Hani Sbai has already spoken against SLonialm intervention. He also however denied reports ons are to "be held. (paragraph 2 of my last letter) appears still his passage as effective leader of the purged and 1st Party, He told the Muslim Brotherhood paper Al ,is party agreed with the Government that "positive is necessary for the preservation of worXd peace and ?s|f|»i0iters of Arab oil should not be admitted to the ,regien. or official of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affaira jSj^erican Embassy in Damascus that no heavy ground weapons received from (Scsnmunist countries since December - only «§.! that Syria h»d received she had paid f ©r - t,o the rraasment of the Treasury; and that a careful eheck was by the Ministry of foreign Affairs on the Communist s entering the country from Eastern Europe. further reports of Russian military bases in Syria* B^'-^he "Bally telegraph" correspondent here was told by a Ionian whom he considers reliable and who, he says, has high b Contacts in Syria, that since the U«,S»/Saudi agreement on the ©f the Dahran lease, the Syrians have made an agreement with ans for the construction of a harbour 29 miles north of (not to be confused with the harbour works which have been some time about 8 miles north of Lattakia). They have with the Russians that an airfield some 30 miles souths eppo shall be available for the use of Kussian military Both these steps were by way of riposte to the Bahran Much unloading is, going on at Lattakia. by'night, and are being arranged in various places, in the fee mam® source states that there are four radar stations A separate report, from P»P*S, sources, ®ays that the ;%.ha.ve leased from the Syrians for twenty years an air base a. A news item to this effect was suppressed by the ©©msorship. Informant of the "JJaily Telegraph'" correspondent also said much llss-atisfaction in the Syrian Army ~arid officers keep without trace, Uhe Deuxieme Bureau runs -the country, in the army mean nothing. Yisitors to Aleppo or the for example, are told to consult on arrival Lieutenant So-an~ Ho-and-So; and if (as happened to an acquaintance of in question) they ask for a higher ranking officer

f*'ifj,-i f» o-. o/known cms

to them, they are told nut to bother to contact him* the source reports that the system of tapping telephones 'i!s highly Developed. JLt issCfpfdrmed that the disturbances in Aleppo (referred to _ -4 *'•- fetjruary 15) were exaggerated. We have seen a TJ',11* Consul there, according to which there were explosions on the night of February 1/2 and two f ij.. According to this report, it is popularly s whole" thing was a. put-up job by the left-wing ie,an emuse for another attack on the P.P.S. til, Sact,*'S^^®t?» vire are pretty certain the P.B.JS, were responsible, (Hf©nsul seemed to think so too. The; result is the see pires-s of February 26 reports that 2lj. P.P.S. i committed for trial by court martial in Aleppo w%@,3|i|^^'BBi and sabotage", that the death sentence is asked for ,of OTp|.;flkd life imprisonment with hard labour for some or all

reports that Kouatly is to visit Spain in mid-May. i paper "I*1Orient" reported on February 26 a violent Syrian Chamber between A*kram Hourani and Ahmed Kambar over the oil refinery .contract, Kambar maintaining let and ©zsch offers were incomplete and not in ace or- \ stipulations, while H©urani pressed the political I.the affair. The debate was adjourned. P I- of the Damascus court-martial has informed the t, Sassan Attrache and Mikhail Elian are considered as deprived of their civil rights; and has demanded the .of their goMs and property. .decision of: the Damascus Military Trrbunal in the jT'ease was announced on February 26. The sentences are: Takieddine, Mikhail Elian, Hassan Attrache, Mohamed led Maarouf, Bhakis Wahab and: Salah Shishakli (in a"bsentia) Kabbara, Hussein Hakim, Snbhi Omari and Hael Forced labour for life - Jtdib ffliishakli (in absentia); jears forced labours Meunir Ajlani-and twelve others. Adel faidi Atassl, Mounir Sultan, lohamed KoualDaJri and Biber were acquitted* There is no appeal. Jb.., inter view given "by Salah Bitar to 'Rude Pravo* containing :":'L"tvely a conciliatory reference to the Eisenhower Elan, was in our telegram Ho. 2U3 of February 25. Radio gave pride of place to the deadlock over Israel's and the Gulf of Agaba, There was still no firm in news or comment <> ... i . ^.ek -following are minor political reports from the Lebanese and

feanas.c^s students called for a students* strike on the anaiverBary of the Bagdad Pact« Jt o«na:pd.gn a-gainst gambling is being conduepbed in

|A point which belongs rather to reports on Syro/Letjanese j»@3.ati©ns« ) A bilQ. has been prepared by the Syrian Government to impese-charges of £Syr0 15 per person and ^D per vehicle for exit visas from S^ria in order cms PUBLIC REcnpn^CF^F" R*f.: .

