Middle East Chronology, December 1st, 1948 To February 28th, 1949

Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology December 1, 1948-February 28, 1949
Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr., 1949), pp. 181-200
Published by: Middle East Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4322064 .
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THE
OF
DEVELOPMENTS
COMMENT
QUARTER:
AND
CHRONOLOGY'
DECEMBER I, 1 948 -FEBRUARY

ON
28,
1949
DECEMBER 4, I948, the UN Gen- Arab countries, and conversationswith Trans-
eral Assembly's Political and Security

Committee set up a 3-man Conciliation Commission charged with the task of bringing
about a final settlement to the Palestine controversy. The immediate task of mediation,
however, remained at the Commission's request in the hands of Dr. Ralph J. Bunche,
the previously appointedActing Mediator for
Palestine. After a further month of continuous, arduous, and tortuous negotiations directed primarily at halting the sporadic fighting between Israeli and Egyptian forces concentrated at the Mediterranean end of the
Egyptian-Israeli border, both parties agreed
to discuss the terms of an armistice. Seven
more weeks of conversationson the island of
Rhodes were necessary before an armistice
agreement was finally reached on February
24. In the meantime, Israel had again demonstrated its determinationto secure favorable
conditions by launching an offensive aimed at
isolating Al-Arish, 30 miles within Egyptian territory, by bombing Egyptian-occupied
and refugee-choked Gaza and towns on the
Egyptian side of the border, and by shooting
down five British reconnaissanceplanes which
were flying along the Egyptian frontier in an
attempt to ascertain the extent of the Israeli
incursions.
The success of the Israeli-Egyptian talks
opened the door to negotiation with the other
1 In general, items in the Chronologyare drawn
from the New York Times unless otherwise indicated. Nongeographical subheadings will be found
beginning on page I99.
jordan were actually initiated late in February, again under the aegis of Dr. Bunche. Independent bi-lateral talks between Israel and
Lebanon were also under way, and a draft
armistice was drawn up. The talks with
Transjordan presentedin some ways the knottiest problems of all because of the division
of Jerusalem between Israeli forces in occupation of the New City and Transjordanian
forces in occupation of the Old, and because
of Israel's desire to establish itself on the Gulf
of Aqaba. On the other hand, King Abdallah's
evident desire to reach an agreement with
Israel and so establish his own position in
Arab Palestine provided a climate for compromise which was lacking in the relations
between Israel and the other Arab states.
Great Britain's de facto recognition of Isracl
also militated in favor of an agreement, although the British did not yet seem clear in
their own minds just how far they were disposed to let Israel expand or Transjordan to
give in.
The armisticetalks were bringing to a close
a year of war; indeed, they constituted an
aftermath to the conflict. Already looming
more importantly than the settlement of the
minutiae of Israel's frontiers were the evident
consequencesof the struggle. These were translated into human terms by the plight of the
Palestine refugees, the vast majority of them
Arab, whose numbersby the end of February
were estimated at over 8oo0,oo.
Primary relief work was being undertaken
by the United Nations Relief Organization
I8r

I82
THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL
under the directorshipof Stanton Griffis,

United States Ambassadorto Egypt. Associated in this effort were the League of Red
Cross Societies,the InternationalCommittee
of the Red Cross,the AmericanFriendsService Committee,and the UN's own InternationalChildren'sEmergencyFundandWorld
Health Organization.In November1948 the
General Assemblyhad projecteda program
based on a budget of
$32,ooo,ooo
to be con-
tributed voluntarilyby its membernations.

These contributions,however,were slow in
comingin, and even the U. S. grantof $i6,ooo,ooo, which PresidentTrumanannounced
he would requeston December7th, did not
receivethe final approvalof Congressuntil
the middleof March. Immediaterelief work
was forced to rely on $5,ooo,ooo advanced
fromthe UN's workingcapital,and uponthe
voluntaryactivity of private Americanand
Araborganizations,
both in the United States
and in the field.
It was apparentfrom the first that the
$32,ooo,ooo estimate (originallyintendedto
cover the requirementsof 500,000 refugees
from December i, 1948, to August 31,
I949)
economically and socially disruptive element,

and thus forward the primary goal of stability
in the Middle East. An associatedprogramof
economic development would forward the
United States' second interest in an orderly
evolution of the Middle East toward a higher
standardof living. It would also do more than
any other single factor to re-establish the
prestige of the United States and the West,
which had been seriously undermined during
the Palestine crisis of the previous two years.
American action was foreshadowed by the
"Fourth Point" in President Truman's inaugural address of January 20: "We must
embark on a bold new program for making
the benefits of our scientific advances and
industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdevelopedareas....
Our aim should be to help the free peoples
of the world, through their own efforts, to
produce more food, more clothing, more materials for housing, and more mechanical
power to lighten their burdens." The policy
was an extension of the Truman Doctrine,
enunciated on March I2, I947, with particular reference to aid for Greece and Turkey,
and a counterpart to the subsequent development of a rehabilitationprogramfor Western
Europe. Ways and means of putting the
"Fourth Point" into effect were still being
debated at the end of February.
in no sense solved the longer range problem

of rehabilitation.As Israel proceededto an
active policy of establishingvillages for its
own newly-arrivedimmigrantson the land
vacatedby the Arabs,it becameevidentthat
the solution- discounting the infiltration
backinto Israelof small numbersof the refuCyprus
gees- would have to lie in resettlementin
the surroundingArab states. It also shortly '949
becameevidentthat the resettlementprogram Jan. I: ArchbishopMakarios,in a New Year's
Day addressto the Greeks of Cyprus,called
would have to be financedfrom abroad.The
for "nationalliberty, union and only union."
Arab states were not financiallycapableof
The Turkish population(20 % of total) was
assumingthe task, and Israelwas fully occureported greatly alarmed at the prospect of
pied with the problemof settling its own
a
Greek majority in an independentstate,
populationproblems.Israeliauthoritiesagreed
and to prefer to remain under British rule.
in principlethat compensation
shouldbe paid
for the Arablandsthat had beenvacated,but Jan. i8: British Foreign Minister Bevin told
the House of Commons that Jewish imany fundsforthcomingin all likelihoodwould
migrants of military age detainedin Cyprus
be largelyoffsetby Israeliwar claimsagainst
would be allowed to leave as soon as transthe Arabsthemselves.
port could be provided.(London Times, Jan.
The United States had a two-fold interest
I9, p. 4.)
in assumingthe initiativein a long-rangeArab
resettlementplan tied in with developmental
Egypt
projects.The rapidrehabilitation
of the refugees,besidesbeinga humanitarian
goal,would
The winter season in Cairo was punctuminimize the danger of their becomingan ated by three political assassinations.On DeThis content downloaded from 128.40.212.118 on Fri, 2 May 2014 11:46:09 AM
DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER
cember 4 Salim Zaki Pasha, the Cairo Chief

of Police, was killed by a hand grenadethrown
by rioting students. On the morning of the
28th a student memberof the Moslem Brotherhood (lkhwan al-Muslimun) shot and
killed Prime Minister Mahmud Fahmi Nuqrashi Pasha as he arrived at his office in the
Ministry of the Interior. And finally, on February 12 Sheikh Hasan al-Banna, the leader
of the Moslem Brotherhood, was shot and
killed on the street by a hitherto unidentified
group of young men passlng in a car.
The assassinationsmarked the climax of a
showdown struggle between the government
and the militant Brotherhood founded by
Hasan al-Banna in I929. The movement was
initially an effort to build nationalist fervor
on the basis of Islam. Admitting the fundamental universalismof Islam, Hasan al-Banna
went on to demonstratehow a Moslem might
neverthelessdevelop allegiance to pan-Arabism
and devotion to one's own nation within the
Islamic philosophicalframework. Nationalism
was thus presented not as a foreign intrusion
from the West, which no true Moslem could
accept with a clear conscience,but as an institution that could and should be rooted in Islam
itself.'
This approach accounted for the strength
which the Moslem Brotherhood was able to
develop around the mosque institutions in the
provincial towns of Egypt: it was here that
Sheikh Hasan al-Banna, a religious leader
himself, did his first preaching- at the Suez
Canal town of Ismailia, to be exact. Due credit
must also be given to the inspiring personality
of al-Banna, and to his effectiveness as an
orator and organizer.
Early in the 1930's Hasan al-Banna transferred his base of operations to Cairo, where
the movement developed a tremendous appeal
first to the lower classes, but later to leaders
in society and politics as well. At the same
time, the Brotherhood was energetically
propagating itself throughout the Egyptian
1 For a concise presentation of the philosophy of
the Ikhwan al-Muslimun, and in particular of the
mannerin which it reconcilesIslam with modernnationalism, see Franz Rosenthal's summary and
translation of an Ikhwan statement of principles
in "The Moslem Brethrenin Egypt,"Moslem World
XXXVII ( ,947), pp. 271.-1.
I83
countryside(wherein 1945 it claimed500,000

sympathizers), and abroad in the Arab world,
North Africa, and India.
As the Brotherhood grew in strength it
tended to become relatively less of a religionationalistic reform movement and more of a
political action society: its specific aim was to
acquire, by one means or another, control of
the governmentof Egypt. From 1942 to 1944
it was closely associated with the Wafd, the
party then in power under the leadership of
Mustafa Nahhas Pasha. During this period
the Brotherhoodwas able to extend its influence into the rural areas whence the Wafd
derived its principle source of strength. Upon
the fall of the Wafd in I944 it briefly supported the Saadist Party under Ismail Sidqi
Pasha, but when it was unable to capitalize
in this fashion on the 1945 elections, it started
out upon an independent path of its own.
In general, the tactic of the Moslem Brotherhood since I945 has been to keep itself in
the public eye on all occasionsas the champion
of the cause of Egypt and Islam; to attempt, in
somewhat Hitlerian style, so to discredit the
constituted authority that the nation would
be forced to turn to the Brotherhoodfor salvation. It adopted an aggressive tone during
the discussionswith Great Britain for a revision of the I936 Montreux Treaty which culminated in Egypt's presentationof its case to
the Security Council in the summer of 1947.2
It participatedactively in the general elections
in Syria in the same year and succeeded in
having three of its candidateselected as deputies to the Syrian Parliament. Early in I948 it
lent its support to the Free Yemeni movement, and worked actively to develop sympathy for the murderersof the Imam Yahya.3
When the Palestine crisis developed, the
Brotherhood sent its raiders into the Negev
even before the arrival of the regular Egyptian army (to which its units were also attached) and claimed much of the initial glory.
When the expedition failed, the Brotherhood
attempted to capitalize on the situation by
being the first to blame the Egyptian Government. Turning to a policy of terrorism,it was
responsiblefor a series of explosions in Cairo
in the fall of 1948, and finally indirectly, at
2 See the
Middle East Journal, I (I947), pp. 433-4.

