Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Near and Middle East, Volume IX, Part 2

No. 1271
Editorial Note

Annexes I and II of the Heads of Agreement consist of Sections VIII and VII, respectively, of the enclosure to despatch 2275 from London, December 29, 1953. (641.74/12–2953) See footnotes 3 and 4, supra. The texts of those sections follow:

“VIII Organisation of the Base

The British Delegation have put forward a text on the lines of the first four paragraphs of the following; the full text is a revised draft which we shall shortly be discussing with the Egyptians.

‘Duties of the Base Commander and Assistant Base Commander

(1) Upon the completion of the withdrawal of Her Majesty’s forces the Egyptian Government shall appoint a senior Egyptian officer as Base Commander. He will administer the Base and ensure the efficiency and smooth running in accordance with the provision of this Agreement. To assist him the United Kingdom Government shall appoint an Assistant Base Commander with the duties set out in paragraph 4 below.

(2) The Base Commander

(a) The Base Commander will be responsible on behalf of the Egyptian Government for the discharge of its undertakings for:

(i) The Security of the Base, of the installations and of equipment contained therein, or in transit, and of all the personnel needed to run it.

(ii) The running of the public utilities and telecommunications required for use within the Base in peace and the upkeep of those and of such roads, railways, bridges, pipelines and wharves as may be required for the Base in war including where necessary, any new construction and the observance of the conditions attached to the installations listed in Appendix II.

(iii) The recruitment, administration and reliability of all labour employed in the Base (other than the British technicians and domestic labour hired under private arrangements). It will be the duty of the Base Commander with the assistance of the Egyptian administration generally to ensure that the members of the labour force are of the necessary competence to the standard required by the Assistant Base Commander.

(iv) The provision and efficient upkeep of motor transport required in the Base.

(v) The provision and allocation of rail and water transportation and port facilities where required.

(vi) The provision and maintenance of buildings and works.

(vii) The hygiene of the Base.

(b) In execution of his responsibilities the Base Commander will give full support to his Assistant Base Commander in ensuring that the facilities which the latter requires (as defined in paragraph 4 below) are promptly furnished and that the administrative needs up to normal British standards of his Assistant Base Commander and the personnel in his charge are met.

(c) As part of the Base Headquarters there will be a joint Base Communication Centre. Its organisation will be governed by the following considerations:

(i) There will be a signal link operated by British and Egyptian personnel to the appropriate British radio communications network.

(ii) All messages received by the signal link mentioned in subparagraph 3(c) (i) above will be passed when decoded to a joint message distribution centre, which will transmit them promptly to the Assistant Base Commander with a copy to the Base Commander. Outward messages will be similarly handled.

(3) The Assistant Base Commander

(a) The Assistant Base Commander will:

(i) be responsible through the Base Commander in each case for the control of the installations etc. listed in Appendix I. He will be in full and effective charge of all British owned equipment stored or used in these installations;

(ii) pass on all instructions received through the Base Communications Centre from British authorities and initiate all other instructions necessary under sub-paragraph 4 (a) (i. above;

(iii) apply to the Base Commander for transport, labour and other facilities required for the efficient operation of these installations. He will indicate the standard of competence required of such labour and will arrange for its engagement and payment. He may discharge any man for incompetence, indiscipline or unreliability and may refuse to re-employ him;

(iv) control and distribution of all personnel, both technical and unskilled, employed in these installations.

(b) He will be the adviser to the Base Commander on all technical matters and in this capacity will be responsible for advising him on the efficiency and maintenance of installations and facilities other than those listed in Appendix I. For this purpose he and his staff will inspect such installations as often as they may consider necessary and will render reports to the Base Commander and to Her Majesty’s Government.

(c) He will be in full military command of the British technicians in the Base. He will be responsible for their personal administration, including their pay, discipline, welfare, rationing, clothing, terms of service, medical attention and all similar matters affecting them as individuals. He will apply to the Base Commander for, and will be entitled to receive from him, whatever assistance may be needed for their maintenance.

(d) He will be responsible for training Egyptian personnel in technical functions in the Base.

(4) (a) The Base Commander shall discuss any matters of detail not covered by the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 above with the Assistant Base Commander in order to reach a satisfactory working arrangement directed towards achieving the efficient running of the Base.

(b) Should matters of any nature arise at any time on which the Base Commander and the Assistant Base Commander cannot come to an understanding, they will be free to refer the issue to the Egyptian Government and Her Majesty’s Ambassador respectively. To lessen the possibility of any misunderstanding such reference shall be in the form of a joint memorandum setting out both points of view.’ ”

“VII Air Matters

Verbal agreement was reached on an understanding of the position and a text was prepared on the technical level by the British delegation and handed to tohe Egyptians, who neither accepted the draft nor put forward amendments to it. The draft is as follows:—

‘Having regard to the need for:—

(a) facilities for handling Royal Air Force aircraft connected with the movement of personnel and equipment required in the maintenance of the Base;

(b) facilities for handling Royal Air Force aircraft in transit through Egypt;

Provision will be made for the use of a designated Egyptian air force airfield in the Canal Zone at which Royal Air Force technicians will be employed for the handling and servicing of British aircraft and for the movement and control of personnel and freight. This includes provisions for flying boats.

The airfield will be under the command of an Egyptian air force officer and would not necessarily be used exclusively by Royal Air Force aircraft. Egyptian airport authorities for immigration, health and customs will be provided in accordance with international customs. British technicians would come under the command of the senior Royal Air Force officer in accordance with the general principle governing the command and discipline of the British technicians within the whole of the Base.

All Royal Air Force aircraft movements will require clearance in accordance with procedures which shall be agreed from time to time.

Overflying rights will be accorded to Royal Air Force aircraft subject to notifications in accordance with procedures which shall be agreed from time to time.’”