WSPC00460 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

001387 irrigation, any work whioh might sensibly modify that river's flow into the Nile (Art. III). The Atbara is a tributary of the Nile and flows from its souroe in the mountains of Ethiopia in a north-westerly direotion to its junoture with the Nile, just above Berber in the Sudan. It has three prinoipa1 tributary streams, all in the mountains of Ethiopia, but Italian ambitions in the nineties made the possibility appear not remote that most of its souroes might soon lie within Italian jurisdiotion. (Herts1et, Commercial Treaties, XIX, 686-688). (2) Emperor Menelik II, King of Kings, of Ethiopia, agreed in a treaty signed May 15, 1902, with Great Britain, "not to oonstruct, or allow to be oon- struoted, any work aoross the Blue Nile, Lake Tsana or the Sobat, whioh would arrest the flow of their waters into the Nile exoept in agreement with His Britannio Majesty's Government and the Government of the Sudan" (Art. III). (3) In a treaty dated May 9, 1906, the Independent State of the Congo (now a Belgian Colony) undertook "not to oonstruot, or allow to be oonstructed, any work on or near the Sam1iki or Isango River, whioh would diminish the volume of water entering Lake Albert, except in agreement with the Soudanese Government" (Art. III), (Herts1et, Map of Afrioa by Treaty, II, 585). (4) Deoember 13, 1906, Great Britain, Franoe and Italy, signed an agree- ment to preserve the integrity of Ethiopia and provided further that they would safeguard "the interests of Great Britain and Egypt in the Nile Basin, more espeoial1y as regards the regulation of the waters of that river and its tribu- taries (due consideration being paid to looa1 interests) ....;" (Art. IV (a)) (Herts1et, Map of Afrioa by Treaty, II, 442). ~' I I I f; (5) This prinoiple was reaffirmed in an exchange of notes between Great Britain and Italy, Deoember 14/20, 1925, wherein it was provided that Italy recognized the prior hydraulio right of Egypt and the Sudan in their headwaters of the Blue and ~bite Nile rivers and their tributaries, and agreed not to con- struct, there, any works whioh might sensibly modify their flow. And also that Great Britain and Italy agreed that the existing uses of the inhabitants of the region should be maintained and that they might be extended where necessary to produoe food orops for their own sustenanoe or domestio use or where used for hy- drau1io power (50 L.N.T.S. 282). In the Italian note of Deoember 20, 1925, the foLJwing statements are madel "On their side the Italian Government reoognizing the prior hydraulio rights of Egypt and the Sudan, engage not to oonstruot on the head waters of the Blue Nile and the White Nile and their tributaries and aff1uents any work whioh might sensibly modify their flow into the main river. "I note that His Britannio Majesty's Government have every intention of respeoting the existing water rights of the population of the neighbouring territories whioh enter into the sphere of exolusive outline and eoonomio inf1uenoe. It is understood that, in so far as is possible and is -4-