Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume IV

711.60H/7–2347

The American Embassy in Yugoslavia to the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry ¹

No. 672

The American Embassy presents its compliments to the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has the honor to refer to the Ministry’s Note No. 47923 of May 15, 1947 in which the Ministry questions the validity of the grounds on which the United States Government has declined to issue passports to American citizens for the purpose of visiting Yugoslavia.²

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs under point (a) states:

“That American citizens in Yugoslavia as, after all, foreigners in general, enjoy full liberty and that Yugoslav authorities do not prevent them from maintaining every possible contact with their diplomatic and consular representatives, nor do they hinder such representatives in performing their legal competence.”

In this connection the Embassy, under instructions from its Government, invites the Ministry’s attention to the following cases which are typical of those in which this Embassy has encountered difficulties in rendering assistance and protection to American citizens in Yugoslavia; further cases are omitted for the sake of brevity.

1. When the first American transport plane was shot down by Yugoslav fliers in August, 1946, American crew members were held incommunicado nine days by the Yugoslav authorities; during that time the United States representatives were not permitted to see them.³

2. Mrs. Florence Rottman, an American citizen, was held incommunicado for over five months by the Yugoslav authorities without any charges being preferred against her.

3. Joseph and John Klein, American citizens and brothers, were imprisoned for four months by the Yugoslav authorities after being arrested the very day the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Embassy that they would be permitted to depart from Yugoslavia.

4. Rade Kockarov, an American citizen, was arrested and detained for several months by the Yugoslav authorities for refusing to vote in Yugoslav elections for the reason that he was an American citizen.

5. Vladimir Wiwcharovsky, an American citizen, was held by the Yugoslav authorities for over ten months and was at the same time dispossessed of all documents proving his American citizenship. The Yugoslav authorities have even yet not returned them to this Embassy. This is only one of many cases in which documents, including valid American passports, have been taken from American citizens and have yet to be returned despite repeated requests by the Embassy.

6. Roy H. Stoeckel, an American citizen, was arrested by the Yugoslav authorities on or about July 20, 1946. Although the American Embassy made repeated inquiries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the whereabouts of Mr. Stoeckel, it was not until September 21 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted to the Embassy that Mr. Stoeckel was in the custody of the Yugoslav authorities. Furthermore, in spite of repeated requests, it was not until November 15, almost four months later, that an official of the United States Government was permitted to visit Mr. Stoeckel at the prison where he was being detained.

7. Ivan Pintar, an American citizen, was tried and found guilty on charges of having been a member of a subversive group. The principal point brought out in the evidence against him was that he had stated that he would seek aid of the American Consulate in Zagreb, though he did not in fact approach the Consulate. Despite this he was sentenced to death, a sentence later reduced to 20 years imprisonment. Prior to the trial of Mr. Pintar, the Prime Minister of the Government of Croatia told the American Consul at Zagreb, that an espionage charge against Mr. Pintar had not been established, and the Chief Secretary of the Government of Croatia assured the Consul that no charge had been made, and none was intended, on grounds that Mr. Pintar was an American spy. In spite of the foregoing, in the judgment handed down by the court, Mr. Pintar was found guilty under Section 3(10) of the “Law on Criminal Acts Against the People and State,” which section relates to persons engaged in espionage.

8. Although the United States Government has repeatedly requested permission for its representatives to visit claimants to American citizenship who are detained in camps by the Yugoslav authorities, such permission has been consistently refused; and although the Yugoslav Government has denied the existence of forced labor in Yugoslavia as affecting American citizens, on May 5, 1947 the Ministry itself brought to the Embassy’s attention the case of an American citizen who had been forcibly detained for two years and employed in work for which she received no remuneration.

The Embassy has been pleased to note on several recent occasions that the Yugoslav authorities have cooperated with the Embassy in the latter’s endeavors to provide appropriate protection for American citizens. While confident that the Yugoslav authorities will continue to extend this gratifying cooperation in the protection of American citizens, the Government of the United States feels in the light of the above record that it would be premature to permit American citizens to come to Yugoslavia except for compelling reasons.

The Ministry’s attention is also invited to the following pertinent matters:

1. On May 2 the American Chargé d’Affaires, traveling with other officials of the Embassy, was detained at Pec, his diplomatic card and camera and those of the other members of the party were taken by Yugoslav officials, insulting remarks were made to him, and his efforts to establish his diplomatic immunity were summarily rejected.⁴ On May 30 a film was confiscated from Captain Heubner, pilot of the Embassy plane, who was taking photographs in the old quarter of Sarajevo, and on June 12 a film was confiscated from Miss Buck, a clerk of the Embassy, on the ground that she had photographed a “military installation,” to wit, the ancient and historic bridge at Mostar. The Embassy has found also that its employees have encountered serious difficulties in obtaining living quarters and have been subjected on occasions to humiliating interference in the occupancy of their quarters, while, in the performance of their functions they would normally have the assistance, rather than encounter the obstruction of local authorities.

