890D.01/5–3145: Telegram
The Minister to Syria and Lebanon (Wadsworth) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 31—4:54 p.m.]
170. I have just received through Satterthwaite and British military courier a message addressed to President Truman handwritten and signed by President Quwatly this morning reading in original French text as follows:
“Syria is the object of widespread destruction. French bombs have been showered pitilessly on peaceful unarmed cities.
“Horns, llama and Aleppo have been subjected to unparalleled bombardments. For 3 days Damascus, the city that is historic and holy for the Arab and Moslem world, has been subjected to savage bombardments by planes, artillery and tanks. Fires following the bombardments have broken out everywhere. Entire sections and streets have been ravaged by fire, bombs and destruction. Several thousand persons have been killed and wounded in the streets and under the ruins. Bombardments and machine guns continue exterminating peaceful men, women and children.
“All these killings are supposed to be justified only because we refused to grant special privileges to France incompatible with our sovereignty and independence. Our country is destroyed despite assurances given by Allies recognizing our independence. I cite among these assurances the last letter that the lamented President Roosevelt addressed to me personally and signed a few hours before his death.88
“We are convinced that the sentiments of democracy, justice and peace of the United States will not allow the continuation of the destruction of Damascus and other Syrian cities and the extermination of its peaceful populations in (several words missing). Do not democratic and human principles require that an end be put to these massacres?”
Satterthwaite adds that a similar message has been sent to Churchill.
- For President Roosevelt’s letter of April 12, 1945, to President Kuwatly, see p. 704. This message, however, dealt with the Palestine question and did not contain assurances about Syrian independence. It is possible that the Syrian President was referring to President Roosevelt’s letter of December 7, 1944, Foreign Relations, 1944, vol. v, p. 812.↩