The Echo de Paris indirectly charged today that last Thursday’s coup d’etat at Baghdad could be traced to German agitation in Iraquian affairs, according to the Havas News Agency.
Recent developments at Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo and in other Arab countries were generally attributed by the French press to anti-British and anti-French propaganda systematically undertaken by Soviet, German or Italian elements.
“It can be asked,” the Echo de Paris noted, “if the hand of Hitlerite Germany, very prompt to use Arab resentment against the pro-Jewish policy of certain English elements, is not found in certain measure behind the coup d’etat which has just overthrown the Anglophile Government at Baghdad.”
Le Matin charged that the Comintern (Communist International) was preparing an agitation campaign in the mandated Arab countries. It declared a meeting of the Arab-nations sections of the Comintern was held in Moscow in mid-October at which the Soviet envoy to China and Arab leaders were present.
At this meeting, the Matin declared, it was decided to transfer the Comintern’s Arab Affairs Office from Athens to Beirut, under the direction of D.V. Bogomolov, Soviet Ambassador to China. Secret agitators will be sent into the mandated countries, it was declared, to establish new offices in Syria, Palestine and Yemen. Two Soviet ships will debark these agents and quantities of political pamphlets at the various Arab ports, it was charged.
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