721.23/1560: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 7—8:30 p.m.]
167. My 164, April 6, 8 p.m. I have just received the following document from Lester, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Leticia (office translation):
“The representatives of Colombia and Peru, duly authorized by their Governments, desirous of facilitating the settlement of the dispute which arose between Colombia and Peru as a result of the Leticia incident, have met in the presence of the chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Council and have concluded the following arrangement:
- 1.
- The recommendations approved by the Council of the League of Nations at its meeting of March 18, 1933,56 under paragraph 4 of article 15 of the Covenant, remain intact and the Governments of Colombia and Peru declare that they will conform thereto;
- 2.
- Consequently the two Governments will issue the necessary instructions in order that every act of hostility shall cease on both sides;
- 3.
- The following provisions for the execution of the
recommendations of the Council are laid down:
- (a)
- The Council is invited to set up a commission which will proceed to the spot as soon as it shall have been constituted and which will take charge of the territory on which the incident occurred.
- Immediately upon its arrival it will take charge of the administration of the territory and the Peruvian forces shall withdraw at once.
- The commission shall continue to function during the course of the negotiations envisaged in the resolutions of the Council of March 18, 1933.
- (b)
- It may call upon military forces of its choice, and it may enlist the services of such other elements as may be necessary.
- (c)
- The forces and elements in question will be used to maintain order on the territory.
- (d)
- The commission shall have the right to decide any question concerning the execution of its mandate.
- 4.
- The parties shall inform the Advisory Committee of the Council of the League of Nations of the method according to which they intend to proceed with the negotiations envisaged in number 2 of the recommendations of March 18th, 1933, and the Committee will report thereon to the Council;
- 5.
- The parties recall that the Council of the League of Nations has declared itself disposed to lend its good offices upon the request of one or the other of the parties, in case of disagreement, either with regard to the procedure to be followed or with regard to any question of substance which may arise and that the Council has considered that it should not cease to follow developments in the dispute;
- 6.
- The parties undertake to accept and to comply with every decision that the Council of the League of Nations might take with regard to the allocation of expenses which the creation and the functioning of the commission may entail.”
Lester informs me that the Peruvian representative here states that his Government accepts this arrangement. The Colombian representative is transmitting it to his Government for approval.
With reference subparagraph (b) of paragraph 3 I understand from Lester that the Peruvian representative has stated privately that Peru does not object to the Commission’s employment of Colombian forces but that it does not wish this declaration specifically in the document.
Lester expresses the hope that the Department cable the American representative at Bogotá to urge acceptance by Colombia of the proposed arrangement believing that such action would be very helpful.