146. Letter From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (Palmer) to the Ambassador in Liberia (Jones)1
Dear Dick: We have followed with interest and, I must admit, some concern the intrusion of the Egyptians into the Liberian picture and President Tubman’s seemingly bland assumption that this poses no problems for Liberia. Frankly, we do not feel that this is the case and we have the impression that the Liberians’ desire for international recognition and acceptance weighs more heavily on the President’s mind than the obvious dangers of permitting Egyptian representatives in Liberia which, under the present scheme of things, is very little better than permitting the Soviets to come in. Indeed, in some aspects the Egyptians carry even greater dangers since, as plainly shown elsewhere, they make a strong attempt to disaffect a country’s Moslem minority, a weapon not normally available to the Soviets.
I realize, of course, that the President announced his intentions more than a year ago of doing this and that he offered us a palliative in simultaneously announcing his intentions of exchanging diplomatic missions with the Government of the Republic of China. Still, a lot of water has gone over the dam since then and we are more than a little disappointed that such a major decision was made by the Liberian Government without informing us and giving us a chance to express our views.
It is still not clear to us the extent of the jurisdiction of the Liberian Ambassador to Cairo but we would hope that he would be accredited to all of the Arab States. Should Liberia accredit a representative to Syria at this juncture and not to countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan, it is certain to be interpreted as a slap at [Page 414] the United States, and I cannot help but wonder if this may not be what certain elements in Monrovia may have had in mind.
We realize, of course, that our position in Liberia has altered as it was bound to when Ghana emerged and set new standards for independent action. The above developments, however, seem to us to indicate that the Liberians are carrying things somewhat too far, and we are concerned that we may find the Soviets in Monrovia hard on the heels of their Egyptian friends. I have discussed this matter as frankly as possible with Ambassador Padmore 2 as indicated in recent telegrams but knowing your close relationship with President Tubman, we believe you can be much more effective in warning him of the dangers of the course he is following. We hope also that you will find some means, consistent of course with Liberia’s independence, to indicate that we wish he would take us into his confidence to a greater degree and at an earlier stage on matters of such great concern to both his country and to ours.
We would not, of course, wish to suggest that you draw these matters to Tubman’s attention in precisely the foregoing terms. You will know best how to put them without giving rise to charges that we are trying to interfere in Liberia’s sovereign responsibilities. We cannot, of course, undo the decisions which have been made regarding Egypt and the Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference3 and I think it would be a mistake to try. We can, however, try to limit the damage.
With kindest regards and best wishes.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, AF/AFS Files: Lot 60 D 37. Secret; Official–Informal. Drafted by Ferguson.↩
- Palmer, Ferguson, and Ross met with Padmore on December 10. A memorandum of the conversation by Ross, December 10, is ibid., Central Files, 670.901/12–1057.↩
- Telegram 118 to Monrovia, December 7, instructed Jones to discourage Liberian attendance at the Conference which was scheduled to convene in Cairo on December 26. (Ibid., 670.901.12–657) On December 10, Tubman informed Jones that Liberia would not send or finance a delegate. (Telegram 207 from Monrovia, December 10; ibid., 670.901/12–1057) Documentation on this subject is ibid., 670.901.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