The Ministry will appreciate that if these incidents can happen to the Acting Head of the Embassy and to other officials and members of the Embassy staff (some of whom speak Serbo-Croatian) who enjoy diplomatic immunity or the customary privileges accorded to personnel of diplomatic missions, a far more serious danger exists that such incidents might occur to American tourists who do not have this status and do not speak the Serbo-Croatian language.

2. Despite the provisions of Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention of Commerce and Navigation of 1881, now in effect between Yugoslavia and the United States, American citizens cannot travel throughout the country without special permits. The Ministry’s records will show that even non-commissioned members of the Embassy staff have been unable to obtain permits for desired trips, despite repeated assurances that Embassy personnel would not encounter difficulties in this regard.

3. The Embassy is in entire accord with the Ministry that it is incumbent on foreigners to observe the laws of the country in which they may be traveling. The Ministry will nevertheless appreciate that American citizens are accustomed to express their opinions with a freedom which is not in practice permitted under Yugoslav laws. The Government of the United States would not wish its citizens without willful intent on their part to be exposed to the danger of serious contravention of Yugoslav laws by expressing opinions of governmental personalities and policies, a right which in the United States is guaranteed by fundamental law.

4. Prices in Yugoslavia in terms of dollars at official exchange rates are exorbitant? At the same time Yugoslav dinars can be purchased outside of the country at a fifth the official rate. Under these circumstances many tourists coming to Yugoslavia would doubtless undertake, even though in violation of Yugoslav exchange regulations, to bring the dinars they needed into the country. This might well result in a series of disagreeable incidents.

On the matter of the food situation in Yugoslavia, which is the subject of point (c) of the Ministry’s Note under reference, and with regard to which reference is made to a statement of the Department of State dated March 15,⁵ it is important to note that that statement did not say that the food situation in Yugoslavia was “satisfactory.” The statement said:

“The United States Government cannot conclude that the needs of Yugoslavia for free relief are in the same category as those of certain of the other devastated countries … the amount which the United States can move for export in those two months (March and April) and the diversion of shipments to Yugoslavia during those months would necessitate reductions in amounts already determined to be of greater necessity to other countries. Whether a small allocation from United States sources could be made in May or June would depend on a confirmed showing by the Yugoslav Government of a serious Yugoslav need in relation to other critically deficient countries.”

Furthermore, the Department’s Note of April 16 to the Yugoslav Embassy in Washington was not limited to a mention of “recent public statements concerning the acute food shortage in Yugoslavia.” That note specifically referred to two public pronouncements by Yugoslav officials regarding the reported Yugoslav situation.

The Government of the United States shares the Yugoslav Government’s conviction that mutual understanding between the peoples of Yugoslavia and the United States of their life and work is one of the basic conditions for closer relations between the two countries. Nevertheless, until it is clear that American citizens can travel freely within Yugoslavia in accordance with their treaty rights and free of molestation within the norms of tourist travel which prevail in other countries, the Government of the United States believes that incidents might readily arise which would prejudice rather than ameliorate the relations between the United States and Yugoslavia.

The first paragraph of Section 2 of the Ministry’s Note acknowledges in effect the principle of international law under which it is the sovereign right of any nation to determine under what conditions its nationals may be issued passports or may depart from or enter its territory. The various considerations set forth above indicate to what degree the Government of the United States has given its attention to the question involved; at the same time it alone must determine what control it should exercise over the travel of American citizens, and must deny the right of any other Government to question its policy in this matter.

The Embassy takes this occasion to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the assurances of its high consideration.

Belgrade, July 22, 1947.

1. The delivery of this note was authorized in telegram 453, July 13, to Belgrade, not printed (711.60H/5–2347). The source text was transmitted to the Department as an enclosure to despatch 24, July 23, from Belgrade, not printed.
2. The Department of State’s restrictive policy with respect to the issuance of passports to American citizens valid for Yugoslavia had elicited several oral and one written protest from the Yugoslav Embassy dated April 2. In a note to the Yugoslav Ambassador dated April 16, the Acting Secretary of State explained that in view of the difficulties which American diplomatic and consular officials had encountered in their efforts to render assistance and protection to American citizens in Yugoslavia, the Department of State felt it would be remiss in its duties to American citizens should it issue passports freely for travel in Yugoslavia prior to the time when they might be permitted to travel freely and safely and be given aid and protection not only by the Yugoslav Government but also by the United States Government. The Acting Secretary’s note also cited the inadequacies of transportation to, from, and within Yugoslavia, the meagerness of hotel or other living accommodations in Yugoslavia, and the recent public statements concerning the acute food shortage (138 Yugoslavia/21). In its note No. 47923 to the Embassy in Yugoslavia, a copy of which was transmitted to the Department as an enclosure to despatch 887, May 23, from Belgrade, neither printed, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry had discussed the Acting Secretary’s note of April 16 (711.60H/5–2347).
3. For documentation regarding the downing of two American transport aircraft over Yugoslavia in August 1946, see Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. vi, pp. 867 ff.
4. Regarding the incident under reference, see telegram 455, May 6, from Belgrade, p. 794.
5. For the text of the Department of State statement under reference, see Department of State Bulletin, March 30, 1947, p. 585.