EGYPT AS ALLY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 August 1940, Page 5

EGYPT AS ALLY

UNITED STAND ASSURED AGAINST ATTACK EXCELLENT RELATIONS WITH BRITAIN. EXPOSURE OF ENEMY PROPAGANDA. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 28. The possibility of an Italian attack on Egypt from Libya is discussed with particular reference to the position of Egypt in the “Manchester Guardian,” which says: “If Italy moves, she will have to face the opposition of a united Egyptian nation, strong in the strength of British military, naval and air power.

“The transformation of a semi-inde-pendent kingdom under tutelage into this country’s, ally has made all the difference. The fourth anniversary of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty last Tuesday produced eulogies in the entire Egyptian Press and a bark from Signor Gayda, who complains of Egypt's ‘pretended neutrality.’ The phrase is singularly ill-chosen. Egypt’s position of non-belligerency in the true sense has been made perfectly clear. Diplomatic and commercial relations were broken off, as with Germany, last September, when Italy came into the war, while the Government is loyally fulfilling its treaty obligations in placing its ports at the disposal of the British Fleet and giving facilities to the British air and land forces wherever the war strategy may require.

“At the same time Egypt’s attitude was properly described by Aly Maher Pasha, former Prime Minister, as basically defensive. Once Hassan. Sabry Pasha, the present Premier, reiterated that Egypt would fight if any attack were made on her territory or her army or if any casualties resulted from Italian hostilities against Britain. His War Minister recently said that Egyptian troops had already taken up strategic positions in readiness to meet an invasion. “The protection of Egypt,” he explained, “incidentally involved also the defence of the Sudan. Nothing could be plainer. Indeed, the present relationship between England and Egypt is an object lesson in placated nationalism.” NAZI MENDACITY. Reports from Egypt show that considerable indignation has been roused by a recent instance of the reckless mendacity of Nazi propaganda. Berlin alleged that Britain had caused celebrations to be forbidden. The false report was actually circulated when celebrations were in progress all over Egypt and even when the newspapers, with descriptions of the morning’s proceedings, were already on sale in the streets of Cairo. This lie has been denounced by the whole Egyptian Press.

The particular resentment felt at the blatant attempt to exploit Egypt for Nazi propagandist purposes was typically expressed in a headline in the newspaper “Misr,” which read, “German propaganda lies do not even spare Saad’s memory.” The newspaper “Almari,” which had only recently made some comments upon the Axis propagandists’ lies, recalled these to its readers, and added: “Egyptians have no difficulty in judging these worthless concoctions when they concern things appearing under their very eyes in their own country.”

The moral was drawn in a leading article by the Egyptian “Gazette,” which pointed out that propaganda on the scale and of the type used by the Germans and their junior partners, the Italians, is only effective so long as it cannot be checked. When the Egyptians find the Axis claims about Egypt are demonstrably false they can judge the amount of credence which they should give to their claims about events in other parts of the world.

Another instance of a false report was the grossly exaggerated .account by the Italians of damage caused by an Italian air raid on Alexandria. On that the “Gazette” observed: “All Alexandrians know that it was practically untouched and the damage was so slight that it needed careful search with a guide to find it.”