POSITION IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. (Hansard, 11 July 1940)

§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (VISCOUNT HALIFAX)

My Lords, I am very glad to give such information as I can and, although the noble Viscount's question is couched in wide terms, I dare say that what he and other members of your Lordships' House will have especially in mind is the situation in the two countries with whom we have particular Treaty relations—namely, Egypt and Turkey, and my noble friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies has asked me also to say a word about Palestine.

It will be remembered that the Egyptian Government did not declare war on Germany in September last, but broke off diplomatic and commercial relations and in consultation with His Majesty's Government took all the other measures which had been foreseen as necessary under the Treaty of Alliance. When war was declared by Italy on the Allies the Egyptian Government followed a similar course, although the circumstances were different, since the Mediterranean now became a war zone and Italian possessions border Egypt on the west and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the south-east. In view of remarks that have been spread by enemy propaganda I would wish to make it quite plain that since Italy entered the war His Majesty's Government have never pressed the Egyptian Government to declare war on her. It was however obvious that the British Forces in Egypt, which at the request of the Egyptian Government had been strongly reinforced, would conduct 887 operations against Italy from Egyptian territory. We intended to fulfil our obligation to defend Egypt, whose independence and vital interests were threatened by the Italian declaration of war on Great Britain, Egypt's Ally.

I am happy to say that the Egyptian people as a whole fully understand that their interests are indissolubly linked with ours, that they regard Italian promises and fair words with well-founded suspicion, and view with extreme detestation the possibility of Italian encroachment upon Egyptian or Sudanese soil. They remember only too well Italian actions in Libya, in Albania and in Abyssinia and have no illusions about the scope of totalitarian aspirations. There was a certain delay in the departure of the Italian Minister and his staff in Cairo and they and other enemy agents were insinuating that if Egypt would ignore her Treaty obligations she might avoid the worst consequences of Italian aggression.

In these circumstances many representative Egyptians held that at this fateful moment for Egypt, the interests of the Egyptian people demanded a stronger Government in order to demonstrate Egypt's determination to carry out to the full the letter and the spirit of the Treaty of Alliance. Speeches in the Egyptian Parliament also showed that Egyptian public opinion was prepared for a stronger lead in giving effect to all measures of defence and internal security. His Majesty's Government felt entitled to intimate to their Ally that this was also their view, since the defence of Egypt devolves primarily upon us and we have very definite obligations under the Treaty. The King of Egypt shouldered his responsibilities and after consultation with his advisers invited Hassan Sabry Pasha to form a Government. We should have been happy if it had been found possible to associate with the new Government the Wafd Party, whose leader, Nahas Pasha, was Prime Minister when the Treaty of Alliance was signed in 1936, but in wartime Cabinet making is not always an easy matter and I am glad to say that our relations with the present Government are completely satisfactory.

I think that what has passed in relation to the French Fleet at Alexandria has in part been made public, but perhaps I 888 might say a word about that. By agreement between the British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, and the French Admiral in command of the French naval forces at Alexandria, the units of the French Fleet there have been "demilitarized" by landing certain portions of their armaments and by reducing the amount of fuel on board to that required for harbour purposes only. The crews are being reduced to those required for care and maintenance only. The balance of the crews are being sent to Syria and later to France, as arranged by the French authorities. His Majesty's Government have undertaken to provide supplies and pay for the men left in charge of the ships and to ensure their return to France, after the war.

With regard to Palestine I am glad to be able to say that according to recent reports the situation in Palestine remains quiet and that, apart from isolated acts of banditry, the country is now enjoying a respite from internal disorder. General satisfaction has been evoked in Arab circles by the High Commissioner's recent announcement that in view of the improvement in security conditions Military Courts would in future no longer have power to inflict the death sentence, and that offences committed during the disturbances of the past three years would in future be tried not by the Military Courts but by the ordinary civil tribunals. The release from internment of a large number of Arabs has also been received with appreciation. One effect of the entry of Italy into the war has been to strengthen pro-British sentiment in all sections of the community. The illicit Jewish broadcasting station has closed down voluntarily after exhorting all Jews to assist the Allies against the common enemy; and the Jewish community as a whole is co-operating fully in matters of defence and in the various emergency measures which the present situation demands. The co-operation of the Arabs, who would view with abhorrence the prospect of the application in Palestine of Italy's method of colonisation in Libya, is no less whole-hearted. I am told that economic prospects, especially the position of the citrus industry, give some cause for anxiety, but the situation is relieved to some extent by the demand for goods and labour arising from the presence in the country of a large number of troops.

889 Finally, as regards Turkey we remain bound to Turkey by the closest ties. It will be remembered that on the entry of Italy into the war the Turkish Prime Minister declared that Turkey would maintain her present attitude of non-belligerency. His Majesty's Government fully appreciated the circumstances which led to this decision of the Turkish Government, who throughout have kept in close contact with His Majesty's Government. Meanwhile our Treaty with Turkey stands, as does the friendship and sympathy between our two peoples on which the Treaty is based, and which has rendered it in the past, as it also will in the future, a fruitful basis for constructive co-operation between us, both as long as the war continues and in the years of peace to come.

Meanwhile your Lordships may have observed that the Germans are actively engaged in stirring up unwarranted suspicions and alarms wherever they can in the Balkans and the Near East in the hope of making these countries the dupes of German policy. But, as I have tried to indicate, I hope and believe that the peoples of that region, some of whom are not without experience of the methods of the States ranged against us, will not be deceived and will remain steadfast in their loyalty to those principles for which we are fighting. I am encouraged to think that we are showing ourselves to be capable of affording assistance and protection to our friends and Allies in that part of the world. We shall certainly, I need not add, maintain our effort. We shall prosecute the war with the utmost vigour, being confident in the ultimate success of our arms.