Sefton Delmer
now investigating on the spot the great enigma of Egypt's Strong-Man Military Government
SITS IN WITH
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER
1952.
Luxurious Stratooruiser service for very particulari people..
TH
Monarch
BADAT Propopondlat
SALEM
Land Beformer..
Agriculturist.
AMER
Chief Secretary.
NEGUIB'S YOUNG MEN
'I'm training them to take over in case anything happens to me.'-Neguib
I
Cairo: Don't forget that up to the present officers of the junta
-FI had not recognised him from his pictures I would never have guessed that the alim, rather feminine looking young offer lounging in the entrance hall to
Cairo's
have strictly obeyed the vow they took to remain anonymous and steret, to refuse all promo
the tempta- in and to resist tions of personal ambition.
JUNIORS
most tish.soldier, ` shall feel he has El comething to fight for. That is why we are redistribuung the land of Egypt under the land reform scheme."
Next to him is Brigadier Oddly. enough, the Anwar El Sadat, who watches conciliatory WOR Anwar over and is likely to replaco Pro. Sadat, the brigadier who was nationalist Fathi Rudwan cpposed to the British during Minister of National Guidance, the war and was arrested and which means propaganda. Imprisoned by us when caught The youngest looking of them in the act of flying off to join Hakim Amer, is at the mument all, handsome Captain
Abdel the enemy. chief secretary
to Nerulb as Prime
as
Minister.
Others were Captain Gamal Addin Husseini, who keeps the Ministry of Agriculture under his watchful eye; and Brigadier
military headquarters, WHEN I saw Negub I asked Abdel Monim Amin head of the
laughing and gossiping, him about his relations
with
they
Were the junts.
decisions? Or
could possibly be the grim colleagues and advisers with a
were they
打
military courts.
PROTEST
He suggested to ne that Bri- lain should make the sume kind of gesture to Egypt os she had made to the Ecors in South Africa. The name of the Egypt in Smuts, he hinted, might be Neguib.
But perhaps that isn't so odd after all. For the brigadier is a utudent of propaganda ano public relations technique.
figure known as the Strong full share merely his junior VALL, slight Wing-Commander of
Man's strong man.
officers taking orders from hini? Negulb Amited his -mnost avuncular and quizzical smile, at hix pipe, And said: are my junior officers."
But that just the same is what Brigadier Gamat Ali del Nasser is, and very ne much so.
What is more. Then he gave another smile, Home time in the next three and added: "Mind you, I give weeks he is likely to become them. na much responsibility as
possible. For even stronger..
That is, providing he and his dictator boss, General Mohamed Negulb, carry out their present plans. ·
INTRIGUES
-training
cne who can take over it any them up so that there is some thing should happen to me."
He certainly has given these young men plenty of power almost as much as they love given him. With the exception of Finance Minister. Einary,
junta's captains or half- become very weary of colonels sitting in lije next room his civilian Cabinet. And so to him. has the
secret military committee which Gamal put of step or his colonel things Nusser heads.
Ginal Salem, who is a bit administration of noise in the the Land Reformi Bill, looked in on the last few minutes of our discussion.
With the exception of Abdel Monim Amin. who Wils in
ries, all were wearing British y
British
style uniforms with Icoking insignia of rank, which, me think they might be more added to their friendliness made
mc reasonable in their attitude to wards Britain than their Na- tonalist predecessors,
of
I liked the brash incisiveness Wing-Commander Gamai Salem, the next in importance to Gamal Abdel Nasser, and book ed to take over the Ministry has already fired from the air Supply. T7:4
wing-commander
force all superior officers who had been trained by the British and Americans, leaving only
himself.
"The British soldier," he said, fought magnificently during
the
Alas for my friend's noble Idealism. It is the
economic disturbance produced. by over- precipitate land reform schemes coupled with confusion caused by military committers, bitrary price cutting, and the general dimculties of the cotton trade-that is raising spectres of unemployment-and bankruptcy to worry the generat.
the
He is making speech after speech at tou parties, hospital -openings, and on the radio ex- horting the people to discipline, and warning against rumour- mongers, all a sure sign of his distress and uncertainty.
RESULTS
CAN a change to military gov- ernment bring Gumal Salem the relief he hopes? I doubt it.
Two results, however, cortal:-
Ere
Cablet and ceonomic presure (1) With brigadiers in the rising outside, his voice, s policy, and his actions will be-
war, Why? Because he had something to fight for some thing to guard and protect."
Then the wing-commander
and more anti- revented the point of his tribute, me, more
British. "During the war with the Jews
(2) Despite his new M.1,5,
OLD soldier Neguib has every civillan Minister has one protent, Garnal Vistel Noguer running away way. Why a ou side caused by the reshulle will,
Wee to a Mlidster if he gets
be is out of step.
The
By whom and how I will try to tell you in my next despatch,
-(London Express Servico}
I made a probing suggeston to this effect, and was met im I met an Egyptian soldier who dissension in the army and out-
Abdel Nasser
I naked him be exploited against him. keted as spokesman.
"Why should stay?' he replix. hu 'I have nothing to fight for,' "The Egyptian Army**
"owes *** gid,
the nothing to
"We are determined that the British or to the British Army. Egyptian soldier, like the Bri- On the contrary.
