THE NEAR EAST.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 January 1923, Page 2

THE NEAR EAST.

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION PLENARY SESSION. LAUKOXXE, Jan 23. At tin Plenary Session uf tin- Con ferene. Lord Curzon proposed that ihv .Mosiil Question should be referred to the League of Nation:-, intimaf.ing that Britain was ready to abide by the result. The Crave.-. Commission is iaeed b\ a refusal of the Tunes to include in the category of the Allied cemeteries, tinarea at Ari Burn;;, whore so many Anzncs are interred. The Turks insisted that tho arm should be restricted in order to compiise only the graves already identified, and excluding tin* adjacent land which Australia and No.' Zealand wish to secure. I he British were unblc to consider the surrender and refusal to turther discuss the question) Ereneh and Italians, fully .supporting them, fhe matter will be taken up again to-morrow, when it is Imped a settlement will Ik reached. TURKEY AND OIL WELLS. LONDON, Jail -Jo. lsmet i’asha has rejected Lord C urzon’s oiler to refer the .Mosul oil arm dispute to the League of Nations. tin the .Moiisul question, the lurks have reiterated their claim to the entire Vilayet, Lord Cumin proposed that the future ol tliei northern frontier of the mandated territory of Irak be referred to the League of Nations. AI. Bombard (Era nee) said he considered Lord (Jurzon’s oiler that Britain would abide by the decision ol the League ol Nations extremely liberal. He iiillv associated this, and urged the Turks should aeeept the British suggestion. lsmet. Paslm stated that he would reply tins evening). The Turks an* now considering their reiplv. LAUSANNE. Jan 24. Lord Cumin, at the Conference, said that Britain was under a. threefold pledge—iirst, to the Arab nation, to whom sin promised that the Arab, should not he returned to Tun.: rule; secondly, to King l eistil ; ami thirdly to tin League <>t Nations. Lord Cumin added:—“.Mosul is in the hands ol the puople themselves, and is noi garisoned by British troops, bill native forces. The southern portion ni the district is only UO miles from Baghdad. A Turkish army from Mosul would have Baghdad at its mercy, which it it could reduce, by starvation, milking an Arab kingdom impossible.” lie continued:—“Oil has had nothing to do with my arguments. 1 do not know anything about oii. 1 have never negotiated with oil magnates. Everybody hero cannot gay the .same!"

IS .MKT’S REFUSAL. (H*•«.•<'iveil tins day at to a.m.) LAUSANNE, Jan 23. Isinet refused Lord Curzon’s proposal and presses lor a plebiscite of the Vilayet, LOUD ULUZON’S GRAVE WARNING. IS.MKT PASHA’S CON'hiADICTION. i Received this (lav at c a.m.) LAUSANNE, Jan 23. Lord Cnr/,on in concluding iiis speech war IKK I Isinet I’aslia in the plainest terms, that the rejection of peace through the League ot Nations would he opposed by the League’s lull organisation. If Turkey refused to state cer i a.so before the Council of the League, all the League's sanctions would la- enforced upon hor. I am here to make peace not war’ said Lord Cuibon.” therefore I cannot suffer conditions making for war. The rejection aill endanger Mosul and make war possible. If turkey persists in her refusal we shall revoke the eleventh article. of the League Pact, providing for action in .the case of danger ol lsmet replying, flatly contradicted the British statement. He declared that Mosul belonged naturally to Anatolia. not to -Mesopotamia. Her natural trade outlet was the -Meditei - ranenn, not the Persian Lull'. He siiu' the British had illegally occupied -Mosul after the war, which was a Invar., of the .Madras armistice. Isinet u dared the whole country clamour, for release from luroigu control am., tor tiu‘ restoration of Turkey. J»ni. protection was simply a cloaked fniLicul. ecou'imic absorption.