WAR OVER THE WHALES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000600090077-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 17, 1999
• Sequence Number: 77
• Publication Date: November 25, 1954
• Content Type: NSPR

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TINES WEEKLY REVIEW NOV 25 164
Approved For Release 2000/05/24: CIA-RDER-E11419ROOCSWW.17[7-6
STATINTL
Tl c, ,11)(17bbri 0
Is i ii ann
Luiliziv Pi ',if:rift:7, ?,, oudEtonIT"Th
? no og dun 1 ni hnr,
While the paitiful"eislinite
)Pritai-6, d'1tisml,Fitf,ItaVetixe
ghts to 1 ir8;f11%pfth
break fast Pa' 49612 Fillt5zii2d;
sm
iilar. citiartel which ha5. been o, mg up
iftbr s(Irriel eorin,111021.1,PU'l
udOetfixoap itil41,9iir9.14fiARy cm)
Tempers' in more qropiciiihdlatititidn 'aft
otter, gtOs f,,.haystogoKi, nd
prisoners ;.have dbetmetakendi illhailigh the
a.dyoeateV,in- Irgivc-,taktin
father cgtretent iegal ts,fl are all
discussing one fundamlal issue; who
oWns. tffee?p, -arid
,
' The.* two ; ay f .bypplosourAnfilltiiir
eases iti vhieh thisv.. truiestiolumhita?, Wen
raised ih tpi?larrorfalrlyi giffVeirtfretviLli. 11()Iti
1 95 I, for tiastance,f. tht .1exinandriVAC6urt
Intettilationdl 1'rh4." vnt:Effp
t4 the, of q engion;Lok4ther;ilinitts,.
u c Ifii911$54,,i7MAAg".f.,,,vravt
the seas over .0,11)-idli 4tionway ]arlaioned
,spvereitmcy This ca% ccigserwd wAaJla re
aiIed teryritotial qvalst,
;the short1;.-whiuh.diasiikraclitithla(tytitiecn
soyefei ,Nore'llri-
Stiq,At14. gen jUr 'giAd 'it'd,' be
three trifles wide. .11. mor ii ,Issue was
?, .
laised). !,/h$11PE.'i 4.aip tyy,, ow, Persian
egec irositc pder the
clabinedivecreigq,Moyer kbAsp-called
- e3Ontmontalashelf,:mthgit bunitlAof 'gently
islorping'gropirdl.tiivIriehre2hyPiteit dktericls
'44 a great'et tor less he utArer vater
before the eventual ?teep plun'g,e-into- the
can -depthr7C-elTain AuStillan Pro-
ecL, ewhat
'
ni
up at)
shelf.. ?RI
cv41,-kay
doettine
Nc4;10`_p
ceded-I
bound b
bee le
clip
their case, -
of Va..'
d6fiafill
factocy
s (-9
16600
toqt fal
atIft.w Id
g
th:' S If
r 'as
it hut to
and allenge
overe .jaake :g
any in September the shi
sea?tvin Wlirftri? i an
gneigi can,haye mord:
riglAAgq adv a Ilkcenpiomt,,gf, int,y,rnational&
law.pn Mac ONASSIS, w,lis:44Fogaf Greek
blood, isibeg zAzgeritine Stibject. His
2'' .2,
?
,
, ft R111110,T)P ". a prima facie concern with any that to
iiiiiartr0 peace, or The Hague Court, to which the
1111 .10 21-101.111:1'); 7111 Claw Dcn-.
.1'm f! 1 "ig
w f..1.1 ?
whaling ships altsiviijai gp111),,,I,Cerowls
vith! a .few, liars,Niqg oppgrs?fliind
th.cy. sIallrAfg 3 tiPan 0-m.-o
te: whigioDhat au not stee.ceptexbi . /three
of their sovel41YYA
Whether this flag is the ifrailignatifirefff Alit
freeclimigip4irigie;,.,spa,s, as MR. ONAS'SIS
maintains,' exidgtindistinguishable from, tlic
Jolly 1,tioggr,;:r4,1Tiatii is' theVertivian view,
depends.atifie 'hififnCnt"Sti-`401?Rst-ye is
set to the idlcs2,Pe. stfulirPea 7-ias' Sent
out her navy, with airl.supporas,--aind
naturally the heavy a.rmament;asqon
4.,heo immediate ivictory.?whPther bY.!i the
'.WiV51,ikiz shot 7-l'Of ` rotott
ibV/iltiiiicl'or the '' 12.ornbardrnent " dr'
btsts is' 'scarcely material'. ?di
This, it may be hoped, is the beginawg
and the end of active oppratiqiis,.ankit
now remains to tra"risiet' dfsVueds'Io
Lottod' jiictgajenfr 41,.COrope'irtrybogi01---
h 7.
r&her tire, cAlb .Councilu' yfAisti
sca-rt"
i. 1 gunaetitZ MR. 'ASSN, of I,
JLP gjo4 Ctr nro iffhPr
It ILL11111, LPL Ink I la IllJW3 AJ
, States,
thc 0,
-already
I ?