British have deliberately kept us weak and perly equipped so that they could claim we're unit to de- fend the Suez Canal by our- a pet, Neguib is planning to THE Junta la everywhere, seivel. That way they always "abdicate" the tiresome pepping up ofeistis, bawling and a pretext for rotaining 3 civilians with their "bicker, the oflee, presiding over com- them out for arriving late at
remain base arul
in occupa- tion of our ings, jealousies, intrigues, mittees to axe men who have
The whale of the military and inefficiency."
rin by political patronage and
movement responsile for the Well, here I was surrounded coup of July 23 had been started
by him
So rather than abdicate himself, as he threatened in
UNDER 40
resentment at the
Army by the British.
He means to replace them not on merit. openly with Gamal and two by the junta, all of them under 1942 in and a few friends in or three other key officers 40, most of them in the earliest humiliation or the Egyptian from the junta of nine thirties and late twenties, which put him in power.
Which is why I was particularly delighted to have the chance of meeting Gamal and this secret com- mittee, sitting at a table with them, hearing their War Minister.
The dominant figure is...! quickly recognised, despite my rst Impression-Gamal Abdel
Nusser, now Cabinet chief to
Neguib in his capacity as Com mander-in-Chlef of the army, and booked to enter the Cabinet
Hy is being groomed as
The spectacle of Brilleh tanks surrounding the king's palace while the ambassador walked in
with an ultmatun hid seared
their souls. They determineti that Egypt must shake off the foreign yoke and build up r strong, valorous, well-equipped army of her own, backed by a
views, and generally giving Negub's successor it Negullis valorcais, self-reliant people. them the once-over on your assassinated, always a possibility "That's what we are out to ac- behalf.
to be reckoned with,
"complish now," he said.
Is weather to blame
Is
Soviet suspicion of
of the West due to Russia's
extraordinary countryske and climate?
·for Russia?
by JAMES LEASOR Sir David Kelly, British Ambassador in Moscow cillin through jet engines, from 1949 to 1951, puts steamboats, radio and radar forward this unusual theory to the discovery of the in a fascinating book of South Pole), Sir David has diplomatic reminiscences."
this to say:
to celebrate some national day in. an embassy, but only maximum of 20 would be al- lowed to attend, consisting "ol- most entirely of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Forces representatives."
This policy of isolation was so successful that, when a Rus-- For generations there has "It proves the existence of an
vion did show signs of begpm- been working on the Rus- which the authorities feel must
enormous sense of inferiority ing friendly it was assumed it was for some sinister motive. sian character what he calls be dealt with on a large scale.
There were few other chances "the influence of the endless And it shows to what a point of meeting people. Many day-
simplicity to-day necessities featureless land.... endless (they) rely on the
(Including
steppes or forests, merging
into the tundras of Siberia,
a0
and isolation of their
dience...
212-
thestre and train tickets, and most domestic affairs, but not food) could be
be obtained only
This national Inferiority com, through a Government depart- that in winter a mun plex causes Russia to "pay out' could travel on a sleigh from other countries for imagined ment called Burobin
the Baltic to the Pacific with diplomatic slights,
no
- obstacle but, the Urals:....
IM
This even dealt with such matters as the elimination of cockroaches. On this subject one of
of Sir David's colleagues
had a long correspondence which "Instead of the feudal Example: Moscow would not
to "high [·level," castle and the family farm, say whether Sir David Kelly's Burobin "ended it by telling there were log huts, for appointment as ambasador was him firmly that there were two approved (a decision usually kinds of cockroaches: one kind over being burned down, given in a week or two) for that could be eliminated, and and every stranger was 53 days.
are kind that could not. His, presumed to be an enemy. This was exactly the same unfortunately, belonged to the "The climate tells the same time it had taken London to latter class... tale....long, terrible Rus- agree on accepting Zarubin an
of extremes.
Soviet Ambassador to Britain—
sian winter....short, hot a delay due to his having been Russian summer; a climate involved in the Canadian spy, Sir David WAS constantly
trials.
talled by policemen (some uni- When Sir David, with his formed, some in plain clothes). wife, her Swiss secretary, They followed him to the "Belgion chef, an English but theatre and receptions; sat in
ler, and the family Saluki dog the next
everyone
"All these geographical arrived in Moscow, he found travelled apartment' when he train; walled out- and climatic features stand the diplomatic community vir- side the embassy while he was out in the Russian charac- tually isolated from
inside. ter....inherent instability, else.
When he protestod be On his first visit, as an under- toid: "We have to guard the am- abnormal suspicion. of foreigners, the absence of graduate in 1918, he had "wan bassador. Of course, you do the.
dered m", to the Kremlin "with same for the
Was
any true sense of form or a crowd of sightseers." Now in England » Soviet Ambassador
limits. Above all, the habit of rushing violently from
the place was a fortress, and 'It is interesung to, nòto that forbidden to when the Earl of Carlisio arrived diplomats were
mission to the avel through very large areas. In Moscow on
Czar as far back as 1602, ho
one extreme to another. of the country." periodically pulling up the
Even the 100 or so privileged complained that he
was .con-
roots and starting afresh." Russians professors, four tinually followed by a member On the astonishing way in malists, ballerines who had in of the Strolzl. He was told that
"to protect him.” ** Bir, David feels, suggests
regine has reverted to the age *The Ruling Few (Holle and A hundred invitations might before Peter the Grect partially Carter A58).
go to Buziah guests for a party Westernlied-Russia.
which Russia claims credit quile recent years been allow, this
ed to accept invitations to
for discoveries (from peni- foreign embassies had been that is como ways tho. Soviet
warned ones
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