723.00/12–150: Telegram
The Ambassador in Peru (Tittmann) to the Secretary of State
292. For Miller. Deptel 152, November 30. Substance of urtel left with Odría and Gallagher as informal memo this afternoon.1 They read it very carefully in presence Barber and myself and while maintaining wholly friendly attitude did not give any indication they would recede one inch from their position. However they both assured us that they would not be precipitate and Gallagher mentioned with smile that Odría had patience of Job. In commenting as they went along Odría and Gallagher raised number of objections to memo and seemed to resent most accusation of belligerency in connection with Ecuador. Gallagher also said very definitely he had made no charges against Colombia as regards Amazon Island and that negotiations with Colombia were continuing in friendly manner. As for court’s observations that Peru had not raised question of “possible surrender of the refugee” to Peru Gallagher claimed that this could not be used as valid argument and asked how Peru could make request for delivery before Haya’s asylum had been declared illegal by court. They said that if court’s decision is not implemented through Haya’s surrender Peru would be made a fool of in eyes of other countries. As to Haya’s prestige they observed that Lombardo Toledano2 and even Stalin enjoyed prestige as well. Without flatly rejecting idea Gallagher anticipates that offers of good offices would get nowhere because Colombians say they would never turn Haya over and Peru will not issue safe-conduct.
Sent Department 292; repeated Bogotá unnumbered.
- Ambassador Tittmann’s note was a close paraphrase of telegram 152 from the second sentence of its second paragraph through the end of its numbered paragraph 4 (third paragraph from the end). However, an equivalent to the last sentence of numbered paragraph 3 of telegram 152 was omitted from the note, whose English and Spanish texts were enclosures 1 and 2, respectively, to despatch 570 from Lima, December 4, 1950, not printed. (723.00/12–450)↩
- Vicente Lombardo Toledano of Mexico, a leader of the Confederación de Trabajadores de América Latina.↩