Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT (Naval Aide)342 OFFICE OF DECLASSIFIED THE SECRETARY OF STATE E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 WASHINGTON State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 March 26, 1952 By DEB NLT, Date 9-9-85 TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS TRIESTE The tactics of the Italians in Trieste is apparently to avoid attacking the Americans and to concentrate on the British in the hope of splitting Anglo-American unity on the Trieste issue and of bring- - ing the Americans then to champion the Italian cause. A Trieste newspaper yesterday carried a statement by the Italian Minister of Defense, Pacciardi, saying: "Certain anti-Italian actions were well known to me but I would never have supposed that one would have dared to strike at the Triestini, offending the feelings of the entirely friendly and Allied Italian nation" Pacciardi tells the Triestini not to despair and adds: 'Where the powerful Austrian emperors failed, neither Marshall Tito nor General Winterton will succeed. Long live Trieste". An intelligence report rated A-1 says that the head of the Italian Mission in Trieste, Count Carrobio, told Minister Innocenti on March 23 that there is "still some fire in the ashes" to which Innocenti replied "It is not opportune to put it out for the time being". Another intelligence report states that during the recent demonstrations over the weekend the demonstrators had specific orders from leaders of the Italian political parties not to molest Americans but to concentrate on the British. Under Secretary Taviani of the Italian Foreign Office called our Charge in Rome to the Foreign Office late Monday evening to discuss the Trieste situation. Taviani gave what our Charge describes as a calm and objective appraisal of the situation and expressed his personal belief in the sincerity of General Winterton and the British Government and admitted that the attitude of some of the Italian officials, whom he described as "little men", had not been helpful. However, he deplored Mr. Eden's statement in Parlia- ment on Monday which he said sounded like a report on "disturbances in a British colony"1. Taviani spoke of the unwisdom of Eden's exonerating the police in Trieste from the responsibility for the disturbances and pointed out that Eden had asociated the US Government with the UK in his statement. Taviani said that unless some gesture was forthcoming in Trieste he felt that the Italian Government, in order to avoid falling, would be obliged to make some anti-British gesture. He said he had in mind naming an Italian Ambassador to Cairo (and presumably thereby recognizing Farouk as King of the Sudan). TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION