890G.42/52
The Minister Resident in Iraq (Knabenshue) to the Secretary of State
No. 1592
Baghdad, July 17,
1940.
[Received August 17.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my
despatch no. 1591 of July 16, regarding the proposed Iraqi education
law and to report that immediately after the preparation of that
despatch I received a note from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, a
copy of which is enclosed, in reply to my note to him of July 11,
1940, a copy of which forms an enclosure to my previous despatch. In
view of the concluding statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
that, in consequence of the alleged agreement come to between the
heads of the American schools and officials of the Iraqi Government,
no further negotiations
[Page 740]
between us would be required, I hastened to reply immediately by my
note no. 791 of July 16, a copy of which is also enclosed, in which
I informed His Excellency that I could not accept his thesis that no
further negotiations were necessary.
In view of this new phase of the situation which has arisen, I would
call the Department’s attention to the minutes of the meeting which
took place between the heads of the American schools and the
officials of the Iraqi Government,33 from which it will be noted that for the most
part it consisted of a statement of the Americans’ point of view and
in assurances given by the Iraqis to meet these points of view. In
only one instance was there mention of an agreement and that was in
connection with that article of the proposed law which prohibited
Iraqis from attending foreign primary schools. The memorandum
concluded with the statement:
“The meeting ended with the provision that the talk was to be
considered as a ‘word of honor’ or a ‘gentlemen’s
agreement.’ ”
In this connection I would also call the Department’s attention to
Mr. Van Ess’ letter to me of July 1434 in which he stated in connection with the
opening of the meeting:
“We distinctly declared that we understood that the
conference at the Foreign Office was exploratory only and
that we had met only as conferees and that our signatures to
the memorandum would in no sense prejudice our rights, to
which Dr. Jamali and Yusuf Beg agreed.”
In his letter to me of July 12th,34 Mr. Van Ess stated:
“At the end of the conference, it was mutually emphasized
that our deliberations and conclusions constitute a
gentlemen’s agreement, which, without quibble and in the
spirit of honorable intention on both sides, shall result in
a working arrangement, pending the official negotiations
between the Iraq Government and the Government of the United
States of America.”
It is unfortunate that the Minister for Foreign Affairs should have
assumed, as he did, that no further negotiations were necessary and
especially so after my warnings to him both verbally on May 6th
before the meeting of the American school heads and the Iraqi
Government representatives, and on the day after the meeting in my
note of July 11th.
I will keep the Department informed of developments and in the
meantime will hope to receive as soon as possible the Department’s
instructions as suggested in the last paragraph of my despatch No.
1591 of July 16, 1940.
Respectfully yours,
[Page 741]
[Enclosure 1—Translation]
The Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Nuri
as-Said) to the American
Minister Resident (Knabenshue)
No. 12/2881/2881/gh
Baghdad, July 15,
1940.
My Dear Minister: Reference Your
Excellency’s note No. 790 of July 11, 1940, concerning the draft
Public Education Law, I have the honor to state that the
conference of which you made mention in your above quoted letter
has taken place in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and has
resulted in an agreement of the viewpoints between the
representatives of the Ministry of Education and this Ministry
and the representatives of the American schools in Iraq and the
consent of the latter to take certain administrative measures
which would ensure the continuance of the accomplishment of
their educational duties in Iraq without any difficulty. A
minute for this understanding has been prepared which will be
the basis for action in the future.
I consider it my duty to make mention of the thanks of the
Ministry of Education and its appreciation to those who are
responsible for the administration of the American schools for
the good services they have rendered which the Iraqi Government
is so anxious to see maintained within simple administrative
measures which are required by the new law. Therefore, after
obtaining this satisfactory result, there remains nothing which
might call for entering anew into negotiations concerning the
subject.
I avail myself [etc.]
[Enclosure 2]
The American Minister Resident (Knabenshue)
to the Iraqi Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Nuri
as-Said)
No. 791
Baghdad, July 16,
1940.
Excellency: I have just received Your
Excellency’s note No. 12/2881/2881/gh of July 15, 1940, in
reference to my note No. 790 of July 11, 1940, concerning the
draft Public Education Law and the conference which took place
at your Ministry between the heads of American schools in Iraq
and representatives of the Iraqi Government which, you state,
resulted in an agreement of the viewpoints between the
representatives of the Ministry of Education and the
representatives of the American schools and consent of the
latter to take certain administrative measures which would
insure the continuance of the accomplishment of the American
educational institutions in Iraq without difficulty and that a
minute for this understanding had been prepared which will be
the basis for action in the future.
[Page 742]
Your Excellency was also good enough to mention the thanks of the
Ministry of Education and its appreciation to those who are
responsible for the administration of American schools and the
good services they have rendered, which the Iraqi Government is
anxious to see maintained within simple administrative measures
which are required by the new law. Your Excellency then
concludes that there remains nothing which might call for
continuing negotiations in connection with this subject.
As it would seem that Your Excellency has failed to understand
the full purport of my note no. 790 of July 11, 1940, I hasten
to call your attention to its third paragraph on page two,
wherein I reminded Your Excellency that in our conversation on
May 6th I had informed you (in connection with the proposed
meeting between the American school representatives and
representatives of the Ministry of Education) that individual
American citizens are not entitled to waive their own rights or
the rights of other American citizens guaranteed to them by
treaties or other international instruments and that,
consequently, I would be obliged to refer the proposed law to my
Government together with the recommendations of the American
interests involved for my Government’s consideration. The
understanding come to between the American school
representatives and the representatives of the Ministry of
Education was merely for a temporary arrangement which would
permit the American schools to continue operating pending the
conclusion of negotiations between the Iraqi and United States
Governments on this subject, and as a result, there was no final
or definite acceptance of the provisions of the proposed new
education law either by the American schools or by the United
States Government.
In this connection it may be relevant to quote to Your Excellency
from letters I received from Mr. Van Ess in connection with the
meeting in question:
“We distinctly declared that we understood that the
conference at the Foreign Office was exploratory only
and that we had met only as conferees and that our
signatures to the memorandum would in no sense prejudice
our rights, to which Dr. Jamali and Yusuf Beg
agreed.”
and also:
“At the end of the conference, it was mutually emphasized
that our deliberations and conclusions constitute a
gentlemen’s agreement, which, without quibble and in the
spirit of honorable intention on both sides, shall
result in a working arrangement, pending the official
negotiations between the Iraq Government and the
Government of the United States of America.”
In the circumstances, I am not able to accept Your Excellency’s
thesis that there remains no need for further negotiation in the
matter.
[Page 743]
In the
circumstances, I must refer the matter to my Government, and I
must ask Your Excellency to be good enough to continue
postponement of the publication of the proposed law until I can
communicate to you my Government’s further point of view in the
matter.
I avail myself [etc.]