In Conditions of supply of Public *• enclosed,^ns and

•Brsssuw-- ,

-- 3 - to reduce the drain on Syria's finance of expen- d.iture. in other countries (which must notably me.a» liebanon). Hani Sbai, however, announced that exceptions could be made by bilateral agreement. 3,following reports on economic matters come from the press ©r buifefctoes® gossip t • fa), pae Ministry of Agriculture are pressing the '.to push through new cotton legislation, creation of a eotton exchange at Aleppo. ©f cotton and the creation of .a Superior Consultative Cotton Board, etc. (b) Bae Bangue Gentrale d*Egypte, it is repiarted, will c©2t$r.ib%te £Syr* 1 million towards the capital of I»a Banque Industrielle de Syrie, which is shortly to be established (Capital: £Syr. 10,000,000). £e) technical studies by the Electrical Services of the Ministry of Public Works concerning the Yousssef Pacha $am project have been completed. This project covers, am©ng other things, the construction of a 120,000 KW power station on the Euphrates. ltd) An important Amertt&an firm (PRQCQlf) has submitted to the Ministry, of Public Works a-new offer for the construction of an oil refinery in Syria. (e) A German firm has been awarded the contract for the construction of 23O petrol storage tanks in various districts; of Syria, of a total casacity of 50,000 tons, for the sum of £Syr.2,700,000. .ff)) An agreement has been signed between the Syrian Government and the "Beutsehe Erdol AG1" granting the latter an eight-year oil prospecting concession,, £g) fhe Central Bank has placed £Syr»32 million at the disposal of the Agricultural Bank to enable the latter tjo advance funds to agriculturists. An additional £Syr* 30" million has been placed at the disposal of other banks in Syria to facilitate discounting operations in favour of agriculturists* fh) S^yria will participate in the Casablanca International 26dr (May U-19). (i) The Government-has refused a request from the Jordanian Qsovernment to import Syrian sheepc fhe instruments of ratification of the economic agreement between SJrria and Bulgaria of June 2, 31956, have been exchanged. The agreement will come into force on March 10, M. lhalil Kallas, Minister of Economy, has declared that the next Syrian budget has been fixed at £Syr.393 million, an increase of £Syr<,8 million on the 1956 figure. cms llgD_• TI I . n — Editions of supp,v of plf^'° . !^" in -

(1)) Aleppo merchants 'visiting Beirut are complaining that business in Aleppo is practically at a standstill, (m) Jhe disparity in the agio "between the Syrian and ffee• &«teanese pound has increased from 12;$$ to 313a the week.

Sftiro ffiadio was rather more aggressive than last theme was Israelfs refusal to withdraw: and U,*,S regulation reduced fxom six months to three months the V which firms must turn in to the Central Bank the foreign of their exports and foreign transactions* ill! Associated Press report from Cairo said that at least five itoJ -killed when a mob of Palestinians from a tented army to seize arms from a police post at Maadi, The Egyptian -eaF Information has since said it was only a private guard no political sagnlficancso

(I.D,, Saott) cms PUBLIC KfcCORDQFp,rr

"""-" • Cordons of supply of P. .H,.> 0^™. * <*"» '" the enclosed^* J*

EMBASSY, WASIIBGTOT, MASGH 8, 1957^

, the Syria and Lebanon desk officer Department, told me on March 6 that, m@ws of the Israeli decision to Gaza, the Syrian Prime Minister had i ©f the Iraq Petroleum Company, (I.P.C.), of the United States Ambassador, half am hour instructions would issue to be given for I.P.C. to start work

He thought that one reason for the alacrity they had acted on this, and perhaps also deeision to reprieve the rive men condemned fcpeason trial, was the hope of getting some .flat of the Richards mission. The Syrians were the pinch financially, and they had the" r^rssion that Ambassador Richards would be in a ,|%sition simply to hand out funds for the asking. .piierefore, their calculation might be that, by making 'pae (or two gestures, but without any serious change ; ^-, p^loj, they might be able to pick up some dollars . t© help them over the immediate crisis. 3» He thought another reason for the reprieves was fear of assassination. He had seen a report that I*.in* 1. Resident Quwatli and Sabri el Assali had put ©ff their return from Cairo- to Damascus - and had indeed ,$ent for their families to join them - until a decision ' taken. 4;* , I am sending a copy of this letter t© Scott €n Beirut.

Morris.