8 See the Middle East Journal, II (1948), p. 223.

I84
least, for the aforementioned

assassination
of Dec. 9: Police arrested 3I of 5I persons wanted
as members of the Moslem Brotherhood,
the Chiefof Policein December.
It was at this point that Prime Minister sealed the doorjambs of Moslem Brotherhood
NuqrashiPashadeterminedupona showdown, organizations, and took into temporary custody
672 people found on the premises.
fcr the authorityof the governmentwas inPasha issued
deed being underminedas a result of the Dec. I4: Prime Minister Nuqrashi
a military order barring students from political
Palestinedebacle.On December4 he ordered organizations of all kinds unless governmentthe closingof the Brotherhood's
daily paper, approved, and making it a military offense
4l-Ikhwanal-Muslimun,and on December8
to "disturb the order of educational instituorderedthe dissolutionof the society itself.
tions."
Large numbersof the Brotherhoodwere ar- Dec. 27: Israeli troops captured a strategic porested,but Hasanal-Bannahimselfwas mere- sition from Egyptian forces above Rafah, near
ly questionedand placed under surveillance. the Mediterranean coast in southern PalesThe Brotherhood
struckbackwith the assassi- tine.
nationof the PrimeMinister;counter-retalia-Dec. 28: A student member of the Moslem
tion camewith the murderof Hasanal-Banna. Brotherhood shot and killed Prime Minister
Mahmud Fahmi Nuqrashi Pasha in Cairo.
for neitherof thesedeeds,howResponsibility
King Farouk asked Ibrahim Abd al-Hadi
ever, was to be assignednecessarilyto the
Pasha to form a new cabinet, which shaped
deliberateinstructionsof the organizations up as follows:
representedby the victims,for popularanger
Ibrahim Abd al-Hadi Pasha - Prime
within both the Brotherhoodand Nuqrashi
Minister, Interior, Finance
Pasha'sSaadistParty was runninghigh.
Ibrahim Dassuqi Abaza Pasha -Foreign
What effect the loss of its leader would
Affairs
have upon the Moslem Brotherhoodwas not
Abbas Abu Husayn Pasha - Agriculture
Riad Abd al-Aziz Sayf al-Nasr Beyimmediatelyapparent; for the time being
Communications
Cairo settled back into a periodof relative
Ali Abd al-Razik Pasha -Trusts
quiet.
CHRONOLOGY
1948
Abd al-Razik al-Sanhuri Pasha - Education

Dr. Nagib Iskandar Pasha -Health
Mamduh Riza Bey - Commerce
Dec. 4: SalimZaki Pasha, Cairo Chief of Police,

Mursi Badr Bey -Police
was killed by a hand grenade during a riot
Gen. Muhammad Haydar Pasha-War
of some 5,000 universityand secondaryschool
Abd al-Hamid Abd al-Hak -Supply
students, staged in protest against the trial
Mahmud Hasan Pasha -State
of pro-Egyptianpolitical leaders in Atbara
Taha al-Siha'i Pasha-State
(Sudan), and against Great Britain's refusal
Mustafa Mara'i Bey-State
to permit Egyptian lawyers to defend them. Dec. 29: A British spokesman charged that
A total of 2 persons were killed, I63 inthere had ;beenan Israeli incursion into Egypt
jured; over 400 studentswere arrested.Fuad
near Al-Arish.
al-Awal University was closed.
Dec. 30: UN observers reported Israeli forces
The Governmentsuspendedindefinitelythe
had surrounded Egyptian forces in Gaza and
Moslem Brotherhood'sdaily newspaper,Alhad shot down 2 Egyptian planes over the
Ikwan al-Muslimun.
Negev.
Dec. 6: High school students demonstratedfor
Prime Minister Ibrahim Abd al-Hadi Pasha
the release of 400 studentsarrestedDecember
was appointed Military Governor-General of
4; 4 policemenand 5 students were injured
Egypt by royal decree. He immediately deby a hand grenade.
clared it a military offense to use weapons
Al-Difaa, previously the leading Arabic
or explosives in any crime, assault, or atnewspaper in Palestine, resumed publication
tempted assault upon a person holding an
in Cairo.
official position while the person was executDec. 8: Prime Minister Nuqrashi Pasha, in his
ing his duties. He also appointed Hafiz Ramacapacity as Military Governor, ordered the
dan Pasha and Zaki Ali Pasha, members of
dissolution of the Moslem Brotherhood the Nationalist (Wafd) Party, as Ministers
(Ikhwan al-Muslimun).
of State.

31: The Anglo-Egyptian financial agreement expired. It was understood, however,
that it would remain in effect until negotiations for a new agreement were completed.
Dec.
(InternationalFinancial News Survey, Dec.

i 6, p. 200.)
'949
Jan. i: A special committee of experts from the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry recommended that an oil refinery be established at
Suez in co-operation with American producing
companies in Saudi Arabia, and that the
Egyptian Government resume talks with
American interests in regard to termination
of Saudi Arabian oil pipelines at an Egyptian
port.
Jan. 4: Egypt accepted the UN Security Council's Negev cease-fire order, and asked the
Council to impose sanctions on Israel.
Jan. 5: It was disclosed that Israeli troops had
driven 30 miles into Egypt, wrecked 3 military
airfields around Al-Arish, and occupied an important communications center. As a result
of U. S. pressure following a British Government threat to consider its position under
its treaty of alliance with Egypt (1936) if
Israeli troops did not withdraw from Egyptian territory, the Israeli Government notified the U. S. Government that its forces had
been withdrawn.
Jan. 7: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, Acting UN
Mediator for Palestine, asked Egypt and
Israel to meet for armistice negotiations. A
cease-fire in the Negev went into effect.
Jan. 8: Executives of the Suez Canal Company
negotiated with the Egyptian Government
concerning the Company's refusal to increase
the percentage of Egyptian directors and employees to the extent stipulated by the Egyptian Companies Act (75 % Egyptian employees within a period of 3 years; 40 %
Egyptian representation on the board of directors). The Company was reported to have
proposed a revision of the agreement of I937
instead of application of the Act.
Jan. ro: Withdrawal of Israeli troops from
Egypt was completed.
The Wafd Party offered to enter an Egyptian cabinet under a "neutral" Prime Minister. It was reported that they had asked for
a new government in which they would have
5 or 6 portfolios in a cabinet of i6.
Jan. ir: Prime Minister Abd al-Hadi Pasha
rejected the Wafd proposal.
Jan. Iz: A delegation left for Rhode* for armistice talks with Israel.
Secony Vacuum's No. 5 well in the Asl oil
i85
field 46 miles south of Suez was reportedto

have produced27 bbl. a minute during two
short tests. It was later indicated,however,
that the well would probablyhave an average
output approximatingthat of other wells in
the area. (Oil and Gas Journal,Feb. 24, p. 98.)
Jan. i3: A bomb,intendedto destroythe Palace
of Justice office of the Prosecutor General
dealing with terrorist acts of the Moslem
Brotherhood,was removedto the street where
it exploded,killing 2 and injuring 22.
Jan. 24: The murdererof Steven Haas, American tourist beaten to death in Cairo on July
I8, I948, was sentencedto 15 years at hard
labor.
Jan. 25: The Egyptianand Israeli governments
agreedto an indefiniteextensionof the ceasefire in Palestine.
Jan. 26: The Ministry of Financesubmittedto
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs an estimate
that Great Britain owed Egypt $1I2,000,000
for wartime expenses; it asked that negotiations to collect the amount be started.
Jan. 28: The Saadist Party (to which Prime
Minister Ibrahim Abd al-Hadi Pasha bclonged) was said to have announceda policy
of allowing the exportation of petroleum
only in the form of productsrefinedin Egypt,
and of nationalizationof refineriesin Egypt.
It was also disclosed that the Ministry of
Commercewas planningto increasethe capacity of the Government refinery from the
present300,000tonsto I,000,000, andthatthe
Shell plant at Suez had been refused permission to expand unless the companygave the
EgyptianGovernment5I % of the refineryas a
whole, or a 5I % share in the expansion.
Feb. 7: It was reportedthat Cairo editors had
unanimously expressed to Prime Minister
IbrahimAbd al-Hadi Pasha their opinionthat
continuednon-publicationof news regarding
Palestine negotiationsmight cause the public
to be unpleasantlysurprisedwhen the negotiations and their results becameknown.
Feb. Io: The EgyptianCabinetpassed and laid
before Parliamenta scheme for participation
with Uganda in the building of a dam and
hydro-electricpower station at Owens Falls,
at Jinja, on Lake Victoria. Egypt's share
of the cost would be about LEE4,000,000.
(London Times, Feb. II, p. 4.)
Feb. I2: Sheikh Hasan al-Banna, 39-year old
leader of the extremist Moslem Brotherhood,was shot and killed in Cairo by a group
of young men. The assailants escaped.
Feb. i3: The Ministry of Interior stated 200
personshad been arrestedsince the assassina-

I86
tion of Sheikh Hasan al-Banna.

