LAWRENCE’S MID-EAST MAP ON SHOW

BBC News, UK
Oct 12 2005

Lawrence’s proposals were opposed by British authorities A map showing
Lawrence of Arabia’s proposals for the reconstruction of the Middle
East following World War I is set to be displayed for the first time.
The newly-found map shows TE Lawrence opposed the allied agreement
which eventually determined the borders of Iraq as it is now.

He said separate governments should operate in the predominantly
Kurdish and Arab areas in what is now Iraq.

The map is to go on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.

It is just one of a number of previous unseen items in the museum’s
new exhibition, Lawrence Of Arabia: The Life, The Legend.

Lawrence, who presented his proposals to the Eastern Committee of
the War Cabinet in November 1918, also mooted the idea of separate
governments for the Mesopotamian Arabs and Armenians in Syria.

Allied agreement

These proposed borders would have replaced those drawn up in the
1916 allied agreement, which was negotiated between Sir Mark Sykes
and Francois Georges-Picot on behalf of Britain and France.

Lawrence’s stance was formed during the Arab Revolt of 1916/18 when
he heard the views of men from across the Middle East who were serving
in the army of Britain’s Arab allies against Turkey.

He was also in contact with other British experts on the region,
such as DG Hogarth and Gilbert Clayton.

But Lawrence’s suggestions came across opposition by the British
administration in Mesopotamia.

The map shows that the opinions of those who knew the region well
were often ignored

Hania Farhan

Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence biographer and historical adviser to
the exhibition, said the discovery of the map was “particularly
interesting” because “it suggests that Lawrence’s proposals were
taken fairly seriously, at least in London”.

Mr Wilson added that the proposals “would have provided the region
with a far better starting point than the crude imperial carve-up
agreed by Sykes and Georges-Picot”.

Meanwhile, Hania Farhan, regional director of the Middle East and
North Africa, Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “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 will run from 14 October to 17 April 2006.

It will also include the Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle Lawrence
was riding when he had his fatal accident on 13 May 1935.