EVENTS IN CAIRO AND ALEXANDRIA. (Hansard, 26 February 1946)

§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DOMINION AFFAIRS (VISCOUT ADDISON)

My Lords, I welcome this opportunity of informing your Lordships of recent developments in Egypt. For some time past agitation has been carried on in Egypt against this country in support of the Egyptian national demands—and more specifically the complete evacuation of British troops—put forward in the Egyptian Government's note of December 26 last, of the contents of which your Lordships are aware. On February 9 student demonstrations on a large scale took place but were firmly handled by the Government then in power. Shortly afterwards, for reasons of internal policy, the Government resigned, and were replaced by the present Administration under Ismail Sidky Pasha, who removed the ban previously imposed on popular demonstrations on the understanding that they would be conducted in an orderly manner. Moreover, His Majesty's Government learned, with some concern, that the King's Rescript to his new Prime Minister characterized these events as a healthy manifestation of the people's ambition to realize their just claims both internal and external.

A strike was eventually organized by student and workmen's associations on Thursday, February 2r. At first the proceedings were orderly, but it soon became evident that control was passing 874 into the hands of groups of people who proceeded to make systematic attacks on British civil and military property, including R.A.F. Headquarters and the British Cathedral which, as reports at the time made clear, was shamefully desecrated. British troops were finally compelled to fire in self-defence, and I wish to take this opportunity of paying a tribute to the forbearance shown by all ranks in conditions of great danger and provocation. Mercifully, so far as my reports go, no British subject actually lost his life during the day, and order was eventually restored by the Egyptian Police working in conjunction with the Egyptian Army. By that time, however, severe material damage had been done. Incidents also occurred during the day at Alexandria. That evening the Egyptian Prime Minister, in a broadcast, deplored the turn that evens had taken and announced that further demonstrations would be forbidden. His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires immediately took the matter up with the Egyptian Prime Minister and inquired what action Sidky Pasha proposed to take to punish the persons responsible, to provide compensation for the damage, and to ensure the maintenance of order.

His Majesty's Government take a serious view of these outrages, coming as they do at a time when they had expressed their intention of meeting the Egyptian demand for a review of the treaty relations between the two countries. They had already drawn the attention of the Egyptian Government to the dangers of the incitements to violence published in the Egyptian Press, and they cannot acquit that Government of responsibility for outrages which they could have foreseen and prevented had they drawn on the lessons of experience, or even reflected on the similar outcome of demonstrations held in Cairo in November last against developments in Palestine when destruction was wrought by groups of hooligans.

His Majesty's Government has therefore instructed His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires to follow up the action already most properly taken by him with a formal protest to the King and the Egyptian Government against this failure to take timely and effective action to maintain order; and to emphasize that these events must necessarily threaten the relationship of mutual confidence which the Egyptian 875 Government had declared it to be their object to promote. Mr. Bowker was also instructed to confirm, as from His Majesty's Government, the demands for the punishment of the guilty, for compensation for damage, and for reassurances for the future already conveyed by him, and to indicate the importance of meeting these requests in order to create the conditions of tranquillity which are necessary to enable our discussions with Egypt to proceed. These instructions have now been carried out, and we are awaiting the Egyptian Government's reply.

I should record that an answer to Mr. Bowker's earlier representations has in fact been received from Sidky Pasha. In this reply Sidky; Pasha announced his acceptance of the three requests put forward by Mr. Bowker, but sought to attribute responsibility for the incidents to British military lorries which were said to have killed and injured some members of the crowd. This suggestion has, I understand, been repeated in the Egyptian Senate. The facts are in dispute, but in any case no action of these drivers could have explained attacks which had already started elsewhere in Cairo and were continued systematically.

I would only add in conclusion that His Majesty's Government are as determined as ever to pursue the course they have set for themselves of replacing the 1936 Treaty of Alliance with a fresh treaty of alliance, freely negotiated as between equals, to regulate the relations between Egypt and this country. But they must decline to be swayed, and still less to be intimidated, by the actions of irresponsible elements such as those which gained control of the situation on Thursday last, and whose activities if not decisively checked may do grave damage to Anglo-Egyptian relations.