851.01/3292: Telegram
The American Representative to the French Committee of National Liberation (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:52 p.m.]
276. For President. My 245, December 23,39 and your cable to General Eisenhower from Agwar number 5752, December 26.40
[Page 198]I have told Massigli that as he had doubtless inferred the arrests of these three persons had in fact caused the strongest reaction in Washington and London and that instructions of a serious nature had been received. I said in view of information he had furnished in our informal discussions as to manner in which French Committee proposed to deal with these cases, it had been possible for the moment to delay action on these instructions. I said, however, action could not be delayed much longer and that in my judgment the only solution of this question would be for him to furnish without delay definite assurances from French Committee that (1) trials of these individuals will not be held until after liberation of France and establishment of constitutional government and, (2) meanwhile, these individuals will be held under conditions which are not of a prison regime and that they will live under such conditions as will afford proper food and care.
He said to me last night that he had reported our conversation (Macmillan had a similar one) to the Committee and that active consideration was now being given by their constitutional lawyers to the preparation of a decree which through granting the right of appeal in case a decision should be rendered by the examining magistrate that it was in order to proceed to trial, would enable the Committee in fact to defer the trial until after liberation of France and return to a constitutional government. He said that the difficulty they were encountering in this respect arose from the necessary separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. He said that while it was impossible in his judgment that the examining magistrate could in fact find it possible to proceed to trial, nevertheless in order to give the assurances requested, and since under existing practice the executive could not bind the judiciary, it would be necessary to enact some new provision under which the French Committee could intervene and prevent the trial.
As regards the second point he told me that the Commissioner for War41 was now engaged in locating and furnishing a proper residence on the outskirts of Algiers where these three men would live under satisfactory conditions.
Massigli said that he hopes shortly to be in a position to furnish the assurance requested.
I might add, with reference to my 245, that the Committee has already issued decree which Massigli assured me they would do, in the sense of conferring authority upon the examining magistrate to rule that the trial may be postponed until after liberation of France.