The Framework of the Struggle: The British and the Federation vs. the NLF

From its inception the South Arabian Federation endured the quite impossible position of a buffer between the British and the radical opposition. A pattern had developed whereby the opposition and the British collided again and again over various matters, the Federation being the battleground. The Federal leaders tried to preserve the Federation by adopting a conciliatory policy towards the ATUC and by escalating their demands to the British. Hasan Bayūmī, the first Chief Minister of the Aden Incorporated Federation ruled firmly and earned respect from all sides. T. Little even described him as a new Nun Sa^cīd. ¹ However, in April 1963 he died. His successor, a 32 year old Adenese of respectable descent, Zayn ^cAbduh Bāharūn, enjoyed less prestige. He tried to conciliate the unions by nominating an independent leftist, ^cAlī Sālim ^cAlī,to the post of Labour Minister. ² Goaded by Luqmān, Bāharūn also pressed the British for a more rapid Adenisation of the Federal bureaucracy and for obtaining authority over the ATUC. ³