865.014/9–1449
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State1
| Participants: | Count Sforza |
| Ambassador Tarchiani | |
| Mr. Acheson | |
| Mr. Achilles | |
| Mr. Unger | |
| Mr. Satterthwaite |
Sforza said that some of his friends in the United Nations were asking what the status of the Italian Colonial problem was. He said [Page 584] the differences between the British and Italians on Tripolitania were lessening. Bevin had told Sforza that he did not want to stay in Tripolitania indefinitely. I said I thought the problem was working itself out. Sforza said the recent compromise with Bevin adopted for the last GA session was not satisfactory to either: Although it resulted in the British and Italians subsequently coming out for independence in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Sforza said the Italians had a good record in Eritrea and that if the majority there are for independence, and he thinks this is true, independence would be possible and would be consistent with the proposal for Libya. Achilles said our reports from Eritrea are conflicting as to the strength of the sentiment for independence. Sforza said he thought Ethiopia should not get what doesn’t and has never belonged to her.
We discussed Tripolitania since Sforza said the British want a longer period of military control than the Italians. I said I thought the British would adjust, but that they want to be there long enough to do something constructive. Sforza said he thought the British want to clear up troubles with Italy and I agreed. Tarchiani said the problem is in the hands of the United Nations. I said if the General Assembly goes along, it should be possible to agree on a commission (advisory council). We would take sympathetic views of Italy’s participation in the life of Tripolitania. Sforza said the Italian policy is to create economic and cultural relations but not political relations. Sforza said Italian parliament realized that the independence of the Arab nations is inevitable. The difficulty is the change-over from military to civilian government. There is no fascism in Tripolitania, but the French are prisoners of the violence of their landowners in North Africa.
We agreed that there should be no trouble in securing Italian trusteeship for Somaliland, although Tarchiani thought there might be trouble with some of the Asiatic states who did not realize it was difficult to create a new state overnight. Sforza said that if something comes out of the Point IV Program for Africa, Somaliland would be less of a burden on Italy. Moreover Somaliland would provide a basis for Italian participation in African development. Twenty-five years of trusteeship would be needed, but in 25 years a colony which could be a state might be worked out. This might well include British Somaliland, but the French would probably never agree to relinquish French Somaliland.
We next discussed Eritrea and agreed that it might be difficult for Eritrea to become an independent state because of its geographic, economic, ethnic, and religious diversity. I suggested that the General Assembly examine the problem of Eritrea to avoid the creation of an independent state which would be a political and economic vacuum. I asked whether it was the Italian suggestion that the disposition [Page 585] of Eritrea should be held up if solutions to the other problems are found. Sforza agreed that those that can be solved should be solved, and that Eritrea could be postponed if the GA cannot agree at this session.
- Drafted by Livingston Lord Satterthwaite, Deputy Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs.↩