753F.94/9–1045
The Portuguese Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
The Counselor of the Japanese Legation in Lisbon informed the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the evening of the 8th instant, that according to a communication from his Government the Governor of Portuguese Timor re-assumed full control of the administration of the whole colony on the 5th of September. This was done in accordance with a previously announced decision of the Japanese Government.
One hundred and ten Japanese soldiers under the command of a Japanese police officer were left with their arms and remained at the orders of the Governor to insure public order.
As the Portuguese radio station had been destroyed by a previous bombing, radio facilities are being restored by the use of a Japanese Navy set to operate under the orders of the Governor, and are expected to be available on the 10th instant. It is therefore hoped that from that date direct communication will be established with Macau and with the sloop Bartolomeu Dias, now at Colombo on its way to Timor.
It was explained that the delay between the time when the Japanese Government decided on the surrender in Timor, a decision made known to the Portuguese Government on the 16th of August, and the time when that surrender actually took place, was caused by the great difficulty in communications with Timor and by the activity involved in the preparations for the general surrender.
The Counselor of the Japanese Legation emphasized that orders for the surrender in Timor were issued prior to the act of general surrender officially declared by Japan./.