The UN Palestine Conciliation Commission discussedthe question of Arab refugees
and other matters with Prime Minister Ibrahim Abd al-Hadi Pasha and ForeignMinister
IbrahimDassuqi Abaza Pasha.
Feb. 15: Egyptian Government officials discussed the Palestine armistice and the right
and future status of Arab refugees with the
UN Palestine ConciliationCommission;they
took the stand that the refugees belonged
back in their own homes with adequateguarantees of security and full equality. The
LebaneseMinister and Iraqi Charged'Affaires
called on the EgyptianPrime Minister to express their Governments'agreementwith this
stand.
Feb. 20: The StandardOil Companyof Egypt,
affiliateof the StandardOil Companyof New
Jersey, announced that it had decided to
suspend operations until the Egyptian Government clarified its policy in regard to (i)
setting the price of crude oil within the country; (2) the privilege of exportingcrude oil.
Feb. 22: The Senate passed, over stiff opposition, a progressiveincome tax bill.
Feb. 24: Egypt and Israel signed an armistice
agreement at Rhodes which provided for
Egyptianevacuationof Faluja and the quartering of defensive Egyptian forces in the
coastal strip from Gaza to Rafah. (Text,
New York Times, Feb. 25, p. 20.)
Feb. 27: The following changeswere made in
the Cabinet (see Dec. 28, 1948):
Abd al-Razik al-SanhuriPasha-President, Council of State
Ahmad Muhammed KhashabaPashaForeign Affairs
Ibrahim Dassuqi Abaza Pasha-Communications
Ali Ayyub Bey -Education
Abd al-Aziz Sufani-State
1949
Jan. I7: Egyptian newspaperspublishedterms
of a declarationby Emperor Haile Selassie
in whichhe grantedfull equalityto his Moslem
subjects.
India
(See also KashmirProblem,p.
192.)
I948
Dec. I: Dr. Syud Hossain, Indian Ambassador

to Egypt,presentedhis credentialsas the first
Indian Minister to Lebanon.(Governmentof
India Information Services bulletin [GIIS]
Dec. 6, p. 5.)
Dec. 4: Lt. Gen. K. M. Cariappa was appointed to succeed Gen. F. R. R. Bucher as
of the IndianArmy. He
Commander-in-Chief
would be the first Indian to hold the post.
Dec. 7: R. R. Diwakar became Minister of
State in chargeof the Informationand Broadcasting Ministry, and BalkrishnaV. Keskar
becameDeputy Minister,Ministryof External
Affairs and CommonwealthRelations. (GIIS,
Dec. 6, p. i.)
Dec. 8: Plans for a nation-widedemonstration
Der ,nber 13 by Rashtriya Swayam Sevak
Sangh (RSSS), militant Hindu organization,
were partiallythwartedwhen policein several
cities arrested the leaders; Bhayya Dani,
general secretary, was reported among 30
persons arrested in Delhi.
S. Lall, Secretary to India's Ministry of
Labor, was elected Chairman of the Governing Body of the International Labor
Office. (GIIS, Dec. 13, p. 3.)
Dec. 9: Air servicewas initiatedbetween India
and Iran. (GIIS, Dec. 27, p. 6.)
Dec. ro: Reports stated over 1,0O arrests had
been made in the previousthree days and stiff

fines and sentencesof up to one year at hard
labor had been levied and passed against
Hindu extremists demonstrating in Delhi,
Bombay,East Punjab,Central Provinces,and
the United Provinces in protest against the
ban imposedon the RSSS and the imprison1948
Dec. 24: It was reported that Count Carlo
ment of its founder and presidentin FebruSforza, Italian Foreign Minister, would atary 1948.
tempt to enter into direct negotiationswith Dec. 13: A commissionappointedby the Indian
the Ethiopian Governmentwith the aim of
Parliamentand headedby S. K. Dar, former
reachinga bilateral agreementon the dispoAllahabad High Court judge, unanimously
sition of Eritrea before the problemcame up
recommendedagainst the rearrangementof
at the UN Assembly in April I 949. The
the Indian Provincesinto linguistic areas, on
Italian Governmentwould offer Ethiopia an
the groundsthat "it would set the ball rolling
outlet to the Red Sea through southern
for the disintegrationof the entire country."
Eritrea to Assab, rather than have it annex Dec. 14: In a letter to the UN SecurityCouncil,
the Eritrean cities of Asmara and Massawa.
Nawab Moin Nawaz Jung, head of a
Ethiopia

187
leaders and people of the Republicof IndoHyderabadidelegationto the UN, stated that
nesia of its complete sympathy with their
the Nizam of Hyderabad was virtually a
cause; (6) notingwith regret the South Afriprisoner of the Indian military authorities
can Government's continued discrimination
and that the ruler's instructionsto lay aside
his complaintto the Council had been given
against Indian citizens; (7) stating the necessity for politically incorporatingthe reunder duress. The Nawab asked the Council to establish an investigating commission
mainingforeign possessionsin India, and expressing the hope that the change-overcould
to find out if the Nizam had been a free
agent since September13, and to determine
be brought about quicklyand peacefully; (8)
the conditionsin the country under occupaassociatingIndia with the UN, and pointing
tion. He also requestedthat the Council ask
out the necessity for a change in India's
for an InternationalCourt of Justice ruling
associationwith the UK and the Commonon whether the order from the Nizam asking
wealth while expressing a desire "to mainfor withdrawalof his case from the UN was
tain all such links with other countries as
valid, since it came after Indian occupation do not come in the way of her freedom of
of Hyderabad.
action and independence,"and welcoming
Dec. i5: The Indian and Pakistangovernments India's "free association with independent
announcedconclusion of an Inter-Dominion nations of the Commonwealthfor their comConferenceat which "very substantialagreemon welfare and the promotion of world
ments"were reached: (i) an Inter-Dominion
peace." (India Today, January I949.)
InformationCommittee would supervise the Dec. 2I: The governnientsof India and Ceylon
press and other information media; (2) a
signed a bilateral air transportagreementin
monthly meeting of Dominion Ministers and
New Delhi; each government would desprovincial officials would be charged with
ignate an airlineto operateon four prescribed
putting political and economic clauses of
routes. (GIIS, Dec. 22, p. 3.)
agreementsinto effect; (3) a judicialtribunal Dec. 23: In an emergencysession of the UN
wouldbe appointed
by Jan. 31, 1949, to reSecurity Council in Paris, India denounced
solve the boundary disputes between East
Dutch action in Indonesia as a "flagrant
and West Bengal and between East Bengal
breach of the truce agreement";the Security
and Assam, while interimpolice arrangements Council asked India to join in discussionson
would be made to suppressborder incidents;
Indonesia. (GIIS, Dec. 27, p. I.)
(4) customs and other regulationshampering
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs
inter-dominiontravel and trade would be
issued a press note stating the Indian Govminimized;(5) the adjustmentof the financial
ernment would suspend the rights of operaaffairsof those evacuatedand the transfersof
tion of KLM in or in transit across India,
stores owed to one dominion by the other
in view of the Dutch military action against
under the partition agreementwould be exthe IndonesianRepublic.(GIIS, Dec. 27, p. I.)
pedited.
Dec. 25: Prime Minister Pandit Nehru visited
Dec. I7: A committeeof the Indian National
the Nizam of Hyderabadat his palace; the
Congress endorsed solicitation for a multiNizam broketraditionby callingon the Prime
million-dollar fund to perpetuatethe ideals
Minister at BolarumResidency.(GIIS, Dec.
of MohandasK. Gandhi.
27, P. 3.)
Dec. I9: The Fifth Session of the Indian Na- Dec. 26: Major-GeneralJ. N. Chaudhuri,Militional Congress adjourned in Jaipur after
tary Governorof Hyderabad,inauguratedthe
passing resolutions (i) extending sympathy
31st session of the All-India EconomicConto refugees and hoping that efforts to relieve
ference at OsmaniaUniversityin Hyderabad;
and rehabilitate them would be expedited;
200 delegatesattended.(GIIS, Dec. 27, p. 4.)
(2) declaring satisfaction at the develop- Dec. 27: The appointmentof Dr. Mohan Singh
ment of the princelystates and trusting that
Mehta, former Finance Minister of Mewar
feudal relics and impedimentsto the free
State, as India's first Ambassador to the
developmentof the peoplewould be removed;
Netherlands was announced. (GIIS, Dec.
(3) standing for the rights of the working
27, p. 6.)
class and for endingits exploitationin every Dec. 28: Sir Akbar Hydari, Governor of Assam,
shape or form; (4) reaffirmingits policy of
died of a heart attack in Manipur State.
making India "a democratic, secular State
(GIIS, Dec. 30, p. 3.)
with neither favor nor discriminationagainst Dec. 29: Representatives of the Indian and
any particular religion"; (5) assuring the
Yugoslav governmentssigned a trade agreeThis content downloaded from 128.40.212.118 on Fri, 2 May 2014 11:46:09 AM
I88
ment. (Foreign Commerce Weekly, Feb. 7,

1949,
p. 24.)
Dec. 30: Hearings on the Gandhi murder case

were concluded.(GIIS, Jan. 6, p. 6.)
1949
Jan. I: The Orissa Government took over the

administration of Mayurbhanj State. (GIIS,
Jan. 6, p. 2.)
Jan. 6: It was announced that Junagadh's request for merger with the westerly princely
union of Saurashtra had been accepted by
the constituent states. (GIIS, Jan. 6.)
Jan. 8: The Indian Constituent Assembly passed
Prime Minister Nehru's resolution instructing the proper authorities to prepare electoral
rolls for general elections to legislatures,
under the new constitution, as early as possible
in 1950; it then adjourned until May i6.
(GIIS, Jan. IO, p. 7.)
Jan. I3: India and Pakistan reached agreement
on a number of matters, including that of
evacue property, at a 3-day inter-dominion
conference in Karachi. (GIIS, Jan. I7, p. 6.)
Jan. I4: States Minister Sardar V. Patel announced that the princely states of Rajputana
- Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer
had agreed to join the Rajasthan Union.
(GIIS, Jan. I7, p. 4.)
Jan. 15: Lt. Gen. K. M. Cariappa assumed command of the Indian Army, being elevated to
the rank of full general.
Jan. I7: It was announced that Sir Benegal
Rama Rau, Indian Ambassador to the U. S.,
had been appointed Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India to succeed Sir C. D. Deshmukh
on July I, 1949. (GIIS, Jan. I7.)
Jan. I9: R. K. Nehru, first Indian Minister to
Sweden, presented his credentials to King
Gustaf in Stockholm. (GIIS, Jan. 27, p. II.)
Riots which started in Calcutta when Indian
police used tear gas against refugees from
East Pakistan resulted in 9 deaths and 70
persons injured.
Jan. 20: At the invitation of Prime Minister
Pandit Nehru, representatives of I9 Asian and
African nations met at New Delhi to protest
Dutch military action in Indonesia and to
explore possibilities of aiding the Indonesian
Republic. Among the countries officially represented were Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia,
India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. Nepal sent an
observer; Turkey expressed sympathy with
the aims of the conference though it did not
send a representative.
Jan. 23: Representatives of Asian and African
nations, meeting in New Delhi, adopted and
sent to the UN SecurityCouncil a resolution

urging immediate release of IndonesianRepublican leaders; provision of facilities for
the free functioningof the RepublicanGovernmentand for restorationof the area held
beforeMarch I5,
by the Republicans
1949;
withdrawal of Dutch troops entering Republicanterritory after December i8, to be
completednot later than March I5,
I949;
elections to the ConstituentAssembly to be

completed by October 1, I949; transfer of
power by the Dutch over the whole of Indo-
nesia by JanuaryI,
I950;
formationof an
interim government, fully in control of its
own forces,by MarchI5,
I949.
(Text, New
York Times, Jan. 24, I949, p. 3.)