R.M. Hadow, Esq.. Levant Bepartment, , F©rei,g.n ©ffice, London, S.W.I, Kef.: ,'O ^f\\\?ff/^'\ • '

1 the en — gond.t.ons of supply of P.,hi.v R^JJJ JSJ", " <*>se<*l^s ?nd

DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, CANADA. (DUPLICATE) C OPT DESPATCH , T0: *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR Security:... .99.W.DEN H AL EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, OTTAWA, CANADA. No: ?-.

FROM; ..?HE CANADIAN.ftEGA.^N, Date: *M1WJ. ft. . A9.5.7,.

Enclosures:

Reference: Air or Surface Mail:

Subject:,. .NEW. STO A¥. .qp. Ppst File No; Ottawa File No.

References

After Sabrl Assall»s Cabinet had resigned on December 22, nine days of consultation and nego- ? tlatlon followed, and on December 31 the formation of a new Sabrl Assail Government was announced, composed as followvs

Prime Minister and interim Minister of the Interior - Sabri Assail (National Party) Minister of Health - Assaad Haroun (National Party) Minister of Public Works - Fakher Kayali (National Party) Minister of Education - Hani Sbal (Independent) Minister of Foreign Affairs - Salah Bltar (Socialist) Minister of Justice and interim Minister of Social Welfare - Maamoun Kouzbari (Arab liberation movement) Minister of Finance - Assaad Mohassen (formerly Parliamentarian without protfolio and Ambassador to Paris) Internal Minister of Agriculture Circulation - Earned Khoja (Fr ;e Democrat) Minister of Stat* - Saleh Akil (Free Democrat) Minister of National Economy - Khalil Kallas (Socialist) 2» Die significant features of the new government are that unlike its predecessor. It contains neither Populists nor "Constitutionalists", and that the Ministry of the Interior is temporarily in the hands of the Prime Minister, The Socialist Salah Bltar remains Foreign Minister, and Khaled Azra, a wealthy and very powerful sympathiser of the left, has entered the Cabinet. Majeddin Jabre, a pro- Western politician whose views I have reported to ] Distribution you in recent despatches. Is dropped from the 1 to Posts Government. Another small step has now been taken in the consolidation of the left-wing grip on Syria, although this grip is by no means complete*

t. 180C (Rev. 2/52) * 2

S» v&e are given to understand tfcet t&e political crisis which has resulted In the formation of this new Government was caused by the continual friction in the former Cabinet between Populists and Socialists, notably over the longstanding question as to whether the Government should accept a tempting Csech offer for the construction of an oil refinery In Syria. "mere were other more Immediate issues also* 4* Assail had first offered his resignation a few days after the end of the Sinai campaign when he and some of his followers, in opposition to the Socialists and the Army, wished to bring to an end the state of martial law In Syria. At that time President Kuwatly refused to accept the Premier's resignation, probably on t&e grounds that it would be detrimental to national unity during the crisis* 5* Sine* that time, further tension has been Introduced Into the political situation In Syria by the publication of charges against a number of exceedingly prominent and Influential Syrians, Including six members of Parliament, accused of parti-* cipating in a plot to smuggle arms from Iraq and to overthrow the Syrian Government* The official accusation states that the conspirators had decided to provoke civil rebellion which was to begin by a secret signal transmitted by the British "Hear last Broadcasting System* at the end of a news bulletlnf On this signal there would have been riots In all parts of the country and if the operation had succeeded Iraq would at ones have recognised the new Government closely followed by Great Britain and France» If they failed, the traitors would have retired to the Alaoulte mountains where French and British units would have landed to reoccupy Syria and install the Government of traitors• 3he plot was first discovered on November 5f states the official document, when it was learned that three vehicles containing 800 rifles. 6 machine guns and a certain quantity of ammunition had arrived and had distributed their cargo to certain Druse and Bedouin elements* ^he death penalty is demanded for 9 persons, although only two of these are as yet in Syrian hands* Life sentences and leaaer sentences are demanded against other persons including various members of the Atassi, Ajlanl, Attrache and Chichakly families* Colonel Caatonguay and others are of the opinion that the charges against these persons are largely trumped up, and that th« incident is being deliberately used to strengthen the hold of anti-Western forces over the country* However, the persons accused or under arrest are so influential that it is possible that ths ruling clique may have bitten off more than it can chew* To arrest Srour, leader of the Bedouins of the Jezira, Attrache, leader of the Druzea, Mounir AJlanl, a Constitutionalist, Michel Li an, leader of the Chrttsians of Aleppo, and members of th* powerful Atassl clan of Horns, i| a formidable undertaking, and may prove to have been an unwise one* 6* Sabrl Assail at last resigned on December 22, and the Socialists and other left-wing elements hoped that the new Government would enable ttiem to change the former Incumbents of the Ministries of the Interior and of Agriculture, ttssors* Ahmed Qambar and Eaahad Jlbri respectively, who are both con* servatlve m'nded individuals and an obstacle to Socialist ambitions* 1h

