THE AFGHAN TROUBLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17689, 29 July 1919, Page 5

THE AFGHAN TROUBLE

ENEMY PEACE ENVOYS ARRIVE. SURPRISED AT BRITISH PREPARATIONS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. DELHI, July 25. The Afghan peace delegates have arrived at'Rawa.l Pindi. They expressed surprise at the size of the British camps aim military preparations. The Peace Conference will open on Saturday morning.—A. and N.Z. Cable. SIR H. GRANT'S STERN ADDRESS. AFGHANS MUST ACCEPT TERMS. SIMLA, July 27. In the Afghan peace negotiations at Rawal Pindi Sir Hamilton Grant, the British representative, addressing the Afghan delegates in strong terms, said that the British Government would be amply justified in continuing the war until the Amir surrendered unconditionally. The Government was not prepared toconsider any counter claims. The Afghans had flagrantly disregarded the terms of the armistice, and British patience was not inexhaustible. If the war were to be renewed the terms .would be very different. The Afghan delegates listened without a murmur.—A. and N.Z. Cable. AFGHAN ARROGANCE. CONFERENCE NOT PROMISING. EARLY DISSOLUTION PREDICTED. SIMLA, July 27. (Received July 28, at 9.30 p.m.) At the Peace Conference, after Sir H. Grant's address, Ali Ahimd, president of the Afghan Delegation, urged forbearance on both sides. He denied that the Afghans first sought peace. He admitted the British superiority in war material and man-power, but pointed out that the Germans held a similar position in the European war. The Afghans were not sleepy, ignorant people; they possessed fresh aspirations like other nations that participated in the European war. He declared that Afghanistan was a safe barrier against Bolshevism in India. . If the war were renewed, and the British won, India would be flooded with Bolshevism, which could be checked only by a just and honourable peace. The conference is sitting in camera. The Afghans are proving obstinate and Tinreasonable, and there are indications that the conference will soon be dissolved.— Reuter.