Jan. 24: A missionfrom the InternationalBank,
headed by Assistant Loan Director A. S. G.
Hoar, arrived in New Delhi for a 6-week
examinationof Indian developmentplans and
financial conditions at the request of the
Indian Government.(GIIS, Feb. 7, p. 4.)
Jan. 3I: Kolhapur State, it was officially announced,would merge with BombayProvince
on Marchi, 1949. BarodaStatewouldmerge

with Bombayon May I, I949. (GIIS, Feb.
3, p. I.)
It was announcedthat Sri Prakasa, High

Commissioner for India in Pakistan, had
been appointedGovernor of Assam, succeeding the late Sir Akbar Hydari. (India Today,
February.)
Feb. 7: The Nizam of Hyderabadturned over
his 7,oo0-squaremile estate to the civil government,which agreedin turn that he would
receive an annual pension of approximately
$3,ooo,ooo a year.
Feb. 9: Apa B. Pant, Indian Commissionerto
East Africa, presentedhis credentialsto the
Sultan of Zanzibar. (GIIS, Feb. 23, p. 7.)
Feb. Io: Nathuram Vinayak Godse, slayer of
Gandhi, and N. D. Apte, publisher of the
newspaper Godse edited, were sentenced to
death. Four others, V. R. Karkare, Madan
Lal, Gopal Vinayak, and D. S. Parchure,
were sentenced to life imprisonmentas accomplices or for participatingin an earlier
attempt on the life of Gandhi.
Feb. rg: Authorities arrested Master Tara
Singh, leader of the Sikh Akali Party, for
attemptingto defy a governmentorder against
holding a conferenceof his martial sect in
Delhi. Several thousandSikhs were gathered
to demandeconomicand political concessions
to compensatefor their losses in the Punjab
riots of I947.


Feb. 20: Evidenceof an extensiveplot to sabo-
tage railroads,in conjunctionwith a railway

union strike scheduledfor March 9, led Indian authorities to arrest 400-500 communist
leaders, principallyin Madras, Calcutta, and

Hyderabad.
Feb. 23: Provincial authorities estimated at 3,000
I 89
which it declared was aimed at taking over

Iran in order to utilize it as a base for military
operations against the Soviet Union. As evidence, the Russians pointed to American military personnelin Iran, the actions of American
advisorymissions,the arrival of Americanarms
under a credit agreement,and the role American technicians were playing in working out
the blueprint for Iran's 7-year program of
economic development- an American firm
had done the basic survey work in I947-8, and
a team of consultantson its implementationhad
the number of persons arrested during the

week in the communistround-up.
Feb. 25: Deputy Prime Minister SardarV. Patel
introduced in the Indian Parliament a bill
outlawing strikes in essential services, to remain in force until March 31, I950.
Dr. Syud Hossain, Indian Ambassadorto arrivedlate in January I949. The Iranian
Egypt, died in Cairo.
Governmentpromptlyand categoricallydenied
the Soviet accusations.
A continuing irritant to Iranian-Soviet reIran
lations was the border dispute in the district
The attempted assassinationof Shah Mo- of Gurgan, at the southeasterncorner of the
hammad Reza Pahlavi on February 4 was Caspian Sea. Here the line between the two
made the occasionfor retaliatoryaction against countries follows the course of the River
extremists of both the left and the right. On Atrak. Over a period of many years the Casthe basis of statements which appeared in a pian bay into which the Atrak empties had
diary purportedto have been found in the as- silted up, and the river had shifted its course
sailant's possession, the government- on the to a more northerly, or Russian, route. The
initiative of the Shah and the Army -anboundary line, however, had been kept the
nounced the responsibility of the leftist, fre- same, being projected in a straight line from
quently pro-Soviet Tudeh Party, which it the former mouth of the river to the present
outlawed forthwith. At the same time, a shore of the sea. At the same time, there existed
newspaper card, also in the assailant's posses- to the southern, or Iranian side, a still older
sion, was taken as evidence of an association abandonedstream bed.
with the reactionary, religious group led by
When the Soviet troopswithdrew from Iran
Mollah Kashani, who might be described as in the spring of I946, they did so only as far
the Hasan al-Banna of Iran.1 Kashan preached as this most southerlycourse,which had in fact
the abandonmentof many of the secular social never been used as the boundary. There they
reforms of the Reza Shah era, and thus was establishedtheir frontier posts and forbadethe
engaged in arousing opposition to the policies Iranian guards to proceed to the former line.
and authorityof the presentregime. He worked The situation was never regularized, and rein close associationwith Zia ed-Din Tabatabai, mained as a potential sourceof incidentswhenwhose party was also out of favor with the ever the need arose. Incursions had previously
Shah. The government now exiled Mollah been reported from time to time, but this
Kashani, who took up residence in Turkey. corner of Iran now began to attract particular
The Soviet Union reacted immediately to attention.
the Iranian charge that the attempted assassiA factor behind the interplayon the Iranian
nation was a Tudeh plot to seize control of the scene was to be found in the impendingformagovernment, and to the implication that the tion of a North Atlantic Pact. Heavily dependSoviet Union, through its embassyin Tehran, ent upon U.S. support, Iran - and Turkey
was actively engineering a coup. Moscow, in as well - began to feel nervousness at the
a renewed radio campaign and through a diversionof U.S. attention to Western Europe.
series of diplomatic notes, accused the Iranian Tehran, therefore, exerted particular effort to
Government of adopting a hostile attitude. It reimpressthe United States with the delicate
complainedin particularof American activity, nature of its front-line position. The Soviet
1 See Egypt, p. x82-4.
Union, for its part, always stood ready whenThis content downloaded from 128.40.212.118 on Fri, 2 May 2014 11:46:09 AM
I90
ever the occasion offered to emphasize the Feb. 28: Shah MohammadReza issued a royal
decreecallingfor the electionof a Constituent
closeness of its presence in contrast to the
Assembly.
remoteness of the United States, and to play
up what it interpreted as the self-centered,
aggressivenature of America's aims.
Iraq
CHRONOLOGY
'949
Jan. IO: Prime Minister Mohammad Maraghai
Sa'id stated that the Iranian Government
wanted a larger share in the profits of the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and an increase
in the number of Iranians employed by it; the
same held true for Iranian-Russian fisheries.
He also stated that the concession of the
British Imperial Bank of Iran would not be
renewed under present conditions, but could
continue under the Iranian regulations for
private enterprise. (London Times, Jan. II,
P. 4.)
Paul B. Coffman and several other
Jan. 2I:
U. S. consultants left for Iran to advise the
government on a $650,ooo,ooo program of
economic recovery.
Feb. 4: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was

wounded
in an attempted
assassination.
Martial law and a curfew were proclaimed
in Tehran.
Feb. 5: The Tudeh Party was outlawed because
of alleged implication in the attempted assassination of the Shah.
Feb. 9: The first shipment of U. S. arms under
the agreement of July 29, I948, arrived at
Bandar Shahpur on the Persian Gulf.
Feb. I2: Soviet Ambassador Ivan V. Sadchikov
protested against insinuations made in a speech
by Dr. Iqbal, Minister of Roads and Communications, that the USSR had interfered
in Iranian affairs. (London Times, Feb. i6,
P. 3.)
Feb. i6: The Foreign Office, replying to the
Soviet charges, stated that Dr. Iqbal had
confined his statements to the implications
found in notes written by the Shah's assailant
and had had no intention of disturbing relations with the Soviet Union. (London Times,
Feb. i6, p. 3.)
1948
Dec. 4: The National Democratic and the

Liberalpartiesannouncedsuspensionof operations, saying they were too "persecutedand
paralyzed" to continue. This left only the
IndependenceParty in official existence.
Dec. 30: Prime Minister Muzahim al-Pachachi
stated that Iraq did not recognizethe Jericho
Conference and that Iraq's policy "was in
harmony with that of the Arab League."
(London Times, Dec. 31, p. 4.)
I949
Jan. 6: The governmentof Muzahimal-Pachachi

resigned and a new cabinet with General
Nuri al-Said as Prime Minister was formed.
Memberso&:the new cabinetincluded:
Nuri al-Said-Prime Minister, Interior
Shakir al-Wadi- Defense
Jalal Baban- Communications,Works
and Finance
Najib al-Rawi- Education
MuhammadHassan Kubbah- Justice
Ziya Jafar - Economics
Baha al-Din Nuri - Social Affairs
Abd al-Ilah Hafiz - Foreign Affairs
Khalil Ismail- Finance
(Arab News Bulletin (London),
Jan. 21, p. 3.)
Jan. 7: It was announced that Parliament had
been prorogued for a month. (London Times,
Jan. 7, p. 4.)
Jan. 8: The Director-General of Propaganda
announced that any publication "likely to
cause dissension" would be barred from Iraq.
Israel
(See also Palestine Problem, p. I94.)
Feb. 23: A Tehran dispatch to the Egyptian

paper AZ-Misri reported that Iranian police
1948
had thwarted a plot to overthrow the government and establish a communist state.
Minister of War Amir Ahmadi was authorized to declare martial law throughout Iran.
Feb. 27: Martial law was proclaimed in all sections of the country where army garrisons
were established.
2: The UN Security Council referred

Israel's application for UN membership to
its membership committee.
Dec. 5: Nathan Friedman-Yellin, leader of the
outlawed Stern Group, and Matityahu
Shmuelevitz, his lieutenant, were brought to
trial in Acre.
Dec.