***« cms

~~K»f.i~~

~~encto8 M —. _Conditions of supply Of Pubiir F?^«^S. leaflet"'" * %P» and~~

• 3 ». ft' nova Into eclipse* Hie compromise reached is to give the Interior temporarily to the Premier, All parties are now looking forward to the elections which Akraa Hourani la demanding for this Summer, and in which the Socialists may obtain tip to SO and the Communists 5 or 6 seats. 7* It is significant that in this devious and confusing progress towards the left, the left-wing parties have no publicly proclaimed and accepted programme of specific political or economic reforms of a socialist type* Some people, such as Akram Houranl of the Ba*ath Socialist Party, have specific socialist doctrines, but he It very much of an exception. Sie left-wing parties are relying almost exclusively on the issues of foreign policy to farther their alms, probably because at the present stage of Syria's political evolution the well-known old feuda- 11 stlc families are still, necessary to win support* 3&» Socialist Foreign Minister, Sal ah Bltar, is from one of the richest families of Syria, and Khaled el-Azra, beaten by Kuwatly in 1955 for the Presidency* is another of the great landlords who are now siding with the left and who give it money and power* 8« Ihe big question is, of course, whether the real left-wing figures, Khaled Bagdash, the Communist Deputy of Damascus, and Colonel SarraJ will be willing and capable in the near future of doing without the support of men such as Bitar and Aam, and the carrying into effect of a more speci- fically C0H»lnlstlc or Socialistic programme of their own. It seems lifrely that for some months or years to come, this will not be possible and that the present situation of radica- lism in wor"ds and conservatism in deeds will continue* 9* In spite of progress towards the left Syrian leaders are beginning to become mildly concerned about their total isolation, and aa a result, far greater attention is being paid to the Amexfcans than formerly* This partial rapprochement with the United States Is based partly on the U.S. attitude on the Suez question, and the Syrian desire to counter the charges made in the western press that Syria is passing rapidly behind the iron curtain* Akram Hourani, the Bafth Socialist, has called several timee recently on the American Embassy, (a hitherto unheard of event), and Bitar, the Foreign Minister, has also been more forthcoming recently* At a recent party given by the American Ambassador in Damascus, almost everyone of importance in Syria was present except the President* The guest i included all the Cabinet Ministers, many deputies, the Ghief-of*Staff, and other military figures, even including one of SarraJ*s assistants, although SarraJ himself was not present* 2he Ambassador is now seeing the Syrian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister more frequently than formerly, or at any rate his contacts are given far more publicity in the newspapers* 4here is no criticism of American policy at present in the carefully controlled Syrian press. All this Indicates not only the Syrian desire not to remain hostile, but also the American desire to exploit their temporary advantage in Syria to the full in their own and in the general Western Interest* * L.V.J. Roy Charge' d1 Affaires a.l. ems' R»f.: O _

~~COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS OFFICE DOWNING STREET LONDON, S.W.i~~

~~Whitehall j3J3/£xt. 1'our Reference: // March, 1957. Please quote in SA » CONFIDENTIAL~~

SITUATION IH SYRIA Gordon Riddell of Canada House has sent me two copies of a despatch from the Canadian Charge d'Affaires in Beirut about the situation in Syria. The despatch is dated January 3rd and is therefore rather out of date, I ara, nevertheless, enclosing a copy of it as you may find it useful for your files.

~~f.Q. LAMARQDE)~~

~~MISS B. RICHARDS, FOREIGN OFFICE. it i~~

mt®t>| ••&%£$&*v in1 :*"!*\' r»>• '''-T;^; r> <^vS):: id , . — ^/ ' I . • . . .. Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the Public Record Office's teems and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright restrictions. Further information is given in the encloseehflSfnTis and Conditions of supply of Public Records' leaflet

~~1015/30) OFFICE, S.W.I, Marcta 15* 1957.~~

~~Tfesisk yo« for sending me with your letter SA 337A5A of March 11 a copy of iWi the Canadian despatch from Damascus. It largely confirms our own reports, but the last paragraph is interesting.~~

~~(B. Richards) (Mies)~~

~~W.Q. Lemarque, Commoinrealtti Eelatioaa Office, cms~~

~~d n ls - ,-' „ —v*jnonions_oConditions nff supplei,n~i.y pir-f Publi. ..c PA*.»,J_ • . i 9'ven in thefinpir>eo Hr u .~~

