320/4–1453
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director, Office of African Affairs (Utter)
Subject:
- Security Council Consideration of Tunisia.
Participants:
- Jean Pierre Benard, Counselor, French Embassy John E. Utter, AF
I took the opportunity of a visit from Mr. Benard to discuss with him reports from New York that the Arab-Asian delegations would try to raise the Tunisian question in the Security Council. (New York telegram 602 of April 8.)1 I told him that information from Arab sources indicated that such action by these delegations was largely motivated by frustration at what they considered French dawdling in solving the Tunisian difficulties, and in particular, by their concern over reports of capital punishment meted out to Tunisians for political offenses.
It appeared to us that the latter complaint could be handled best by the French revealing the facts, which according to our information from Tunis, did not correspond to the figures produced by the Arab-Asians. I told Benard that we would welcome the most recent [Page 862] information on this subject. (He subsequently furnished me with the following statistics:
Since 1952 there have been 23 Tunisians condemned to death (two in absentia), for crimes committed during the political troubles in the Regency.
Three were executed in December 1952 and five sentences were commuted to forced labor for life.
Of the remaining 15 one only has sought clemency after appeal and the other 14 who have appealed have not received judgment.)
I told Benard that the general consensus in the Department was against having the Tunisian issue raised in the Security Council at this time, principally because we could not see how the Arab-Asians could show prima facie a case of real or potential threat to international peace and security. Furthermore, we considered that sufficient time had not elapsed since the last Assembly for the French and Tunisian Governments to have worked out mutually acceptable solutions.
- Not printed.↩