I9I
Dec. 7': The principal highway between Tel

Aviv and Jerusalem was opened for traffic.
The Membership Committee of the UN
SecurityCouncil reportedthat it lacked some
of the elements necessary to reach a conclusion on Israel's application,and therefore
could not present a recommendation.
Dec. 9: The text of the proposedConstitution
for the State of Israel was released to the
public. (Text, New York Times, Dec. I0,
p. 6.)
Dec. I7: The SecurityCouncil rejected Israel's
applicationfor membershipin the UN. The
vote was 5-I in favor, with 5 nations (France,
Canada,Britain,China,and Belgium) abstain-
torate. Seats won and popularvotes were as

follows:
Mapai:46
Mapam:
(155,274)
i9 (64,0I8)
United ReligiousFront: i6 (52,982)

Herut: I4 (49,782)
General Zionist: 7 (22,66I)
Progressive: 5 (17,786)
Sephardim:4 (I5,287)
Communist:4 (I5,I48)
Arab DemocraticList: 2 (7,387)
Fighter: i (5,370)
WIZO: I (5,173)
Yemenites: i (4,399)
(Palestine Affairs, Feb., p. 22.)
Jan. 26: Switzerlandgranted de facto recogniing.
tion to the State of Israel.
Dec. 24: Canadagrantedde facto recognitionto
the State and Provisional Government of Jan. 28: Australia granted de facto recognition
to the State of Israel.
Israel.
Dec. 25: A report from Prague stated that 6oo Jan. 29: Great Britain, New Zealand,Belgium,
Jewish men andwomen,manyof them trained
the Netherlands,and Luxembourggrantedde
for the Israeli Army by Czechoslovakofficers,
facto recognitionto the State of Israel.
were en route to Israel.
The Jewish Agency for Palestine launched
a $225,000,000 housing programto meet imDec. 27: Menahem Beigin, former leader of
Irgun Zvai Leumi, returnedto Tel Aviv from
migrationdemands.
a 3-week fund-raisingtrip in the U. S.
Jan. 3I: The U. S. grantedde jure recognition
to the Governmentof Israel.
1949
Jan. I2: Beneficiary agencies of the United
In his first speechsince the Israeli elections,
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion outlined
Jewish Appeal announced that a total of
a generalpolicyof co-operationwith the U. S.
$372,976,905 would be required during the
year for reconstruction and immigration
and USSR, an Israeli-Araballiance,conformamong the Jewish people throughout the
ity with UN policy, and promotionof world
world, but especiallyin Israel.
peace.
Jan. I3: Tass reported that a trade and pay- Feb. I: The Israeli Cabinetterminatedthe miliments pact had been signed in Budapest betary governmentin New Jerusalem and intween Hungary and Israel. (Details in Loncorporatedthat part of the city in the State of
don Economist,Recordsand StatisticsSuppleIsrael.
ment, Mar. 5, p. 222.)
Colombiarecognizedthe State of Israel.
Jan. I4: Cuba announcedde facto recognition Feb. 2: Denmarkgrantedde facto and Ecuador
of the Governmentof Israel, subjectto Conde jure recognitionof Israel.
gressional approval.
Feb. 4: Norway extendedde facto recognitionto
Jan. I9: The Export-ImportBank authorizeda
the State of Israel.
credit of $35,000,000 to Israel to be used "for Feb. 5: Chile grantedde jure recognitionto the
the executionof variousagriculturalprojects."
State of Israel.
In addition, it earmarked$65,ooo,oooto be Feb. 7: Brazil recognizedthe State of Israel.
available until December 31, 1949, "for the Feb. 8: Italy grantedde facto recognition.
establishmentof further credits to finance Feb. 9: Peru grantedde jure recognition.
projects in the fields of communications, Feb. io: Israel'sProvisionalGovernmentgranted
transportation,manufacturing,housing, and
amnestyto all civil and politicalprisoners,expublicworks." The credit would carry 3Y2%
ceptingthose under death sentencesor serving
annualinterest and would maturein I5 years.
life terms.The amnestyfreed about40 SternJan. 24: France announcedde facto recognition
ists, and would free their leader, Nathan
of Israel.
Friedman-Yellin,sentenced to 8 years' imJan. 25: Elections for a ConstituentAssembly
prisonmentfor having participatedin under(Knesset) of I20 memberstookplacein Israel;
groundactivities,if he signed a pledgeto stop
2I different slates were entered; 44o,o8o
undergroundactivities and agreed to police
ballotswere cast, representing85% of the elecsupervision for 2 years.
192
The Italian Governmentwould offer Ethiopia

Feb. II: Iceland recognizedthe State of Israel.
an outlet to the Red Sea through southern
Feb. I2: Eire grantedde facto recognition.
Eritrea to Assab, rather than have it annex
Feb. I3: Liberia grantedde facto recognition.
the Eritrean cities of Asmara and Massawa.
Feb. 14: Dr. ChaimWeizmann openedthe first
session of the Israeli Constituent Assembly 1949:
(Knesset) in Jerusalem.(Text of openingad- Jan. 5: Count Carlo Sforza told the Foreign
Affairs Committeeof the Italian Chamberof
dress,New York Times, Feb. I5, p. 9.)
Deputies that Robert Schuman,French ForFeb. I5: Swedengrantedde facto, andArgentina
eign Minister, had pledged full support to
de jure recognition.
Italy's claims for its pre-fascistcolonies.
Feb. 17: Dr. ChaimWeizmannwas elected and
sworn in as Presidentof Israel. The Constit- Feb. io: At . meeting of the Ministry of Colonies, Italy decided to press for the return of
uent Assembly adjourned.
all four pre-fascist colonies, each to be adFeb. 2I: PresidentWeizmannurged unitedsupministered differently: Tripolitania and Cyport by American Jews of the $250,000,000
renaica to be native states with Italy as
United Jewish Appeal campaign.
administrator until they were ready for inFeb. 25: PresidentTrumannominatedJames G.
dependence, Britain to be allowed bases in
McDonald,SpecialRepresentativeof the U. S.
Cyrenaica, but the colony to be open to Italian
in Israel, to serve as U. S. Ambassador.The
immigration and economic activities; Eritrea to
Government of Israel simultaneously anbe a joint British and Italian or Britishnouncedthe appointmentof EliahuElath (EpFrench-Italian trusteeship; and Italian Somalistein), its representativein the U. S., as
land to be under Italian trusteeship after
Israeli Ambassador.
Italian Colonies
(See also North Africa, p. I93.)
1948
Dec. 8: The UN General Assemblyrejected a

proposalthat the questionof the Italian Colonies be transferred from the Political and
Security Committeeto the ad hoc committee
set up a few weeks previously,thus forcing
postponementof action until the Assemblyre-
convenedin AprilI949.
territorial adjustments had been made.

Feb. 17: Omar Mansur al-Kakhiah Pasha, Chief
of the Cabinet of the Cyrenaican Amir Adris
al-Sanusi, published a statement in Cairo that
Cyrenaica would seek complete independence
regardless of Tripolitania if the UN did not
settle the future of Libya at its next meeting.
KashmirProblem
1948
Dec. I4: An Italian Foreign Office spokesman Dec. I: Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai, Indian delegate
to the UN, assured the Security Council that
deniedthat Italy had offeredto acceptBritish
India had no intention of launching a military
trusteeshipof Cyrenaicaif Tripolitania was
offensive in Kashmir with the object of dereturned.
ciding the state's future by force. (GovernDec. I9: It was reported that Italian experts
ment of India Information Service bulletin
were preparinga plan wherebyan Arab state
[GIIS], Dec. 6, p. 7.)
would be establishedin Tripolitaniato collaborate politically and economicallywith Italy. Dec. 2: An Indian Defense Ministry press note
accused Pakistan forces of aggressive action in
If the Italian Governmentapprovedthe plan,
Kashmir contrary to the spirit of the UN
it would be submittedto Washington,London,
Security Council Commission's request and
and Paris before the conveningof the General
India's and Pakistan's agreement not to "agassemblyin April I949.
Dec.
20:
Robert Schuman, French Foreign Min-
gravate the situation."
Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, Foreign

ister, and Carlo Sforza, Italian Foreign MinMinister of Pakistan, informed the President
ister, conferredon the questionof the former
of the UN Security Council that his GovernItalian colonies.
ment firmly believed the only way to prevent
Dec. 24: It was reported that Count Carlo
a worsening of the situation in Kashmir was
Sforza, Italian ForeignMinister,would short"to order and enforce an unconditional ceasely attempt to enter into direct negotiations
fire." (Pakistan Affairs, Dec. I3.)
with the EthiopianGovernmentwith the aim
of reachinga bilateral agreementon the dis- Dec. I2: The UN Commission on Kashmir chose
Dr. Alfredo Lozano Agudelo, Commission
position of Eritrea before the problemcame
member from Colombia, as a special emissary
up to the UN GeneralAssemblyin April I949.
193
Delhi, and agreedto an exchangeof prisoners

to try to composethe differencesbetween Inin Kashmir.
dia and Pakistan over Kashmir.
Dec. i8: Dr. Lozano and H. Samper,his alter- Feb. 23: The UN Commissionfor India and
nate, arrivedin New Delhi for consultations Pakistan announcedMexico would provide 8
militaryobserversfor plebiscitesupervisionin
with members of the Indian Government.
Kashmir, bringing the total number of ob(GIIS, Dec. 20, p. 7.)
servers, includingthose from the U. S., CanDec. 26: Pakistanacceptedconditionallythe UN
ada, Norway, and Belgium, to 37. (GIIS,
proposalfor a plebiscitein Kashmir.
1949
Feb. 24, p. 2.)
Jan. i: The governmentsof India and Pakistan

ordered a cease-firein Kashmir,effectiveimmediately. (Text, New York Times, Jan. 2,
The first Kumaon Regiment (Indian troops)

withdrew from Jammu and Kashmir after a
farewell ceremony at which UN observers
were present. (GIIS, Feb. 24, p. 5.)
p. i8.)
Jan. 6: The UN Kashmir Commissionunanimouslyadopteda resolution,previouslyagreed

to by India and Pakistan, with provisionsas
follows: (i) the question of accession of
Jammu and Kashmirto India or to Pakistan
would be decided by a free and impartial
plebisciteheld when the Commissionwas persuaded that the cease-fireand truce arrangements describedin Parts I and II of its August 13, I948, resolutionhad been carriedout;
(2) the UN Secretary-Generalwould nominate a Plebiscite Administrator"of high internationalstandingand commandinggeneral
confidence,"who would be appointedby and
derive his authorityfrom the Governmentof
Jammu and Kashmir; (3) the Administrator
and the Commissionwould consult with the
Indian Governmentand determinethe final
disposal of Indian and State armed forces;
(4) all Kashmiricitizens who fled from the
war zones would be free to return and to
exercise all their rights as citizens; (5) any
person who entered Kashmir after August
15, 1947, for "other than lawful purpose"
would be requiredto leave the state; (6) all
political prisonerswould be released; (7) all
authoritiesin the State would see to it that
there would be no threat or coercionagainst
the voters and no offers of bribery; (8) all
civil andmilitaryauthoritiesin the State would
be requiredto co-operatewith the Plebiscite
Administratorin the preparationfor and the
holdingof the plebiscite;(g) the PlebisciteAdministratorand the Commissionwould call on
each other for necessary assistance, and the
former would report the result of the plebiscite to the Commissionand the State Government; (io) whereupon,the Commissionwould
certify to the Security Council whether the
plebiscitehad or had not been free and impartial. (GIIS, Jan. io.)
Jan. 15: Sir Douglas Gracey and General K.
M. Cariappa,Commandersof the Pakistani
and Indian armies respectively,met in New
Lebanon
'949
Jan. 4: Lebanon joined the International Labour
Organization (ILO).
Jan. 6: Lebanon ratified the constitution of the
World Health Organization (WHO). (UN
Bulletin, Feb. i, p. I33.)
Jan. 28: Syria and Lebanon agreed to allow work
on the Trans-Arabian pipeline (TAPline) to
be resumed.
Feb. 5: Prime Minister Khalid al-Azm of Syria
stated that negotiations between Syria and
Lebanon on the one side, and between these
states and the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company on the other, were completed. The agreements would be submitted to the respective
parliaments for approval.
Feb. I5: Italy and Lebanon signed a friendship
and trade treaty in Beirut.
North Africa
(See also Italian Colonies, p. I92.)
1948
Dec. I4: M. Naegelen, Governor-General of Algeria, and M. Jules Moch, French Minister
of the Interior, paid an official visit to the