•*»*

/ *

~~British Embassy, ;/BSIiHJT.r"" "" \ March 7,;~~

^ This is our weekly letter on Syria and Egypt. a A fa|]s|y full and probably fairly accurate account of whi-t on is the Second ,Gair© ®©afence was given in ©ttr t S saving 0$' £**«& 1. There has amount of g©Ssip about the part the ©» Clayed Iherei Jfcpfrw* r«|>'®3»ts said leat-S refused t© sit;-«-t the same table el Asm atid that the latter had been obliged » $i,f^»»tic illraess as a resulti, lowerer, |ol€ the C0ofereHe,e what he had seem*®*- from - States of America (the promise &t Israselfs B»«rognition of Bgyptiaa sovereiga^r over tM® C7sn*l and support for a solution of the Gaupl •pr®%*tea~Qir the bfteis ®'f th-e- Seotarlty ©'©'iweiit's -ptx P©lii4«) ©alah Bitar asked wJsact ttee 4r«"ba were t* give ?bti rw*®r®» Wfeen Baud replied itet all the U.S.A. waited was that the Arabs should oppose Cornsiunism, Bf^** -replied, that the wain 0%'|«-et was to finish Israel ©free aad for all -and t£*t the U.S. offers of c0op«jp»ti©a were not aeeep"H|&le beoa^seVthey had striags attaehfed". When 8t&x& retorted- th:a*|' Bf tar should be realistic and forget hxig .pAjpia., ' Bitar- withdrew the meeting. iorae 0apfrfSflFfW- this story was ^ by President ©baaoita, wh© told the Aaibarsâ^ter l&at Bitair had been pretty obstreperous- at C&raw- and that Scrad had had to insist that he ,be excluded1 from the top level meetings. 2. The President had also heard that Saud and King Hussein had mate common cause against lesser and Kuwatlyi Under the almost hypsetie iaflmeaoe of Uttsser^ Saad had perhaps not been a very strong ad- vocate of the American viewpoint; he had stood fcis ground fuite well and in particular had refused t© say;in the filial cojamuniau^ that the four heads ®£ states were fmily agreet on the poliey t© be foflowe* In fut-iare - hence the eeajproraise phrase "positive aewtrslisai*. 3. Meanwhile the Syrian leaders were being bombarded by reijmeats for leaiemey for the ®swaaar®w8 i*btmipir«tor8w to death OB Febrm^ry- 2f*- IjNîjp-J^fbâôn 1 | t are saf3' "to' TKiWljP IWSSBT "Wirtfe '- pB : '»«^pfe^f*'-TJy e» g. Mimifter told the press h«*e that %©^sik h©: eetet* not intervene officially he w©n|d oerl a-s a private- citizen. H

> S. W. 1. ,~ or<| i^g Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the Public Record Office's te«ms and conditions and th • use of it may be subject to copyright restrictions. Further information is given in the enciosec^feemthas t your Conditions of supply of Public Records' leaflet ' and

||^pNCf.••. a^d;'o^''"'-e®.«l-d- quote ©tlier examples, not ^-**"*i;rt-''-' '''^'"^•••'î^$j;'-eit^'-'''^K':^^'':ne't- -return to ''"" |rr©ii- iMfeFSttry^-f7> • there- -were /fver/'''this' '(ittestt©®. ihey^-retiarned -• :a^%&*l&;;$«-.P«f©3*t•-.£*©»•Bawafcma"-lât £eif$^f^»;'''®m':the" f ive--: held in- • -eitsttiNiy ;>i||:îêê-:»4niater> • Aza»> • into- lard ^sN^lertBe*''-, have^feeen- e^fiffrped lfsil«îB3l^^^-deii*t: i: y ând/j^xs^fSsSaFfe: r |p': : «^»7 ;l%y 'tfeftt: :Jf " "tta«r'««tftisn%es .Je^'a-rvief wry- l^jfe> -'p»»s«ta^,' wfep- was Im^^fe-^n-Qêdêv^®!--' cenfasion pt--as :^'iiîiaS:t, if-"'however ,,,..t ;©'tit the-'fieaent- precarioTsts iliît-êitttiitpte;* ' • • : :: - |f|t\-:|^,j||^:Sfadi^-;;1^ • he tH®mght were finished in Syria - and that he suite of rooms at the St. Georges Hotel v%r;|ê^| ' • • ••'•'•• ' ^^ has "been in session. According to :ftn-/aip^g^le^^--®ver:--pa?©eed«t¥e"-st" the" :^:wl^gt|ter--'t® debate ' finft'-: ê-'fm-dget ""''%y-^the-":--€N(ver«oaeiit -'%©•-' in^rbea-se, a v •rep©*t- - .:^,^^...^^ ©n:-:-. *h% ' ~ ~—^*- a' It Is also said that the tratget in~ a oil

