Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Eastern Europe; The Soviet Union, Volume V

123 Patch, Isaac: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Czechoslovakia

secret
priority

Washington, October 26, 1949—11 a. m.

niact

1081. You shld reply to note urtel 1568¹ substantially as fol with whatever additions status your efforts interview Meryn² wld indicate:

“Amer Chargé has honor to ack receipt Ministry’s note Oct 21 demanding immed departure Mr. Isaac Patch, Asst Attaché Amer Emb, and informing Emb of intention to arrest Mr. Samuel Meryn, an Amer citizen and Emb employee. Ministry states this action taken on basis irrefutable proof’ that these persons were directing an espionage organization on Czech territory and alleges that certain other officers previously attached to Emb have also been engaged in such activities.

“Amer Chargé has been instructed by his Govt to reject as completely unfounded the allegations that Emb directed espionage in Czech against the Czech State and cannot accept these charges as based on ‘irrefutable proof’. The US Govt cannot admit the principle that mere contact by its officials abroad with the citizenry of a friendly country constitutes espionage.

“In conformity with usual international practice, this Govt has acceded to the request for departure of Mr. Patch, but expresses astonishment at the unusual and drastic demand for departure in 24 hours.

“US Govt particularly concerned with apparent Czech Govt disregard principles international law in the arrest of Samuel Meryn, a clerk of Emb. Under the generally accepted principles of international law, the immunities to which a Chief of Mission is entitled are shared by his retinue or suite which includes clerks employed by the diplomatic mission. In view this principle under which a member of the suite enjoys immunity from local civil and criminal jurisdiction, this Govt does not understand statement in note stating Meryn not entitled to diplomatic immunity and demands that he be released immed to jurisdiction Amer auths. The US govt is reluctant to believe that the Czech Govt intends to embark on a course of disregarding this well-established principle of international law.”³

FYI Dept investigating possibility arrest and imprisonment two Czech agents in Ger if demand for Meryn’s release refused. In presenting note you shld orally imply that failure of Czech Govt to recognize dipl immunity in this case may have unpleasant consequences and you shld endeavor to convince Czech officials that easiest solution of problem wld be for them to deport Meryn.

Dept deeply concerned with principle involved in Meryn case since it threatens to destroy basis of protection of Amer clerical staff of missions behind curtain and has far reaching implications future size and effectiveness these missions.

In separate note briefly reject charges against Heyn along lines of second para of note quoted above.⁴

Dept considering request immed departure without stating grounds of CG New York Ervin Munk and Emb housekeeper Jan Horvath in retaliation Patch’s expulsion and that of John Heyn urtel 1604, Oct 25.⁵

Acheson

1. Regarding the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry note of October 21 and the telegram under reference here, see footnote 1 to telegram 1579, October 22, from Praha, p. 409.
2. After repeated Embassy representations, an Embassy officer was finally allowed to visit Meryn in jail in Praha on October 29.
3. The principal points made in these quoted paragraphs were repeated by the Secretary of State in a statement which he read to his press and radio news conference on October 26. For the text of the Secretary’s statement, see Department of State Bulletin, November 7, 1949, p. 710. A note closely following the text quoted here was delivered by the Embassy in Praha to the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry on October 27. In a note of November 4 to the Embassy in Praha, not printed, the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry rejected the protestations contained in the Embassy’s note of October 27 and rejected the American contention that all employees of the Embassy, whether included in the official diplomatic list or not, had immunity as a member of the Ambassador’s suite (123 Patch, Isaac).
4. In a note of October 25 to the Embassy in Praha, not printed, the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry accused Embassy Assistant Attaché John G. Heyn of espionage activities and demanded his departure from Czechoslovakia within 24 hours (telegram 1604, October 25, from Praha). In a note of October 27 to the Foreign Ministry, the text of which was transmitted to the Department in telegram 1619, October 27, from Praha, not printed, the Embassy categorically denied the allegations against Heyn (123 Patch, Isaac). Heyn, who was not in Czechoslovakia at the time of the October 25 note, was instructed not to return to Praha.
5. In a statement issued to the press on October 31, the Department of State announced that it had informed the Czechoslovak Embassy that Dr. Ervin Munk, the Czechoslovak Consul General at New York, and Jan Horvath, a housekeeper at the Czechoslovak Embassy, were presonae non gratae. Their immediate withdrawal from the United States was requested. The departure was subsequently postponed until November 8.