286. Telegram From the Embassy in the Congo to the Department of State1
510. Eyes only for Secretary. Elisabethville eyes only for Consul. Hoffacker just returned from Elisabethville reports relay of Deptel 3582 unfortunately not received there by time his departure 10 a.m. Appointment made with Tshombe 5 p.m. yesterday when it announced he departing for interior at that time. As indicated in Elisabethville’s 264,3 Hoffacker indicated President’s association with letter. Specific effort made to impress Tshombe that there is solid American position in favor reconciliation [Page 567] and reintegration. Had appointment not been made at that time, it would have had to be postponed until Tshombe’s return perhaps as late as Monday. By then, he presumably would have prepared reply to Gardiner proposals.
Re Elisabethville telegrams 264 and 265,4 Hoffacker made following supplementary notes on his and Dean’s call on Tshombe yesterday:
“Tshombe speculated regarding Under Secretary’s returning to Washington without seeing him in Europe but I tried to disabuse him of idea that Department intervened to prevent such meeting. He connected Under Secretary’s inability to see him with my consultation in Washington. I explained that my consultation was routine since my predecessor had made similar trip in middle of his tour.
“As directed, I told Tshombe that Under Secretary appreciated his discretion in not revealing plans for Ball-Tshombe meeting. Tshombe proudly replied that he had not even revealed possibility to Ministers present (Kimba and Kibwe).
“Tshombe and Ministers expressed annoyance at manner in which Gardiner and Mathu had presented reconciliation plan. They said ‘Take it or leave it’ approach might invite equally abrupt reply. I urged them to look beyond tactics and to focus on plan itself which was fair and reasonable. Added that since everybody, including GOC, GOK, UN and US, was now federalist, it matter of trying find localities to effect this federalism. Said that since tempers were relatively cool and everybody speaking same language (federalism), there no good reason why August should not be month of national reconciliation.
“Tshombe and Katanga could not make concessions under threats and hostility such as USG made. Said I had noted no hostility toward Katanga during my Washington stay and Dodd letter confirmed this judgment.
“Tshombe wanted me to return to Elisabethville Monday to pick up his reply to Dodd and letter to President. I gave him various reasons why Dean was most appropriate to receive such letters.”
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 770G.00/8–3062. Secret; Priority. Repeated to Elisabethville.↩
- Telegram 358 to Léopoldville, August 28, stated that it was important for Tshombe to understand that Senator Dodd had spoken with the President about the subject matter of his letter. It was not necessary that Hoffacker say the President had read and approved Dodd’s letter but he should say that he had talked with the President and should outline the President’s position, thus indicating that Senator Dodd’s position was the same or very similar. The purpose was to impress Tshombe that “there is solid American position in favor of reconciliation and reintegration.” (Ibid., 770G.00/8–2862)↩
- Telegram 264 from Elisabethville to Léopoldville, August 29, sent to the Department as telegram 349, reported that Hoffacker and Consul Jonathan Dean had delivered the letter to Tshombe, who had expressed appreciation for the gesture from Dodd and for the “President’s association with letter.” (Ibid., 770G.00/8–2962)↩
- Telegram 265 from Elisabethville to Léopoldville, August 29, sent to the Department as telegram 350, reported comments made by Tshombe on the U.N. proposal during Hoffacker’s and Dean’s meeting with him. Tshombe stated that the plan was receiving “minute study” and indicated that some aspects of it improved on previous Katangan proposals, but he referred repeatedly to “US and UN policy of threats” which “only enraged many Africans and heightened his resistance to pressure.” (Ibid.)↩