s»Kf®sppiwî-':e^p^«*^.($ifj: ..,, ^^•'•|î^?|^^:'«î-«iNw ^T d*iai^^|f:'(ia? p^^tfi*i*-"fits-:a- • iNs«î-€...' -®f ••••e:'îf^|?;':fi»'' ^.Hî^-flî^'rîîtn^-fl^ -'iir- -tMear1; -®||^";' Ltt;{|f^::/fi:il-' :8]ai«r'ie^-^--f@i^-•'?ate-:•• B:«3?feij;^' ,•,,.,.,,!,*. ...,.,,,.. .i- i_.j—«i«iMiirt«.-.-;>Kifc.":'.««•;.!

~~i«Bittee en f®reig«_AJf^«| ^'p«i?:v«Eit -'Visa 'taxes-~~

~~.ireefc -to :;^ft^« :'ife:.;::!..;^ifei^ji#* «W»i en a«-«lr fease fa Syria. a move within the cms ^rr-PlliSfe~~

~~to he poorly edited and u.^eoordina- it takes. / items of economic news have come to hand:- Iwgr ee*t©a fro® Syria instead of Tartcey* 1 imsttgursted Its service is pr*ri*iemi&'" ant-Tril" l~~

~~amd: entrepreneur has told us IH Sypla as be sees BO hope of a tfe«t-B©ar fulnai?®. , i hea-r-d f3»©m" ^re«« aaS ra-dio that ;8^ smttee-rlse* ^fee- I. P.©. ts more pi*«eis«r infonastion.~~

~~report we~~

»"•*« .., ;X 1 W'« 'of -aotual' difitrese among the mush exaggerated and there are no -mm- yet to Haeser^s position. . -' teld the Apfeat'sa-dep -inoreasing number•ef Egyptians were corain« to see ai»fsiEfg a^b©j»t the hmrshaess of the presenrt regime disastrous state of the e©uatryls finances, and ttf$-yl-am'jK«i;ir^jtoe;i*ies]a ai€ were tltere w0ald "be an a jpeaarteed that ke thought t* on polioy quite a lo-"Rg time and t&e Suez crisis* In this that he- "@8SBfliijB» turn his fom. h»ve- ^rebaibiy seea as ,_, from Qairo, published in the Lebanese a»gry with, the W.'iS.A* foy doietrlfcaifi that it looks like his !»,,....._. . _ _ „„ ©m the I-|seah®wef?: Flam-1^*13. , __,._ j^lainetf it to him is •kis a:BEaoyajaee aad fe«r» tha-t the I38"'fri" ^JblH i^t Et© ^©'"^'0 DO« O0S1® "^© v0ff9^8Tf

Afrisap '$»«** Egypt. Uasser is deliberately ®r *g|Bv*ft«i$a of opinion w&ieh night an aftteiapt to win U.S. favour. £} on February 28, told the Lebanese tiifrt Wase insisted that all Canal tolls should be p'1 < If. Cairo SadSo news broadcasts have been moderate, con- ,:i ^tee Seeoad Cairo Conference and the withdrawal ,ii of larch 4 reports that Father Robert of- the Eastern Jestiit lesldiemcy from Bgypt at short notice an artiele in a Catheli© weekly attsattOH of the higher authorities to against Christians in Egypt. ie«e press quotes MAl-Gotaiafe©tariaw of March 1 that four Russian experts in nuclear research in Egypt this month to study the needs of the fee set up there; four Egyptian engineers for training; and e^alpaeat will arrive

~~1 of TJ.K,-Egyptian trade is developing through ey adjustment being made on the Beirut~~

from Qairo "by Wilt©® Wynn say® a eonfimed %ha% Ba'eehoalo-vmfe-ia is eotton te We-st Igyptian prlee and- %tea% We** |ing up a vast favourable bal«Jt©e in its He -gao*®8 *&&& same source as saying a big tratde e-3^jcit>iti©n ife being' prepared in 0ariro ®n the stJjfftf-of tae Smsslan one, whose lease has rmn ®mt» 2®, A consignment of hashish has bee® discovered by the Eebaues* authorities in the Egyptian Embassy's diplomatic romi6 for'Damascus? opiate for the masses, no dotibt.