-
.1'
t individuals; ,but presunbTy
nment of' Panatialwibieif has
otested tor eru,1.-W4Ilik4erld the
rights of its flag. Great Britain has a
great, perhaps thehgreategilnifYietkt in the
widest freedomrof the high iseakain time
ibf'peiee. ' The. most rent ftentormlional
littetilet6 deal witiOhPundiftWiti 4sue
tig5
is?prOably that 'cqn't4iii-cd irq raft
Articles , on the Cont:triental?,?, - l'Und
Related Subjects" adopted kyrthivinter-
national Law Commiss " ion ark organ a
the United Nations: - v
!.../.._ sJuin Ir- 1. .
7.? -
'-rhe re ?uthtieniltif 'efitarylfitihtIMS" may be
26ncietta 01 OS, k?l'iu'Oeas a the high seas
feronitigiltifits ItlYtit l'erlrItot4?al Witterst where such
fisheries fl!EVel g been maintained and con-
ducted by nationals of that State, provided
that non-nationals are permitvilao participate
in the fishing activities on an cam:if-footing
with wationhls. Siktrregutation will; however,
not affect the genertil katus of the afeas ds
high seas. _, . _ - . ,. L
This excellent definition" Of the-idelal;hoW-
ever, has not yet acquired the status of
international law.
.,411,, ...Nov, ? ni
CPYRGHT
Approved For Release 2000/05/24: CIA-RDP75-00149R000600090077-6
ri/ A c.T.Teri%MIN STAR
Alerfat
Joachim Joesten
A rce clash of national as
welt' as private interests has
been in progress for some time
in the oil-rich desert kingdom
of .Saudi Arabia. The stakes
are high. They include 'a $70,0
million American investment,
which is now seriously endan-
gered by a threat of ultimate
expropriation.
Principal protagonists in the;
bizarre, multilateral conflict
are:
? The new King of Saudi
Arabia and two of his.brothers,
both Cabinet ministers.
? The Arabian American Gil
Co. -(Aramco) .
? German industrialists in the
Rftlir industry.
is The ?wealthy international
shipping operator-, Aristotle So-
crates Onassis.
In the background looms the
bitter feud between Israel and
the Arab League,, which is be-
ing further envenomed by 1M-
gering Nazi Influences M the.,
Near East. . ' /
How It Started
? The story?which ha* rhalV -
elements of a real life "foreign:
intrigue" thriller?begins ofie
year ago. Outraged, King Saud named. ' ?
. a committee ..of investigation
Old King DM Saud, oneOr:. headed, by p n.
prince Sultan, the
the last and most colorful g.if '
. . , . Ministers,of Agriculture. Early
feudal despots, was lying .ne - e .,.,, last Alighst, the Saudi police
death in his sumptuous sum- :' cracked __down. on "Gdvenco."
mer palace ,at Tail, near I The dobit of its cenkal office
Mecca'. For mol'e than half. a were nailed up With botirds,
century, the fierce, one-eyed and all Mail, incoming as well
warrior had ruled his arid- as outgoing, was seized.
realm with .an iron hand, but, ' ,.
For seven weeks, the entire
now his strength.' was ebbing. ! staff of the German fiem were
Crippled - by arthritis, rand_4 held in ctistody, their pass-
suffering from a heart disease? ports having beer withdraw(
' the -Arab King was beset by , by the police, .Herr Starke alio
serious financial troubles,, other members of the firm were
At the time the most poi- King Onassis. grilled in ;Viet One Cierivali
ful man in Saudi Arabia, out-_ newspaper described as "higelv
?
side of the royal family, was Oriental fashion."
the Minister of Econoity-and Pitied !Faisal, who became Shiek Stilaiiiian suddenly re--"c
Finance, Sheik Abdullah.?Anle Foreign -Minister, and Prince signed for reasons of health
Sultan; Wrib.was made Minister
simen, who had been keeper of and has not been lice. - t..i
the royal purse for over - 30 . of Agriculture. since.
" aars, Ibn Saud had good In the following months. a The mem i Were finally per-
.?"
r eacio,n to .be grateful to the n number of remarkable events mitted to leave the country,
for it was he Who in . happened in quick succession. early in -October, after United
11)?Z/1936 had played a lead- , A steady stream of German States Ambassador George
ing role in negotiating the . engineers and technicians be- Wadsworth also had interceded
profitable Aramco contreet. gan pouring into Saudi Arabia. for 'them,
.. ,.." By midsummer of this year . Last week, the picture was
Fund-Raising Mission _ .. - the brand-new German colony further comPlicated by an . al-
Early ' on October, ' 1953, ranked second in numbers only legation by a Greek claiming
Sheik Sulaiman, at thel).ea,d of to the long-established Amen- to have been an agent of Mr.