Fezzan. (London Times, Dec. I7, p. 3.)
Dec. 31: The Algerian Assembly approved a
1949 budget providing for total revenues of
fr. and total expenditures of
57,53I,63I,000
fr. (Foreign Commerce Week57,509,136,000
ly, Feb. 28, 1949, p. 19.)
'949
Jan. I2: French law No. 49-49 was enacted,

changing the name of the Bank of Algeria to
the Bank of Algeria and Tunisia, and giving
those two territories a larger measure of control over its policies. (Foreign Commerce
Weekly, Feb. 28, p. i9.)

194
Jan. 19: A communalelectionwas held in Tripoli. Of the i6 elective members to the 23member Council, 3 were Italians, 6 Arabs
(See also Arab League, p. i99.)
proposed by the Italian Committee, and 3 1948
pro-Italian Jews. The British Military Ad- Dec. I: A Palestine Arab Congress,meetingin
ministrationwas to appointthe other 7 memJericho, acclaimedKing Abdallah of Transberq (Affrica [Rome], Jan. I5, I949, p. II.)
jordan as "Kingof Palestine."
Feb. I3: The French Governmentwas reported
A UN-sponsoredconvoy sent by Egypt to
to have insistedthat it was necessaryto include
its troops isolated at Faluja was turned back
FrenchNorth Africanterritorieson the Mediby the Israelis when it was discoveredthat it
terraneanin the area coveredby the proposed
contained arms, winter clothing, and other
Atlanticdefensepact beingdiscussedin Washitems besides the permittedfoodstuffs.
ington.
Dr. ChaimWeizmann,Presidentof Israel,
visited Jerusalemand stated that "specialarrangements"shouldbe made for the Old City
and its Holy Places, but that the Jews had
the right to claim that the New City was and
(See also Kashmir Problem, p. I92.)
should remaintheirs.
1948
Dec. 14: The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Dec. 4: The UN GeneralAssemblyPolitical and
Security Committeevoted 26-2i to establish
unanimously elected M. Tamizuddin Khan its
a 3-memberConciliationCommissionto estabPresident, to succeed Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
lish a final settlementof the Palestinecontro(India Today, January I949.)
versy. Other importantpointsin the resolution
Dec. I5: The Pakistan-Indian Inter-Dominion
area to be
were (i) the Jerusalem-Bethlehem
Conference came ito an end. (For summary,
internationalized,with the Commissionsubsee India, p. I86.)
mitting proposalsfor a permanentregime at
Dec. 24: Pakistan suspended operations of KLM,
the I949 Assembly; (2) a small UN guard
Dutch airline, as a result of Dutch action
force to protect the Commission; (3) the
against the Republicans in Indonesia.
Commissionto facilitate the repatriationand
I949
resettlementof refugees; (4) economicdevelJan. 3: A bilateral air transport agreement was
of the area to be facilitated.A Canaopment
signed in Karachi by representatives of the
dian
adoptedby a vote of 24-21,
amendment,
governments of Pakistan and Ceylon. (Pakiprovidedthat the Commissionwould be chosen
stan Affairs, Jan. 27, p. 4.)
by a Big Five committeeoperatingby a maJan. 4: Pakistan cabled the UN Security Council
jority vote and with no veto. (Text of resoluurging it to order the Dutch to withdraw
tion, New York Times, Dec. 5, p. 4.)
their troops from Indonesia to positions held
UN Secretary-GeneralTrygve Lie apunder the I948 truce, and to release arrested
pointed Stanton Griffis, U. S. Ambassador
Republican leaders. (Pakistan Affairs, Jan.
to Egypt, Director of UN Relief for Pales27, p. 3.)
tine Refugees. Griffis appointedDr. Bayard
Jan. 24: Khwaja Nazimuddin, Governor-GenDodge as his adviser.
eral of Pakistan, directed Sir Francis Mudie,
Governor of West Punjab, to assume direct Dec. 8: In the committeecreatedby the November 4 Security Council resolutionto consider
charge of the provincial administration, to disthe impositionof sanctions ("Committeeof
solve the Legislature, and to order a general
7"), Harold Beeley, the British delegate,
election in view of the corruption in the public
proposedthat sanctionsbe applied to Israel
administration. (India Today, February.)
to compel it to agree to the withdrawal of
Feb. I7: H. Merle Cochran, U. S. Representaforces in the Negev. The U. S. representative
tive on the UN Commission for Indonesia,
suggested that the committeeawait the outwas nominated Ambassador to Pakistan.
come of conversationsbetween the Egyptian
Feb. 20: The All-Pakistan Moslem League
and Israeli commandersin the Faluja pocket.
agreed to a merger with the Pakistan States
The proposalwas subsequentlywithdrawn.
Moslem League, thus consolidating the DoBritain chargedin a UN SecurityCouncil
minion's major political parties.
subcommitteethat Israeli forces had madeinFeb. 26: Governor-General Kwaja Nazimuddin
cursionsinto Transjordanianterritory.
announced the designation of Baluchistan as a
fifth province, with its capital at Quetta.
Dec. io: The SecurityCouncil Committeeof 7
PalestineProblem
Pakistan

canceled its scheduled meeting when Dr.

Ralph J. Bunche, Acting Mediator, reported
that the Israeli Governmenthad acceptedhis
proposals for the withdrawal by stages of
Egyptianforces trappedin the Faluja pocket.
Dec. iI: Envoys of all the Arab countries except Transjordanassembledin Cairo to hear
a message from King Farouk declaringthat
the Jericho Conferenceresolutionscalling for
a Palestine-Transjordanmerger under King
Abdallah"do not representthe decisionof the
Palestinianpeople."
The UN GeneralAssemblyestablished(35I5 with 8 abstentions)a PalestineConciliation
Commission.France, Turkey, and the U. S.
were named as members.The final versionof
the adopted ConciliationPlan based on the
Political and Security Committee Resolution
of December4 omittedreferencesto the Bernadotte conclusions,the State of Israel, and
the partition plan, and providedthat a committee of the Big Five nominatemembersof
the Commissionto be appointedby the General Assembly. It also provided resolutions
for the protectionof the Holy Places, UN
control and internationalizationof Jerusalem
and certainsurroundingareas,demilitarization
of and free access to the city, encouragement
of economic development,and rehabilitation
of Palestinerefugees. (Text,
andcompensation
New York Times, Dec. 12, p. 33.)
Dec. 20: King Abdalla;hof Transjordan announcedthat he had appointeda new Mufti
of Jerusalem,Al-SheikhHasan al-Din Jarallah, former Chief Justice of the Moslem
religiouscourts in Palestine.
'Awni Bey 'Abdal-Hadi, leader of the Istiqlal (Independence)Party, resignedas Minister
of Social Affairs in the Gaza Government.
Akram Zu'aytar, Minister of Education,also
resigned.
Negotiations for implementationof the Security Council'struce resolutionsof November 4 and i6 were reportedstalemated.
Dec. 22: A full-fledgedIsraeli offensivewas said
to be under way against the Egyptiansin the
Negev; attacks on Nirim, Faluja, and Gaza
were reported.
Dec. 26: Israeli planes bombed Rafah, Khan
Yunis, andAl-Arish; explosionswere reported
near Gaza; fightingseemed to be centeredin
the area near Nirim. Israeli military authorities continuedto bar newsmen and UN observers from the battle area.
Dec. 27: An Egyptianreport to the UN stated
that Israeli forces had captured a strategic
point above Rafah on the coastal plain.
195
In a reportto the SecurityCouncil,UN observersaccusedIsrael of havingattackedEgypt

in the Negev in violationof the truce. Acting
Mediator Ralph Bunche, who signed the report, would not blame either side for the outbreak of fighting. (Text, New York Times,
Dec. 28, p. 4.)
Dec. 28: UN observersreportedIsraeli planes
had bombedand strafed Gaza three times.
PresidentTruman appointedJosephB. Keenan,formerchief of counselfor the prosecution
of Japanesewar criminals,as U. S. Representative on the UN ConciliationCommissionfor
Palestine.
Great Britain introducedinto the Security
Council a resolution ordering an immediate
cease-fireand troop withdrawalin the Negev
to the truce lines of November4.
Dec.
29:
The British Delegate in the Security
Councilassertedthat the Israelis had attacked

a locality about 6 miles inside Egyptianterritory; the assertionwas denied by an Israeli
Army spokesman.
France appointedClaudeDeboisangeras its
memberon the UN ConciliationCommission.
The British-sponsoredcease-fire resolution
was adopted,8 votes in favor, the U. S. abstaining. (Text, New York Times, Dec. 30,
P 4.)
Dec. 3I: Israeli troopscapturedAl-Awja, within the Arab partition area, and Bir Asluj;
they also captured a large numberof Egyptian troops and intercepteda supply column
en route to the trappedEgyptiangarrison at
Faluja.
'949
Jan. 2: Unidentifiedplanes twice bombedJerusalem, injuring5 persons.

