868.49/8–1754
No. 701
The Deputy Under Secretary of State
(Murphy) to
the Very Reverend Paul F. Tanner of
the National Catholic Welfare Conference1
Dear Monsignor Tanner: I greatly regret the delay in answering your letter of August 17,2 but I did so in anticipation of a reply from the Yugoslav Embassy to our numerous representations on the American Bishops’ relief project—a matter which you discussed at some length. This reply was given to us on September 2,3 and while it is unsatisfactory, we at least know where we stand.
The Yugoslavs refuse to grant the Bishops an exception to their customs law to permit the duty free entry of the items which the Bishops wished to send via bulk shipments to designated Catholic institutions in Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavs claim that they gave a similar refusal to an American Protestant group several years ago, and that they are not prepared to discriminate in favor of Catholics as against other religious groups. After the refusal, the Protestants allegedly went to the Yugoslav Red Cross, which has duty-free entry privileges for its imports, and worked out an agreement whereby the Red Cross distributed 75% of the Protestants’ shipment as the Red Cross chose, and 25% as the Protestants directed.
This latter course, say the Yugoslavs, is open to the Bishops, who might theoretically negotiate a somewhat more favorable ratio from the Red Cross, although the Yugoslav Embassy Counselor personally [Page 1403] supposed that such an eventuality was unlikely. In addition, the Yugoslavs reiterated that the Bishops can carry out their project with a payment of customs duties, or that they can revise their project (as to packaging, consignees and delivery dates) so as to bring it within the free entry provisions of the December 1952 American Yugoslav Gift Parcel Convention.
I have reached the reluctant conclusion that under prevailing circumstances there is nothing further to be gained by attempting to continue a discussion of this case with the Yugoslavs. Apart from numerous lower-level interventions over the past 16 months, Under Secretary Smith and I have gone over the problem thoroughly several times with two successive Yugoslav ambassadors,4 and Ambassador Riddleberger forcefully presented our point of view at a very high level last April in Belgrade.5 We have told them time and again that their conduct in this and similar matters prejudices the Yugoslav cause with the American people and the Congress, but they are adamant. They indicate clearly that this question involves an issue of internal policy which they are determined to carry out.
Perhaps we can have a discussion of this matter at the “patio supper” which you so kindly suggest. It would be a great pleasure for me to be your guest on an evening in the near future for which we are both free.
With warmest personal regards,
Sincerely yours,
- Drafted by Mark.↩
- Not printed. (868.49/8–1754)↩
- The Yugoslav reply was given by Nicola Mandić, Counselor of the Embassy in Washington, to Thurston, who assured Mandić that the Department of State was not linking the Bishops’ project to the current Yugoslav request for large-scale wheat shipments. Thurston, however, pointed out that many Congressmen would connect the two matters and this would not make it any easier for Yugoslavia to obtain the assistance it was seeking. (868.49/9–354)↩
- A memorandum of Smith’s conversation with Ambassador Popović on Feb. 3 regarding this matter is in file 868.49/2–354. Murphy also raised the issue with Ambassador Mates on July 14; a memorandum of this conversation is in file 868.49/7–1454.↩
- See Document 691.↩