LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’S MIDDLE EAST MAP ON SHOW
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Kuwait
Oct 12 2005
LONDON, Oct 12 (KUNA) — A newly-discovered map showing Lawrence of
Arabia’s proposals for the reconstruction of the Middle East after
the First World War is to go on display for the first time, it was
announced here Wednesday.
The map, about to be displayed in the Imperial War Museum, in London,
shows TE Lawrence opposed the allied agreement which eventually
determined the borders of Iraq as it is today.
Lawrence, who presented his proposals to the Eastern Committee of
the War Cabinet in November 1918, suggested instead that there should
be separate governments for the predominantly Kurdish and Arab areas
in what is now Iraq, and for the Mesopotamian Arabs and Armenians in
Syria, the Imperial War Museum said.
These suggested frontiers would have replaced those drawn up in the
allied agreement of 1916, negotiated by Sir Mark Sykes and Francois
Georges-Picot.
Lawrence formed his views during the Arab Revolt of 1916/18 when he
heard the views of men from across the Middle East who were serving
in Feisal’s army.
He was also in contact with other British experts on the Middle East,
including DG Hogarth and Gilbert Clayton.
But the proposals were opposed by the British administration in
Mesopotamia.
The map is one of a number of previous unseen items in the museum’s
new exhibition Lawrence Of Arabia: The Life, The Legend.
— Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence biographer and historical adviser to
the exhibition, said: “The discovery of the map is particularly
interesting.
“It suggests that Lawrence’s proposals were taken fairly seriously, at
least in London. They would have provided the region with a far better
starting point than the crude imperial carve-up agreed by Sykes and
Georges-Picot.” Hania Farhan, regional director of the Middle East and
North Africa, Economist Intelligence Unit (specialized publication),
added: “Among other things, the map shows that the opinions of those
who knew the region well were often ignored, as the colonial powers
in London and Paris had their own agendas and did not appear to care
about the facts on the ground or the people of those areas.
“Lawrence’s proposed borders differ substantially from those that
ended up being put in place.” The exhibition, which runs from October
14 to April 17 2006, also includes the motorcycle Lawrence was riding
when he had his fatal accident on May 13 1935.