Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Near and Middle East, Volume IX, Part 2

641.74/10–352: Telegram

No. 1014
The Ambassador in Egypt (Caffery) to the Department of State¹

secret

Cairo, October 3, 1952—2 p.m.
[Received 3:05 p.m.]

848. Brit Amb saw Naguib last night on Sudan. It was mutually agreed PriMin and Amb wld indicate to press that this was topic of their conv.

Naguib told Stevenson that he cld not give him answer to Brit démarche of Sept 24, prior to his consultations yesterday and today with reps of Sudanese polit parties. He also indicated that pressure of recent domestic polit events, including his tour of Delta, had made it impossible for him to give personal consideration to Brit proposals. He desired to consult his Mil and Cab advisors before making reply.

Stevenson told Naguib that his govt wld have to send its despatch to GovGen of Sudan by Oct 10. Furthermore, it wld be helpful to Eden in his next interview with the Mahdi to have indication of Egypt thinking on this problem. Naguib said he hoped to be able receive Stevenson by Oct 8 or 9 and give him answer. However, even if Brit communication to GovGen had been sent, this wld not preclude Egypt communication fol subsequently altho there were difficulties to be overcome in connection with Egypt declaration that 1899 condominium agreement was abrogated.

When Stevenson referred hopefully to convs his officers had had with Major Salah Salem (Embtel 822, Sept 30² and London’s 1907 Oct 2 rptd Cairo 100)³ PriMin replied that these were Salah Salem’s personal opinions and he had no comment on them.

Stevenson sought to draw out Naguib’s opinions on nature of forthcoming elections and demand of unity parties for plebiscite. He reported Naguib was agreeing that indirect vote in South was advisable because of nature of population there while direct system of voting wld be feasible for Northern Sudan.

We are inclined to take with very large grain of salt Naguib’s asserted statement that he wld not discuss Brit proposals of Sept 24 with Sudanese polit leaders. He is seeing members of all Sudanese parties except Umma today.

Caffery

1. Repeated to London as telegram 283 and unnumbered to the Arab capitals, Paris, and Rome.
2. Ambassador Caffery reported in telegram 822, not printed, that Ambassador Stevenson’s representatives had had dinner on Sept. 29 with Major Salah Salem and had discussed the Sudan. Major Salah Salem declared, among other things, that the Egyptians agreed with the British on the importance of independence for the Sudan before there would be a determination of its eventual relationship with Egypt; that Egyptians thought elections should be postponed for a month or so while they persuaded all the Sudanese parties to participate; that an international commission should supervise the elections; and that the Sudanese problem could be solved in the near future as soon as General Naguib could talk to Ambassador Stevenson about it. (641.74/9–3052)
3. Ambassador Gifford’s telegram 1907 from London, Oct. 2, not printed, essentially covered the same ground as that in telegram 822 from Cairo. (641.74/10–252)