260. Memorandum of a Conversation, Secretary Dulles’ Suite, Waldorf Towers, New York, September 17, 1957, 12:30 p.m.1
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary
- Mr. Rountree
- Mr. Tyler
- The Tunisian Ambassador, Mr. Mongi Slim
- Mr. Mestiri, Tunisian Delegation to the UN
SUBJECT
- Tunisian Request for Arms
The Tunisian Ambassador told the Secretary that there had been increasing violations of the Tunisian frontier of late by French troops, and that these no longer represented isolated military incidents but a deliberate policy of premeditated and continuous acts of aggression. He said that French troops had several times bombarded Tunisian villages both from the air and by artillery on Algerian soil, and that defenseless Tunisian citizens had been killed and kidnapped by the French. The Tunisian Government now felt that it could not allow the situation to continue and that something must be done to put an end to it. If the situation were allowed to deteriorate, it would reach the point where Tunisia and France would find themselves at war with each other, which was something which Tunisia wished very much to avoid. The Ambassador then referred to the note which the Tunisian Government had presented to the US Government last week requesting arms.2
The Secretary said that this was a very difficult matter indeed. He said that it was known that the Tunisian Government had sympathy for the Algerian nationalists and that while the Tunisian Government was undoubtedly doing all it could to avoid incidents, perhaps some elements of the population might be doing things which provoke the French. The Secretary said he thought it was highly important that the greatest restraint be exercised on both sides in order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
The Tunisian Ambassador said that the Tunisian Government had exercised great restraint and would continue to do so. However, if the French policy of premeditated violation of Tunisian territory [Page 691] continued, it would not be possible for the Tunisian Government to tolerate this indefinitely. He said that the French were invoking the right of pursuit, which did not exist in international law, and that when the U.S. and Mexico crossed each other’s borders in 1917, this had been on the basis of pre-established agreement. The Tunisian Ambassador then asked whether the U.S. Government would soon be in a position to give a reply to its note about obtaining arms. The Secretary said that this matter was being given most careful consideration and that he was not in a position to give an answer now but hoped to be able to give a more positive reply soon.
The Tunisian Ambassador said that the Tunisian Government had been giving consideration to the possibility of appealing to the Security Council of the UN under Article IV of the Charter. The Secretary said that this was a difficult matter and that he thought the idea had grave drawbacks. He assured the Tunisian Ambassador that the US had already spoken to the French and would continue to do so to impress on them the desirability of exercising the greatest restraint. The Secretary told the Ambassador that he had recently had conversations with two prominent French political figures, neither of whom was a member of the Government, and that he had been struck by the intensity of their feelings with regard to the subject under discussion.
The Tunisian Ambassador said that his Government also held extremely strong feelings, and he referred to the fact that French troops in Algeria were using US equipment and that it might be that the bombs that were being dropped on Tunisian soil had been provided to France by the US. The Ambassador concluded by asking whether, in the event that the Tunisian Government decided to raise the question of French aggression in the Security Council, it could count on the support of the US Government.
The Secretary said that it was not possible to give a reply to such a question at this time and that he rather hoped that it would not be necessary for this step to be taken. He pointed out that, under the Charter, members are expected to exhaust all diplomatic possibilities for solving differences between them before having recourse to the UN. The Tunisian Ambassador replied that this was what his government was trying to do.
The Secretary said he wished to assure the Tunisian Ambassador of the admiration which he felt for the Tunisian nation, Government and people in the light of the role which they were playing as a member of the free world. He said he wished to assure the Tunisian Ambassador that we would give the matters that he had raised the most careful consideration and that we would do what we possibly could to help in the matter.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–DU/9–1857. Secret. Drafted by Tyler.↩
- See footnote 2, Document 265.↩