117. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rusk to President Johnson1
SUBJECT
- Recognition of Newly Independent State in South Arabia
Recommendation:
That you approve in principle USG recognition of the People’s Republic of Southern Yemen which became independent on November 30. Southern Yemen’s application for membership in the UN could come before the Security Council as early as December 4. We would not want its admission to the UN and our own recognition to become too widely separated in time, lest we appear reluctant or indifferent. Accordingly, if you approve in principle, I will be glad to authorize an implementing telegram to Aden, instructing our principal officer to communicate the fact of recognition to the Foreign Minister of the new state.2
Discussion:
British colonial rule in South Arabia formally ended on November 29, and independence took place the following day. The new state, called the People’s Republic of Southern Yemen, has an area of some 112,000 square miles and a population of about one million. Its government is expected to be radical Arab nationalist in character and will follow socialist policies internally and non-alignment internationally. The new state is also expected to make clear that it will pay due regard to existing international obligations and will seek prompt admission to the UN.
The regime in charge (the National Liberation Front or NLF) has fought its way to power during the last six months against both conservative and other radical groups. It seems to have established itself securely, notably by personnel transfers which assure the loyalty of the 9,000 man army. Border tension and threats to stability may be expected after independence, but we believe the new state will survive.
HMG has recognized the new state. The Southern Yemenis would like more aid over a longer term than the British are prepared to commit. The regime would also like a compromise over several islands which [Page 250] have been retroceded by the British to neighboring Muscat and Oman but which were administratively a part of the new state’s territory. It appears that British military and economic aid will be provided for at least the first six months of independence, at about the level of $29 million. This should stabilize the situation and encourage the local armed forces to use their influence in the direction of stability and moderation.
One NLF official recently raised in Beirut the question of closing the southern end of the Red Sea to Israeli shipping. This has not, however, been enunciated as the regime’s official policy nor has it been suggested by NLF officials in Aden. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Brown stated in Commons on November 29 that the NLF in Geneva had agreed to accept the international obligations the British had extended to Aden. One of these was the Geneva Convention which applied to Bab al-Mandab. Should the new government on assuming power nevertheless espouse closure of the Straits as a matter of policy—which we doubt—we would then of course have to review our whole attitude.
USG recognition will help balance expected early recognition by the USSR and other Communist countries. It will thus aid in maintaining the Western position in an area of considerable importance to the Arabian Peninsula as a whole. We have ourselves been represented in Aden since 1880. Were we to fail to establish relations with the new state, or to be seen to defer our decision for a protracted period, the NLF itself might well close our Consulate General. We would thus lose our single remaining listening post in the southern half of Arabia, now that relations with Yemen have been broken off.