721.23/1700: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:20 p.m.]
178. My 168, April 20, 2 p.m. The Advisory Committee on Colombia and Peru met this afternoon to consider the text of a document which would constitute the settlement provided for in the Council’s [Page 526] recommendations of March 18.72 This document was accepted and, along with it, the President’s suggestion that it should be presented as the final views of the Committee and not open to amendment. The President requested that those Governments with Legations in Peru and Colombia should support the document through their diplomatic representatives. Please advise me if our representatives will take such action.
At the same time a confidential letter from the President of the Council would be forwarded to Colombia with respect to the use of Colombian troops. Peru would be confidentially apprised thereof. I give below office translations of those two documents.
1. “Recommendations of the Advisory Committee to Colombia and Peru.
The Advisory Committee recommends to the Governments of Colombia and Peru the adoption of the following measures for putting into execution the solutions contained in the report adopted on March 18th by the Council of the League of Nations for the purpose of avoiding any incident susceptible of aggravating the relations between the two countries.
- (1)
- The Governments of the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Peru accept the recommendations approved by the Council of the League of Nations at the meeting of March 18, 1933 in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of article number 15 of the Covenant and declare their willingness to conform thereto.
- (2)
- The Council will appoint a commission which must reach Leticia within a maximum period of 30 days. On the arrival of this commission the Peruvian forces present in this territory shall withdraw at once and the commission, in the name of the Government of Colombia, will take charge of the administration of the territory evacuated by the said forces.
- (3)
- The commission, to maintain order in the territory which it shall administer, shall call upon the military forces of its choice and may enlist the services of such other elements as it may deem necessary.
- (4)
- The commission shall have the right to decide any questions concerning the execution of its mandate. The maximum duration of the functions of the commission shall be one year.
- (5)
- The parties shall inform the Advisory Committee of the Council of the League of Nations of the method according to which they intend to proceed with the negotiations provided for in number 2 of the recommendations of March 18, 1933, and the Committee will report thereon to the Council.
- (6)
- The Council of the League of Nations recalls to the parties that it has declared that it is disposed to lend its good offices upon the request of one or the other of the parties in case of disagreement either with regard to the procedure to be followed or with regard to any question of substance which may arise. The Council has considered that it should not cease to follow developments in the dispute.
- (7)
- The Government of the Republic of Colombia will bear the expenses occasioned by the functioning of the commission and the administration of the territory concerning which a mandate is conferred upon the said commission.
- (8)
- In consequence of the acceptance of the above proposals the Governments of Colombia and Peru shall give the necessary orders so that any act of hostility may cease on the part of the one or the other and so that the military forces of each country may remain strictly within their respective boundaries.”73
2. “Private and confidential communication to Colombia.
The President of the Advisory Committee, duly authorized by it, has the honor to inform the representative of Colombia that the Council will be requested to give instructions to the effect that for the purpose of carrying out clause 3 of the agreement approved by the Council and adopted by the Governments of Colombia and of Peru, the commission, which will be named to take charge of the administration of the territory evacuated by the Peruvian forces, will call solely on Colombian military and police forces, which the Republic of Colombia agrees to put at the disposal of the commission. This does not prevent the commission having the right of enlisting the services of military or other experts of non-Colombian nationality which the commission shall have at its disposal for the better execution of its duties.”
The representative of the Netherlands made a further statement with regard to the Peruvian vessels which called at Curaçao. After reciting the facts of the arrival of the vessels and the limited permission for revictualment accorded them, it appeared that the commander of the vessels left without revealing his destination and after a protest against the insufficiency of supplies which he was permitted to take on board. The Peruvian Government has protested to the Dutch Government with regard to the time limit and the limited amount of supplies permitted its ships and for the refusal to permit one of them to be dry docked.
Lester announced that the Colombian representative had notified him that Colombia was withdrawing its request for facilities for hydroplanes, since the Peruvian squadron had left the vicinity of the Colombian coast.