740.00115A PW/5–1245: Airgram
The Minister in Switzerland (Harrison) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 19—3:30 p.m.]
A–715. American Interests—Far East. Legation’s airgram A–698, May 9. Foreign Office note May 7 states civilian internees Futatabi have asked Swiss Legation Tokyo whether possible to place special markings on camp buildings in order that camp may be recognized by Allied planes flying over this region.
Swiss Legation indicates that so far as known there is no international convention which envisions placing special markings on civilian internment camps but it inquires whether it would not be possible to invoke by analogy such a provision as Article 27 of the Rules of Land War annexed to the Fourth Hague Convention of 1907.42
Foreign Office will be glad to communicate to Swiss Legation any information which Legation may wish to communicate with regard to question asked by internees at Futatabi.
[In telegram 1856, May 19, to Bern, the Department requested that the Swiss Government convey to the Japanese Government the demand of the United States Government that punishment be inflicted on those who participated in the massacre of American prisoners of war at Puerto Princesa, the Philippines. In telegram 1857, the same day, the Department requested that the Swiss Government vigorously protest the murder of an American civilian interned at Los Banos, the Philippines, by Japanese authorities. The texts of these communications are printed in Department of State Bulletin, September 9, 1945, page 355.]
- Signed October 18, 1907, Foreign Relations, 1907, pt. 2, pp. 1204, 1212.↩