Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XX, Congo Crisis

302. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Congo¹

Washington, September 30, 1962, 8:21 p.m.

527. For McGhee from Acting Secretary. Your 777 and 778.² Discussion with President and Secretary have produced following conclusions:

1. Agreeable for Gardiner to precede McGhee to Elisabethville.

2. Premature for Gardiner to tell Tshombe about letters to UMHK concerning payments.

3. Premature for Adoula to send letters without full concurrence Belgian Government. We note that Bunche warned Gardiner (New York’s 978 repeated Léopoldville 139)³ to make clear to Adoula that proposal to send letters “would not be implemented as long as discussions with Tshombe regarding implementation reconciliation plan were continued.”

4. Under these circumstances approach to Spaak and Belgian Government regarding letters will be withheld pending report from McGhee following his discussion with Tshombe. In spite of Leopoldville’s 759, repeated USUN 469,⁴ our impression is that Spaak unprepared to face up to Belgian Government intervention regarding payments issue until all evidence clearly demonstrated other possibilities exhausted. USUN requested to apprise Spaak that letters now approved and Adoula prepared to send them. Indications should be obtained from Spaak as to his views on timing.

5. Impression here from your 773⁵ and other indications is that Adoula is being overly rigid regarding Tshombe participation in consultation of experts on constitution and that this rigidity is playing into Tshombe’s hands in building a record of reasonableness. Constitution appears from description to be over-sophisticated and to call for far greater centralization than Adoula’s statement of principles implied. Would appear more feasible to have a relatively simple delegation of powers to the Central Government with an adequate reserved powers clause.

6. From 773 it seems quite evident that Katangese are stalling in Commission discussions.

7. In course of long luncheon meeting with President and Secretary, attended by Lord Home, British Ambassador, Ambassador Bruce and myself,⁶ Lord Home reported that at British insistence Welensky had sent strong message to Tshombe urging his acceptance reconciliation plan. Home also made clear that while British had publicly expressed their own unwillingness to participate in sanctions they had in all communications to Tshombe through Welensky made clear that Tshombe might expect sanctions from UN through Belgians and US. However Home made emphatically clear that UK would support no policies that might lead to fighting.

Ball

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.12–McG/9–2962. Secret; Niact. Drafted and approved by Ball and cleared by Cleveland and Williams. Repeated to London, Brussels, and USUN for Rusk.
2. Telegram 777 is printed as Document 300. Regarding telegram 778, see footnote 3, Document 298.
3. Telegram 978 from USUN, September 29, reported that Bunche had showed a USUN officer a series of cables to and from Gardiner concerning the proposal described in telegram 905, Document 297. Bunche had sent the proposal to Gardiner for comment, and Gardiner had on his own initiative discussed it with Adoula. Adoula had given Gardiner draft letters to Union Miniere calling for the end of payments to Katanga and commencement of payments to the Congolese Government, to the Belgian Ambassador enlisting the Belgian Government’s support, and to Gardiner requesting U.N. assistance in enforcing the proposal. Bunche stated that no action would be taken on this until it was determined that the reconciliation plan had failed. (Department of State, Central Files, 770G.00/9–2962)
4. Telegram 759 from Léopoldville, September 27, reported a conversation with Gardiner concerning the proposal set forth in telegram 905, Document 297. (Department of State, Central Files, 770G.00/9–2762)
5. See footnote 1, Document 299.
6. A brief memorandum of conversation by Tyler concerning the discussion of the Congo reads: “Lord Home said that Tshombe must be given a fair chance to participate in a constitutional conference, if there was to be any hope of the reconciliation plan succeeding. The Secretary mentioned the Wachuku proposal for an African participation in a solution in the Congo. It was generally agreed that it would not be desirable to follow up with the idea of telling the UMHK to stop paying dues to Tshombe, since this could not be enforced, and Spaak’s own role would be very restricted.” (Department of State, Central Files, 770G.00/9–3062)Wachuku had told Rusk during a September 29 meeting in New York that he thought it was time for the Lagos-Monrovia group to take an active role in the Congo problem. (Secto 52 from USUN, September 29; ibid., 770G.00/9–2962) Ball commented on the meeting with Home in a September 30 telephone conversation with Kaysen. (Memorandum of telephone conversation; Kennedy Library, Ball Papers)