an 18-man delegation, 'de- can group, centered on the Onassis' that Commerce Min-
parted on a fund-reitSircg mise Ararnco-operated oil fields. ister Ali Reza had been in the
,
sion to Western. Germany. Two of the .most important Onassis camp 'because of pay-
Second most prominent mem- German concerns who were ment of a million-dollar batibe,
her of his party ' Was Sheik called in by the new regime to be divided among several
Mohamed ' Abdullah Ali Reza,. were Siemens & Halske of Ben- palace officials. .
who at the tune was president lin, who got a $2 million order The Saudi Arabia eontraet
of the Saudi Arabian Chamber for telephone installations and with Mr. Onassis still stands,
of commerce. This man has . "Govenco," a firm of consult- of 'course, and therein' lies an-
since been officially identified ing engineers specially formed other tale. There are several
(in the preamble to the famous for . this purpose by two big discriminatory clauses, such as
Jiddah agreement of January West German contractors the one barring Jews from
20, 1954) as "representative Of (Hansa-Stahl of Duesseldorf Onassis-controlled companies,
A. S. Onassis." 'Most signifi- and Julius Berger, Wiesbaden)... and a pledge not to trade with
canny, he is new. Minister_ of .. Early this - year, "GoWitico"' Israel.
Commerce. ,' . --, v:" --: - -e.,---. raved intd;Saudr 'Arabia with But the real story behind
7 ' 'Me Sulainidn mission pent --- - 160 engineers and-technielans,, the contract 18 more shocking: .
several weeks in Germany; vie-. ' who set up a big planning office young King- gaud obviously is
iting Bonn, Berlin, Hamburg, at Jiddah, under a contract clearing the deeks for eventual
Duesseldorf and Essen, among signed January 1, 1954, with expropriation of the American
. other cities. The Germans the new government, oil companies' $700 million in-
leaned over backward to ac-
commodate the visitors from Enter Onassi vestment in Saudi Arabia.
s : Aramco's contract still has
.: Arabia. They were lodged in Less than three weeks later, 30 years to go, but .the pace at
ethe swankiest hotel suites and the oil transport monopoly which Saudi Arabia is moving
, showered with luxuries. The pact between king Saud (rep- . indicates little hope that the
., Arabs repaid their hosts with resented by Sheik Sulaiman) company will last that long.
ornate compliments. and A. S. Onassis was dsigned. The Saudi' Arabian Maritime
, "I thank merciful God that Onassis, it should be remem- Tankers Co., which Mr. Onas-
' He allowed me to watch this lered in this respect, has close sis. is setting up, will be more
spectacle," th e 68-year-old economic ties with Germany than a shipping firm. It will
-Sheik Suleiman exclaimed as through his shipbuilding and train a Saudi Arabian men-
he Stood gazing at the indus- Whaling activities, chant marine.
;. trial beehive of the Oberhausen Between these two deals As soon as King Saud thinks
, steel plant in the Ruhr. The King Saud gave a strong hint his own crews and tankers are
party also visited the nearby of his future policies with a ready, the world can look for
Krupp works and famed Villa virulent speech at Riyad, in a new expropriation move a la
,- ifuegel, residence of the Krupp which he assailed Israel as a Mossadegh in Iran. The new
family. "cancer" that must be "up- Saudi Arabian monarch , has
: Shortly after the delegation rooted." And a few months profited from Mr. Mossadegh's
returned home, King Ibn Saud later Baud sent the American mistakes. v
died on November 9, 1953. He Economic Mission home, Theie. When King Saud is ready
Doptolt,vo hvomdiesk000s ..stronz_. in clicathom that for hs big move, he'll have
h9ci Wii, ...V1?.41110Riteleat49FittlX)060009007e7a6s and all
took several of his brothers assistance to Israel was the the technical help he needs
Into his cabinet, in particular dominant motive. keep the Saudi oilfields Ong.
?
5I) R Lief IL
g
60590
- Meanwhile, looked as
mugc Cormanc mere Q
.ing to take over Saudi Arabia
lock, stock and? barrel. But
then a curious incident oc-
curred that uPNet carefully
laid plans,
Two ?of "Govenco's"- chief
'executives, ? Henrich Starke,
. managing director, and his aA-
sistant, Kurt Banse, quarreled
The latter, fired from a $1,000-
, a-montil job, took vengeance
, by whisperined, long story of
t vibes and kickbacks into 'or-
. eign Minister -prince Faisal's
ears. I
. According to nse, the Ger-
man firm ad secured its juicy
" contract with the royal gov-
ernment by- p-hying plenty of
graft monesr-to a izoung man
named Mohaened Ali Musty.
who happened to be the son of
the top -official under the Min-
ister of Ecotiolnics and Fi-
nance.
The government controller
appointed, by Sheik Suleiman
to supervise "Govenco's" op-
erations wai. also getting a fat
commission im? all contracts
approved by him, Banse
Desert King Saud. ,
charged. ?
Probe taunChed
STAT I NT L
CPYRGHT