740.00115A PW/9–1144: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)
3133. American Interests—Philippines. Request Swiss Government to communicate following message to Gorgé to be delivered textually to the Japanese Government:
The Government of the United States has received from reliable sources information that certain American civilian internees in the Philippine Islands have been removed from the Los Baños Camp to Fort McKinley where a major ammunition dump for central Luzon is maintained.
As Article 9 of the Geneva Prisoners of War Convention provides that no prisoner may, at any time, be sent into a region where he might be exposed to the fire of the combat zone, nor used to give protection from bombardment to certain points or certain regions by his presence, the action taken by the Japanese authorities constitutes a flagrant violation of the obligation undertaken by it to apply to civilian internees in so far as they are adaptable, the provisions of the Geneva Convention and of its commitment at all times to accord protection and humane treatment to the American nationals in its custody. The United States Government expects that the Japanese Government will at once remove the American nationals at Fort McKinley to a region far enough from military installations for them to be out of danger, and that the Japanese Government will exercise every care to forestall a repetition of the violation of the laws of war in exposing civilian internees or prisoners of war to bombardment by housing them in areas in the vicinity of military objectives.