~~(I.D. Se®tt) ,~~

Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the Public Record Office's tejms and conditions and that your . use of it may be subject to copyright restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosedsfiips and Conditions of supply of Public Records'leaflet

~~13 "^*Bt»^ i»8%» ? » '~~

~~.- ^oa of * on **£** t : 21 Alaa Ho, of 9/3/g7.>~~

~~leader, regTiests amnesty for those coademned to~~

Allal el Fassi sent the following telegram to His ';®aMto.l t®i«tl3r» President- of .the Syrian- leptiblie', to- f|e-l ite.Sali* JBraf, Minister aid. to. Salah Bitar,. the Minister f or "The "brotherly tie which unites Moslesis makes me request yotir worthy intervention for the issue of an amnesty of the following men who have been sentenced to

Hayel al Stirour, Sami Kat>"bara, Adnan Atassi, Huss,©,la el Hakim, Subhi al CJraari, Mohamed Ma'arotif, Mohammed SafaV felah Shishakli, Said Tagradin, Mikhal Elian, Hassan Atrasfa aad Shaki"b Wahhab. Allah the Almighty give you good compensation. Moslem world will fully appreciate your endeavour* Please accept the assurance of my highest consideration. British Embassy,

~~March 13, 1957.~~

refer to Bagdad telegram No. 272 of March 1 to Office paragraph 2 of which reported that King .I''of Iraq, had telegraphed to the other Ara"b Kings them 'to use their good offices in an effort to save 'gjjrrlan leaders who had "been condemned to death in the spy trials. ,2*, Reports have now appeared in the local press giving -•' '-credit for the commutation of the sentences to King Hussein. ussein did indeed send the Chief of the Royal 'Diwan, Talhuni, with a special message to President Kuwatly, , dont-ents of which have not "been revealed "but which, from Talhunifs remarks, seems certainly to have "been with the death sentences. ,Th"e King's motives in this are not altogether clear. gh the trials attracted little public attention in v^Mtt it is probable that relatives of accused petitioned /•ine Arab Kings and Heads of state and that King Hussein that he might gain some support within Syria by for clemency. His action may also have been intended ss his disapproval of the Communist flavour which the -, proceedings seem to have had. i* ; I am sending a copy of this letter to the Chanceries Bagdad, Beirut and POMEP.

~~( R..H. Mason )~~

~~R.|{«< -Eadow Esq.., l»ey,ant Department, '- • ' " ' The Foreign Office, London S.W.1f cms~~

~~^^ss^SSSsggaSS.Cond.fonsofsuon.v ^, f^en ,n the enclosed^^Us and of PublicR~~

~~Britifsh Embassy,~~

~~^ I : .-~~

weekly letter on condition* IB Syria and for the evidence in your letter of March 5 these i^ep-orts are in fact,of some use. I*' II- The general impression is one of a certain, :, Tire»' aard-, according to an important Lebanese ' eix^e»S'tve interests in Syria, due to the coniaratation " 'dearth sewteiaees on the ^conspirators**. This informant there weuld certainly have "bees serious internal trouble had the sentences been, carried out and said that carl ©ads of p,ep^le had come from Aleppo to Damascus pressure on the authorities. This impression was fey a British jwaaber of the staff of the Ban quo do e an 4p Llban, who added that the General Manager of ) had now "been granted a permit to re- that Prance had just concluded a deal pounds sterling worth of cotton, possibly hy a second similar deal. He, however, thought was caused lay the economic effects of Syria* s recent "i»st

Agreed t© give tfyria her share in the higher* a^^wfj. oil' ©m the* MeiS-terrsn-eaia G©aat. A "third ^'*9pL Ipi Al Aa«* was that the-1.P.O. had been f* 3rtKj»11riiHS ©n the oil not pumped in the 'law t four *% &a« nw-been res tamed, however with no con-

sir eaSy'reported (our telegrams Wo. 11 Saving of f©. 2$$ of Mardh 13) two statemnts by Premier Kfcrat laying down ext^«vafan$ conditions - fro Egypt, nationalisation of the Canal, etc., - ti©n ©f diplomatic relations with the United the seeand stating that the Syrian Government > the lisemhower Plan in principle, but was pre- tne it in detail with the amendments?, subsequently AssaM has also accepted an invitation t© attend ce-1 dh«P8?tions of the independence ©f Tunisia

