740.0011 Pacific War/3729
The Swiss Minister ( Bruggmann ) to the Secretary of State
Th. 1.
The Minister of Switzerland presents his compliments to the Honorable the Secretary of State and has the honor to refer to the Minister’s note of February 4, 1944, and to submit a further communication from the Government of Thailand which has been received from the Federal Political Department in Bern, with the request that it be transmitted to the Government of the United States:
“Anglo-American aeroplanes have been dropping bombs on the entire area of Bangkok causing serious damages to the people, dwellings as well as temples and schools and inflicting a heavy list of casualties among the civilian population while Thailand has never committed similar acts upon her enemies. His Majesty’s Government consider the indiscriminate bombing abovementioned as being contrary to the general principles of international law as well as the principles of humanity and register vigorous protest against such unjustifiable acts of destruction.”
The Minister would be grateful to the Honorable the Secretary of State for an acknowledgment of this communication.27
- Acknowledgment was made by the Secretary of State on March 3. In a memorandum of April 25, the Department informed the British Embassy that no further reply to the Swiss notes was contemplated (740.00117 PW/101). In a note of December 1, the Secretary of State informed the British Ambassador (Halifax) that “The United States Government has now decided to make a definitive reply to the protests received from the Thai Government.” (740.00116 PW/10–1144)↩