Jan. 3: Egypt acceptedthe UN SecurityCouncil's new Negev cease-fire order and called
on the Council to impose sanctions against
Israel.
It was revealed that Sir Oliver Franks,
BritishAmbassadorto the U. S., had requested
that the U. S. use its influenceto induceIsraeli
troops to withdraw from Egyptianterritory,
pointingout that if they did not withdraw,the
British Governmentwould be obligedto consider its position under the Anglo-Egyptian
Alliance of I936 pledgingaid to Egypt if the
latter were involvedin "war."
Jan. 4: The Israeli Government notified the
U. S. State Departmentthat its forces had
been withdrawnfrom Egypt.
Jan. 5: Israeli sources revealed that Israeli
troops had penetrated about 30 miles into
Egypt,wrecked3 militaryairfieldsaroundAl-

I96
gan armistice talks at Rhodes with Acting

Arish, and occupied an importantcommuniMediator Ralph J. Bunche.
cations center for 3 days before withdrawing.
Jan. 6: Egypt and Israel informedthe UN that Jan. I4: Joseph B. Keenan resigned as U. S.
Representativeon the UN ConciliationComthey would cease firingon all fronts at 2 p.m.
missionfor Palestine.
(GMT) January7, and would enter immediately into direct negotiations to establish a Jan. I5: Acting MediatorRalphBunchesent invitations to Transjordan,Lebanon,and Syria
Palestine armistice.
to discuss terms with Israel when EgyptianThe British Foreign Officeclaimedthat IsIsraeli talks were completed.A similar bid
raeli forceswere operating3 milesfrom Rafah,
was also to go to Iraq.
on the Egyptianside of the border.An Israeli
Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok
spokesmanin Tel Aviv confirmedthe fact.
stated that he felt Israel should compensate
Jan. 7: Col. Yigal Yadin, Chief of Operations
Arab refugees for the loss of property and
for the Israeli Army, stated that the Israeli
that the money should be used to settle them
operationbegun December22 had resultedin
in new homes.
700 Egyptiandead and 2,500 injured,as well
as reductionof Egyptianterritoryin the Negev Jan. i6: Lebaneseforces were reportedto have
movedout of one village in northwesternGalito a coastal strip from the general vicinityof
lee, and the Israeli Governmentwas said to
Gaza to Rafah.The latter was cut off on two
sides, and the railroad and communication have agreed to relinquisharmy control of 4
villages in Lebanon,as a result of preliminary
lines to Gaza were immobilized.
talks betweenrepresentativesof the two counJan. 8: The British Air Ministry reportedthat
tries.
5 British planes on reconnaissancemissions
Discussionswere reportedto be takingplace
from the Suez CanalZone had beenshot down
between the Israeli and Transjordaniangovby Israelis in the vicinity of Rafah. Two of
ernments.
the pilots were killed. The British Government stated that its aircraft were now "in- Jan. I7: The UN ConciliationCommissionfor
Palestine, meeting for the first time, selected
structed to regard as hostile any Jewish airJerusalem as its headquarters and elected
craft encounteredover Egyptianterritory";in
Hiiseyin Cahit Yalqin, Turkish member, as
addition,British troops had been sent to reinits first chairman.Dr. RalphJ. Buncheasked
force Aqaba, Transjordan,while a note was
the UN Security Council to liquidate the
sent to the Israeli Governmentprotestingthe
mediation machinery and to turn over its
attack and stating that Britain would reserve
functions to the Commission.
its rights as to "all possible future action."
The Israeli Government announced it
Arthur Lourie,Israeli ConsulGeneralin New
would release2 British fliers shot down JanuYork andheadof the Israeli UN officeat Lake
ary 7, and would allow a food and medicine
Success, refused to accept the British protest
convoy supervisedby the UN to relieve the
note addressedsimply to "the Jewish repreEgyptian garrison at Faluja. It also agreed
sentative" and to "the Jewish authorities at
in armistice talks to release the Egyptian
Tel Aviv." A copy of the protest note was
troops trappedthere.
receivedby the SecurityCouncil.
Jan. 9: Israel chargedthat the British planes Jan. i8: British Foreign SecretaryErnest Bevin
announced his, government's willingness to
shot down on Jan. 8 were armed and within
release the II,OOOJewish immigrantsof fightthe Palestine border.
ing age being held on Cyprus.
Jan. Io: An officialmilitaryspokesmanfor Israel
stated that Israeli troopshad been withdrawn Jan. I9: The first draft of an Israeli-Lebanese
armistice agreement was completed at Ras
from Egyptianterritory.
al-Naqura.
Jan. II: The British Foreign Office urged the
UN Security Council to take a strong stand Jan. 23: The UN canceled plans to remove
the surroundedEgyptiansat Faluja when the
on the Palestine issue, and to curb Israeli
Israelis stated that "for technical reasons"
aggression.
they were not ready to open roadblocks,deThe Israeli Governmentchargedthat Britmine roads, and withdraw their forces to
ain's "imposingdisplay of military and politeither side of the exit roads in accordance
ical activity"was directed against Israel and
with the agreement.
that its continuancewould be "likely to endangerthe maintenanceof internationalpeace Jan. 24: Egyptian-Israeli armistice talks recessed and the representativesreturned to
and security."
their capitals for new instructions. Before
Jan. I3: Representativesof Israel and EgyptbeThis content downloaded from 128.40.212.118 on Fri, 2 May 2014 11:46:09 AM
197
and I5 Arab Legionnaires in Israeli prison

leaving, however, they signed an agreement
camps.
extending the December 29 cease-fire indefiThe Egyptian and Israeli armistice deleganitely.
Members of the ConciliationCommission tions approved the text of the UN Mediator's
compromise draft, which was then accepted
arrived in Jerusalem.
by the Israeli Government and sent to the
Jan. 26: The British House of CommonsupEgyptian Government for its approval.
held Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin's handling of the Palestine situation by a vote of Feb. 21: The U. S. Senate passed and sent to
the House of Representatives a resolution
283-I93, 50 members of his own party abauthorizing a U. S. contribution of $i6,o00,-
staining.
ooo for the aid of Palestine war refugees.

Jan. 27: PresidentTruman sent a special message to Congressasking for a U. S. contri- Feb. 23: Iraq and Saudi Arabia informed Acting UN Mediator Ralph Bunche that they
bution of $i6,ooo,ooo to assist Palestine
would accept whatever terms agreed to by
refugees; under the Administration bill,
Arab states adjoining Palestine.
$8,ooo,ooo would be immediately available
Feb.
24: Egypt and Israel signed an armistice
through an advancefrom the Reconstruction
agreement containing the following proviFinance Corporation.
sions: (i) Israel would keep the points it
Jan. 28: Mark F. Ethridge conferred with
took
in its two offensives in the Negev after
President Truman before leaving for JeruOctober I4, but would evacuate Bir Asluj,
salem to take Joseph B. Keenan's place as
Bayt Hanun, and Al-Awja; (2) Al-Awja
U. S. memberof the UN ConciliationComwould become the neutral headquarters of an
mission.
armistice commission of 3 Egyptians, 3 IsFeb. I: Acting Mediator Ralph Bunche proraelis,

and a UN representative as chairman;
posed armisticetalks between Israel and all
the
Egyptians would give up Faluja, and
(3)
inFormal
war
with it.
the Arab nations at
would leave only defensive forces in the Gazavitations were sent to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria,
Rafah coastal belt; (4) Israeli defensive
Saudi Arabia, Transjordan, and Yemen.
forces in the Negev south of the October 14
Feb. 4: Dr. Ralph Bunche presented a second
line would not exceed Egyptian forces in the
compromiseplan to the Israelis and EgypGaza area; (5) the status of Beersheba would
tians engagedin armisticetalks.
be settled in negotiations with Transjordan.
Feb. 7: The UN Palestine ConciliationCom(Text, New York Times, Feb. 25, p. 20.)
mission met with Israeli Foreign Minister Feb. 28: Israel officially
took control of the
Moshe Shertok.
Faluja pocket; Egyptian troops commenced
Feb. 8: Transjordanformally acceptedthe UN
evacuation.
invitation to armistice talks with Israel at
Delegates of Transjordan arrived at
Rhodes.
Rhodes to negotiate an armistice with Israel.
It was announcedthat as a result of discussions among the Arab states, Lebanon,
Syria, and Iraq had decided to accept Dr.
Bunche'sinvitationto negotiatefor an armistice only if the negotiationsin which Egypt 1948
was engagedwere "successful,"i.e., in accord Dec. 24: King Ibn Saud was reported to have
sent letters to King Farouk of Egypt and
with the UN SecurityCouncil'struce instrucKing Abdallah of Transjordan in which he
tions of November 4 and I6.
stated his opposition to the joining of Arab
Feb. 12: It was announcedin Geneva that the
Palestine to Transjordan.
International Refugee Organization would
Saudi Arabia
pay $2,000,000 to the American Joint Distri-
1949
bution Committee at once in reimbursement Feb. 3: President Truman nominated J. Rives

Childs for promotion from U. S. Minister
for movementsof eligible displacedpersonsto
to Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Palestine since May i8, 1948.
Feb. i6: The UN Conciliation Commission
ended a 4-day visit in Egypt.
Feb. 20: As a result of a bilateral agreement,
Israel and Transjordan began the exchange I948
of 615 Israelis capturedby the Arab Legion Dec. 3: At the end of a 4-day trial, Muhammad
and the Iraqi Army for 4,800 PalestineArabs
Nur al-Din, secretary of the Ashigga Party,
Sudan

