Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON October 10, 1950 SEGRET SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS INDONESIA Our UN Mission has been informed by the Australian delegate that Australian Minister of External Affairs Spender is deeply concerned over developments in the Ambon situation and the inactivity of the UN Commission in Indonesia. According to the Australian delegate, Spender believes that the Indonesians were trying to achieve by military means the objectives that the Ambonese people were not required to accept under the Indonesian Union Statute. While Spender realized that little could be done, he thought that the UN Com- - mission at least should investigate and publish the facts of its inquiry. Spender also was reported to be anxious to obtain our views on the possibility of mediation of the conflict by the UN Commission. YUGOSLAVIA In view of the recent Yugoslav request for US grant assistance in the amount of $100 million to meet the effects of the severe drought, we have instructed Ambassador Allen in Belgrade to make clear to Tito that: 1) we are giving urgent and sympa- thetic consideration to Yugoslav requirements, recognizing that an immediate start in food shipment should be made, and we are prepared to support the Yugoslav request to utilize a portion of the recent Export- Import Bank credit for food purchases in order to start the food pipeline; and 2) with regard to further economic assistance Tito should be informed that although previous loans have been made to Yugoslavia on a business basis, the above request and a new request for $400 million in credits make it clear that the credits being sought are appreciably greater than can be made available under foreseeable circumstances. Allen will emphasize that the US cannot meet the totality of these requests and that the lending agencies are convinced that Yugoslavia cannot service loans of this magnitude. However, if Yugoslavia changes its economic program, particularly with respect to excessive rate of capital investment, to a significant degree, further economic assistance on a reasonable scale may be possible. DECLASSIFIED SECRET E.O. 13526 Authority LP-HST 2016-008 *2324 NARA so Date 7/16/2019