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

645W.74/10–2252: Telegram

No. 1019
The Ambassador in Egypt (Caffery) to the Department of State¹

secret

Cairo, October 22, 1952—2 p.m.

1013. Further to para one mytel 1008 yesterday.² We have now seen subsequent tel wherein Stevenson reports that Naguib told him his constit advisers lead by Pres of Council of State had made an exhaustive exam of draft statute. He had found however that their recommended changes had been very largely met by Brit suggested amendments as set forth Eden’s desp to Gov Gen Oct 22.³ Naguib went on to say that some of his advisers had suggested an intl commission composed either of 3 rep UK Egypt and Sudan or 5 mbrs including external rep to have gen supv over Gov Gen. He said however that Stevenson wld recall difficulties he himself had had with 3–man provisional regency of Egypt and that his mind was far from made up on utility of a commission for Sudan. Stevenson likewise discussed apparent absence of consult by Naguib and his colleagues with reps of South Sudan. Naguib said that there had been some consultation with politicians who might be construed as representing this area but admitted that polit ldrs from that part of Sudan had not been fully heard in Cairo. He said it wld be easier to ascertain true status of Sudanese opinion once there were a Sudanese Parl. Stevenson quotes him as agreeing that this was agreement in favor of speedy elections.

Caffery

1. Repeated to London as telegram 334 and unnumbered to Paris, Rome, Ankara, Tel Aviv, and the Arab capitals.
2. In telegram 1008 from Cairo, not printed, Ambassador Caffery reported that General Naguib had told Ambassador Stevenson that he had not completed his talks with the Sudanese political leaders, but he promised to give Stevenson a reply on the draft constitutional statute by Nov. 1. Caffery also reported that Stevenson had left with Naguib a copy of the despatch dated Oct. 22 from the British Government to the Governor General of the Sudan informing him that the United Kingdom had approved the draft constitutional statute for the Sudan. (641.74/10–2152)
3. The Embassy in London transmitted the complete text of Eden’s despatch of Oct. 22 to the Governor General in despatch 1978, Oct. 27, not printed. (745W.00/10–2752)