718.1915/703
The Minister in Panama (South) to the Secretary of
State
[Extract]
Panama, February 2,
1925.
[Received February 13.]
No. 628
Sir: Referring to the Department’s telegram
No. 10 of January 23, 4 p.m., and confirming my telegram No. 13 of
January 30, 11 a.m.,24 I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of
a note dated January 29, 1925 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
in which is set forth the attitude of the Panaman Government with
regard to the settlement of the Costa Rica boundary question. A
translation of the above note is also inclosed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This morning I received a note dated January 30, 1925, a copy and
translation of which are enclosed, informing me that the Government
of Panama considers it essential that some agreement along the lines
specified in the communication of January 29th be reached, before
Panama can name its engineer to proceed with the demarcation of the
boundary line.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure 1—Translation25]
The Panaman Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Alfaro) to the
American Minister (South)
Panama, January 29,
1925.
S. P. No. 249
Mr. Minister: I have received Your
Excellency’s kind note No. 310 of the 20th [sic] instant in which you inform me, pursuant to
instructions from your Government, that the Government of Costa
Rica has approached the Department of State with a view to the
demarcation of the boundary between Panama and Costa Rica. Your
Excellency states that this matter has been pending for many
years without any advance having been made in its final
determination, and that the Government of Costa Rica is
naturally anxious to settle it in order to avoid disagreeable
and regrettable frontier incidents. Your Excellency suggests
that now that there are new administrations in both Panama and
Costa Rica, since the painful incidents of 1921, it should be
possible to dispose of this matter without further friction.
Finally Your Excellency states that your Government would be
happy to have Panama appoint its engineer to delimit, in
conjunction with those named by the arbitrator and by the
Government of Costa Rica, the frontier as set forth in the
arbitral award.
[Page 473]
In reply I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that Panama
also earnestly desires to end forever the boundary question with
Costa Rica; but as the Republic of Panama in 1921 was the victim
of an unjustifiable aggression which at that time obliged it to
make heavy expenditures, my Government feels that the settlement
of the pecuniary claim should be considered a question precedent
to the demarcation of the frontier.
Once this question has been settled the Government of Panama
would be disposed to proceed with the delimitation, in
accordance with the line fixed in the arbitral award,26 from the
mouth of the Sixaola River to the point near the ninth degree of
north latitude beyond Cerro Pando, and would accept the rest of
the delimitation as far as the Pacific coast, it being always
understood that in making this delimitation of the territory a
just line will be established which protects the interests of
the Panamans who live or hold properties in the region in
controversy, permitting, as far as may be practicable, the lands
of the said inhabitants or owners to remain within the frontiers
of Panama. This could be done by the mere signing of a protocol
in which would be incorporated the instructions which could be
carried out by the Boundary Commissioners. The proposed solution
does not involve any new feature inasmuch as the President of
France, in explaining his decision at the request of Costa Rica,
declared that the lines of the award were general, and that they
remained subject to the changes which the Boundary Commissioners
might consider necessary to make when setting the landmarks,
taking into consideration the best interests of the two
countries.
To carry out the proposed solutions along the lines above
described, Panama is disposed to enter into direct negotiations
with Costa Rica as soon as possible. My Government wishes to
have it understood, however, that in making these proposals it
is animated by a spirit of pure conciliation, and that this
attitude does not imply in any manner that Panama accepts the
validity of the arbitral award, to which, it is understood, the
note of Your Excellency refers.
I avail myself [etc.]
[Enclosure
2—Translation]
The Panaman Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Alfaro) to the
American Minister (South)
Panama, January 30,
1925.
S. P. No. 262
Mr. Minister: With reference to our
interview of this morning permit me to inform Your Excellency
that the Government of Panama considers that in order to proceed
with the nomination of the
[Page 474]
Panaman engineer who should participate in
the demarcation of the boundary line with Costa Rica, it is
essential that a previous agreement be reached along the lines
indicated in the note which I had the honor to address to Your
Excellency dated the 29th instant, numbered S. P. 249.
I avail myself [etc.]