198
Ahmad Rifa'i -Justice and Public

was sentencedby a British criminal court to
Health
6 months' imprisonmentand fined ?25 at
Muhsin al-Barazi- Public Instruction
Atbara for his part in an illegal demonstra'Adil al-'Azmah- Interior
tion on the eve of the Sudan elections. IbraJean Sihnawi- National Economy
him al-Mahalwa'i,a prominentpro-Egyptian,
Hasan Jabbarah- Finance
and Sulayman Musa, a labor leader, were
Majd al-Din al-Jabri- Public Works
amongthose given lesser sentences.
Dec. 15: The Sudan Legislative Assemblymet '949
for the first time and voted 66-4 to appoint Jan. 28: Syria and Lebanon agreed to allow
work on the new Trans-Arabianpipeline to
Mirala'i Abdallah Bey Khalil, Secretarybe resumed.
General of the Umma Party, as its leader.
Feb. 5: Prime Minister Khalid al-Azm stated
(London Times, Dec. I7, p. 3.)
Approximately 150 persons demonstrated that negotiationsbetween Syria and Lebanon
on the one side and the Trans-ArabianPipeagainst the Assembly in Omdurman.Ismail
line Companyon the other had ended. The
Azhari, Ashigga Party leader, and several
agreementsbetween Syria and Lebanon and
others were arrested. (London Times, Dec.
between them and the company would be
I7, p. 3.)
submitted to the respective parliaments for
Dec. 20: The Governor-General,Sir Robert
their approval.
Howe, announcedthe appointmentof 3 ministers, 9 under-secretaries,3 councillorswith- Feb. 7: France and Syria signed a monetary
agreement providing for final separation of
out portfolios, and the membersof the ExecSyria from the franc bloc and repaymentof
utive Council. The Ministers were as
the currency cover. (Foreign Commerce
follows:
Weekly, Mar. 7, p. 27.)
Abdallah Bey Khalil- Agriculture
Feb. I2: Representativesof the cabinetsigned a
Dr. Ali Badri- Health
conventionwith J. W. MenHall, independent
Abd al-RahmanAli Taha - Education
American oil producer, providing for the
(London Times, Dec. 21, p. 3.)
creation of a Syrian-AmericanOil & Gas
Dec. 23: Sir Robert Howe officiallyopenedthe
Company, with concession rights covering
first Sudanese Assembly with a speech deapproximatelyone-halfthe total area of Syria.
fending the elections and describingthe As(Oil Forum, March, p. iii.)
sembly as "an experiment unparalleled in
Africa at the present time." (London Times,
Dec. 28, p. 3.)
Dec. 28: The SudaneseAssemblypassed an ad-
bill providing?3,700,000
vanceappropriation
Transjordan
to carry on the business of the government 1948

until the enactmentof a I949 budget. (Lon- Dec. I: A Palestine Arab Congress at Jericho
don Times, Dec. 29, p. 3.)
acclaimedAbdallah King of "all Palestine"
and asked him to take steps to unite the two
countries.
Syria
Dec. 7: The Cabinetapprovedthe Jericho resolution of Dec. i.
1948
Dec. i3: Both houses of Parliament approved
the proposed merger of Transjordan with
Dec. I: One personwas killed and 57 wounded,
Arab Palestine. (London Times, Dec. 14,
accordingto officialreports, at the climax of
three days of rioting. Prime Minister Jamil
P. 4.)
Dec. i6: The Transjordan Government anMardam and his Cabinet resigned.
nouncedits positionin regardto international
Dec. 2: Strict censorshipwas imposedas rioting
agreements made during the period of the
continued.
mandate: internationalagreementsmade by
Dec. 3: A military curfew from 6 p.m. to 6
the Transjordan Government to remain in
a.m. was imposedin Damascus. Rioting was
force; those made by the TransjordanGovreported in Homs and other places.
ernmentin conjunctionwith the British GovDec. I7: A cabinetwas formed,with Khalid alernment or economicagreementsor extradiAzm as Prime Minister, as follows:
tion laws by which Transjordanwas bound
Khalid al-Azm-Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs, National Defense
through the British Governmentto be null
and void. (Foreign CommerceWeekly, Jan.
Muhammad 'Ayish- Agriculture
Official
pp. 27-8, quotingthe Transjordan
Gazette, No. 965, of Dec. I6.)
Dec. 20: King AbdallahnamedAl-SheikhHasan
al-Din Jarallahas Mufti of Jerusalemin place
of Al-Haj Amin al-Husayni.
'949
Jan. 5: It was announcedthat a British force
had been sent to Aqaba in responseto a request of the TransjordanGovernmentunder
the terms of the Anglo-TransjordanTreaty.
(London Times, Jan. 10, p. 3.)
Jan. 3I: The United States grantedde jure recognitionto the Governmentof Transjordan.
31,
Turkey
1948
Dec. I4: A Turkish criminalcourt acquittedseven Bulgarians accused of killing two fellow
countrymenwhile escapingfrom Bulgaria.
Dec. I6: AthenagorasI, Patriarchof the Greek
Orthodox Church, called on U. S. President
Truman to say goodbyeprior to leaving the
U. S. to establishhis Patriarchatein Istanbul.
Dec. 25: In Ankara a crowd estimatedat from
Io,ooo to I5,000 staged a demonstrationdemandingthe return of Cyprusto Turkey.
'949
Jan. I4: Prime Minister Hasan Saka and his
cabinetresigned.
Jan. I5: The new cabinetwas announcedas follows:
$emsettinGunaltay-Prime Minister
Nihat Erim- Ministerof State andVice
Prime Minister
Arab League
(See also PalestineProblem,p. 194.)
I948
Dec.
2.:
The Arab League cabled the UN
Nurullah Sumer-Minister of State

Necmettin Sadak-Foreign Affairs
Fuat Sirmen- Justice
Hiisnii Cakir- National Defense
Tahsin Banguoglu- Education
KemaliBayazit- Health andSocialWelfare
Cavit Oral -Agriculture
Cemil Sait Barlas- CommerceandEconomy
Emin Erisilgil-Interior
Sevket Adalan- Public Works
Ismail Ru?tu Aksal-Finance
Fazil Serafettin Burge- Customs and
Monopolies
Kemal Satir - Communications
Re?at $emsettin Sirer- Labor
(News from Turkey, Jan. 20, p. I.)
Jan. 27: AthenagorasI was formallyenthroned
in Istanbul as Ecumenical Patriarch and
Archbishopof Constantinople.
Jan. 28: A U. S. squadronof 6 vessels visited
Turkey.
Feb. 6: Instructions were issued to lift all
restrictionson Turkish Jews wishing to emigrate to Palestine.
Feb. Ii: The British Foreign Office announced
the replacementof Sir David Kelly, Ambassador in Turkey, by Sir Noel Charles.
Dr. Ahmet $i1krii Esmer, former head
of the Turkish InformationBureau in New
York, left for Turkey to become director
general of the Press, Broadcasting,and Information Bureau of the Turkish Government.
nouncedsupport of Prime Minister Nehru's

plan for a conferenceof Asian countries to
discussDutch aggressionin Indonesia.(Governmentof India InformationServicesbulletin, Jan. 6, p. I.)
SecurityCouncil to order the Netherlandsto

halt military operations in the Indonesian
Republic.
Dec. 25: Abd al-Rahman Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated that
the League had asked the seven member
states to take up the war in Palestine on the
grounds that Israel had violated the UN
truce by attacking Egyptian forces in the
Negev.
I'949
Jan. 4: Abd al-Rahman Azzam Pasha an-
199
Petroleum
I948
Dec. 7: Executives of the Arabian American

Oil Company and the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company conferred in Cairo on plans to
double oil production in the next five years,
to complete a pipeline to the Mediterranean,
and to improve the conditions of local employees.

200
'949
Jan. I2: See Egypt, p. I85.
Jan. 28: See Egypt, p. I85.
Feb. I2: See Syria, p. I98.
Feb. 20: See Egypt, p. i86.
Feb. 24: The U. S. Department of Commerce
announced the resumption of export licenses
for 25,000 tons of steel pipe to be used in the
building of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline from
the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Export had been suspended for a ten-month
period.
United Nations
(See also Kashmir Problem, p.
Palestine Problem, p. I94.)
192;
I948
Dec. 3: Israel withdrew its application for membership in UNESCO after Lebanon was
unwilling to grant necessary facilities to an
Israeli representative to attend the UNESCO
conference in an unofficial capacity.
Dec. 6: Stanton Griffis, U. S. Ambassador to
Egypt, was appointed chief of the UN Relief
for Palestine Refugees. Dr. Bayard Dodge,
formerly president of the American University of Beirut, was appointed by Griffis to act
as his adviser.
Dec. 17: The UN and three voluntary relief

American Friends Service
agencies-the
Committee,the Leagueof Red Cross Societies,
and the InternationalCommitteeof the Red
Cross- signedan agreementwherebythe UN
would raise and allocate funds for the relief
of Palestine refugees and the volunteeragencies would undertakethe distributionof supplies.
I949
Jan. 28: The executivecommitteeof the International Refugee Organization decided to

dissolve the eight-month-oldban on financial
assistanceto refugeesinto Palestineproviding
they enteredunderconditionsset down by the
UN Security Council. The resolution set
aside $4,000,000 to reimburseagencieswhich
had moved eligible refugees prior to Jan. i,
I949. If an:,moneyremainedafter these agencies had been reimbursed,further movements
of refugees into Palestine could be financed.
Feb. 9: The Eastern Mediterraneanregional
unit of WHO met in Cairo and voted to
establish its headquartersin Alexandria.
Feb. i6: The UN Economicand Social Council
passed a resolution asking that the fundamental human rights of the inhabitants of
Palestine and surrounding areas be safeguarded.


Middle East Chronology, December 1st, 1948 To February 28th, 1949

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Middle East Chronology, December 1st, 1948 To February 28th, 1949

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Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology December 1, 1948-February 28, 1949

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DECEMBER I, 1 948 -FEBRUARY

DECEMBER 4, I948, the UN Gen- Arab countries, and conversationswith Trans-

eral Assembly's Political and Security

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THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

under the directorshipof Stanton Griffis,

tributed voluntarilyby its membernations.

economically and socially disruptive element,

in no sense solved the longer range problem

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

cember 4 Salim Zaki Pasha, the Cairo Chief

countryside(wherein 1945 it claimed500,000

Middle East Journal, I (I947), pp. 433-4.

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THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

least, for the aforementioned

Abd al-Razik al-Sanhuri Pasha - Education

Dec. 4: SalimZaki Pasha, Cairo Chief of Police,

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

(InternationalFinancial News Survey, Dec.

Jan. i: A special committee of experts from the

field 46 miles south of Suez was reportedto

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THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

tion of Sheikh Hasan al-Banna.

Dec. I: Dr. Syud Hossain, Indian Ambassador

been made in the previousthree days and stiff

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DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

ment. (Foreign Commerce Weekly, Feb. 7,

Dec. 30: Hearings on the Gandhi murder case

Jan. I: The Orissa Government took over the

sent to the UN SecurityCouncil a resolution

withdrawal of Dutch troops entering Republicanterritory after December i8, to be

completednot later than March I5,

elections to the ConstituentAssembly to be

interim government, fully in control of its

own forces,by MarchI5,

York Times, Jan. 24, I949, p. 3.)

on Marchi, 1949. BarodaStatewouldmerge

It was announcedthat Sri Prakasa, High

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DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

tage railroads,in conjunctionwith a railway

leaders, principallyin Madras, Calcutta, and

which it declared was aimed at taking over

the number of persons arrested during the

THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

Feb. 4: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was

Dec. 4: The National Democratic and the

Jan. 6: The governmentof Muzahimal-Pachachi

Feb. 23: A Tehran dispatch to the Egyptian

2: The UN Security Council referred

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DEVELOPMENTS OF THE QUARTER

Dec. 7': The principal highway between Tel

torate. Seats won and popularvotes were as

United ReligiousFront: i6 (52,982)

THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL

The Italian Governmentwould offer Ethiopia