-5?' r, Kallas, haa told a Syrian news- Syrian eeonoiBy is somnd, and that economic is m^Sei?-active stuî tope e@hosl®vak Trate Minister, fhe Ooaraunist 1 reports IBtot the Minister of Public Works has said the Contract irs expected to be signed this ;©%he-r papers however report eo-mtter-effers (iael\a€img p£e American ftrm referred, to in paragraph 15{~d) ©f my ^P" ©f February 28); and MA1 Fayha«* mafees in an editorial -'•'©1-d "preposal to have a nuprber of separate smaller refineries. same divergence between Goisnranist and other papers is in an a-nnoiancement by WA1 la-i Al Aamtt that the Assali t® be re-shuffled, and that the Populists will not A.I.P. reported from Damascus the following day li had denied that there would be any faesti«m of a b>ejf®3?« the Butget had been voted» or that there discussions with the Populists ever their parti- He also said that the Government had decided to of officials. Arab Liberation Movement (Shishaklifs Party - see L 8 ©f my last letter) is reported to have helt a- constituted itself a political party, a%d announced as fellow*-: denunciation ©f the âgd*^ pact, ««r Plan and Inêrialiswj opposition t© inter- coiitj'f^ ©f <3-aza or the Quir ©f Aoabaj the union of Arab eeu-ntries; and the formation ©f1 m Arab to help the Algerians and: others strtiggiing independence (Press). One iyrian paper reports that the Moslem Br©the»|tood ©u Mwrefe 10 an 8-day eonventiom in Damascus, ffeie Syrian Sheikh STustafa Ibai, was reflected, and a Jordanian, Ehalife, was elected Vice-President^-. /ll... '" ;•' ""**'m '".'• " »'' . i K -4"1 - ' '

of lareh 6 claims to give more details of ,te$ iyriam Q&atrifoer of the law forbidding %©/'1m•'paTajfr.«q|h. 5 (^) of my last .Ietter0 The fc ®f-S©wa3a$.:a2Sd Bikdasfe-t with, the populists VlC ^©;is© chiming in syeophantioaliy, some a«E the course to sts^nd ©ut against it &^ig'.:a$k smen4i|ent to the effect that the ojily -pending the passage of comprehensive whole iseu®* - The amended "bill was carried 3$ deputies "but many deputies abstained from

~~^Sh© following are miscellaneous reports of minor interest:- {,a) "Ss^ajj.' Bitar recently circulated a note to diplomatic in ^aasascuB "drawing their attention" to the .aggression" in Yemen,}~~

^e^ linister of financet Assaud Mahassen,, is to "be Sya^Maft liribassador to China (Al Rai Al Aam)0 (,e,) jn . guuman carrying a false passport was arrested ' and confessed he was on an assassin1 s mission

(d) $he YJafoslavs who have t>eexi doing constructional work on , t^e. 'jNHft -,at lat.taMa ,(and .are olfte-n seen around tjfce port • ©t jjSalsu!.) sayt according to the (Freaaeia) Birectcw of ' 'tke- f!0rt Q©ffip8a3y» that the Eussian ariis imported through Lattakia are light arms, not heavy equipment* .The following comes from commercial circles: (a) |)e^ands have reached Bamascus fr-bm china, !>©land and Bulgaria for ihe purchase of cotton* Bulgaria wishes to tJUj 20CTC) tons^ which exceeds the quantity specified in the Syr®**ulgarian Trade Agreement, China requires 5000 tons* The t3«&tS«R« has also asked for a further £<|0.0 tons. Prance is. in the market for ij.000 tona, (la) for the first time in history Syria will he in a position to export lffOOO|,000 kilogrammes of tobacco, valued at k tQO'Os 000* (e) fhe Czeehoslovak' Minister of External Trade is expected in Damascus and will discuss possibilities of increased trade "between the two countries^ < (d) fhe Ministry of Agriculture has- published final f igures : of agricultural production during 195^«v The . principal pro- ducts. (in tons) are's wheat, l*9£>®jQ©Q1 j "barley, 462, GOO j chickpeas9 27»000j lentils, 57fOQ G:J white maize, 10i4-,000; yellow maize,- 15*000 j rice, 8,t5©0j sugarbeet, ii-5,000; tobacco, 5»000j oils,. S0tQOQj washed wool, 6,000, (e) The Ministry of Hational Eqonomy has issued a coramuniqug to the -effect that the export of cotton seed oil is now free, within a limit of 3^000 tons* (f) IQtes in circulation dropped fr^fii £gyrian ij.36 million in Deoeai'be^ to fJBsrian 41H million lay the end of as compared to ^Syrian 342 million in ^^S^ssSfSSS^^-^mthe encl Conditions of SUDD|V of p£*J£jJ ^2?'" ^<^Sd°

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^a ;;Sgyptism drama company - the Theatre lational de I'Ope'ra 'jjJi;'iM$8: advertised to perform at the IMESOO theatre in Beirut § at prices of £Let3* 4" to 12, The programme includes: ,^,.|pial|re); $©liere*s 'L'Avare'; L*Assassiii des Femmes |S^p>i|| La Prise .(Said Ibrahim); La Derniere Lettre :|^!:Ifllthsring Heights.

~~(I.D. Scott)~~