772.00/11–2254: Telegram
The Chargé in France (Achilles) to the Department of State1
2182. After eight-hour meeting November 20, agreement reached between Protectorates Minister Fouchet and Tunisian Prime Minister Ben Ammar on joint appeal to be issued by Resident General and Tunisian Government to Fellagahs, calling upon latter to lay down arms on return to villages without fear of punishment. Announcement expected today after clearance of text by Bey and Mendes. Delegates of French and Tunisian Governments are to contact Fellagahs and, zone by zone, to make offer known and to work out surrender of arms with Fellagah leaders. No time delay specified nor did agreement provide that Tunisian Government would denounce Fellagahs’ offer. However, it is well understood that if they do not surrender arms within reasonable time of being informed of offer, French will consider themselves free to pursue them. During period in which Fellagahs in particular zone being contacted by delegates, French military forces will not take action in absence Fellagah attacks.
Protectorates Ministry tells us confidentially that during November 20 discussion, Tunisians made two demands which French found unacceptable. They asked that French colons also surrender their arms and that French grant total amnesty. On this last point French agreed that when conventions ratified, they would introduce a general amnesty law (which does not mean total amnesty).
In Ministry view, principal factor which led Tunisians to agree to French proposal on Fellagahs was violence of French reaction to Neo-Destour Council resolutions and to Bourguiba’s statements referred [Page 898] to in Embtel 2141, November 19.2 They feared that as result, negotiations on conventions might be broken off which they do not want. Ministry officials do not appear overly optimistic that appeal to Fellagahs will be fruitful; much, they recognize, depends on goodwill of Tunisian Government, only attitude of Neo-Destour and latter’s influence on Fellagahs. and external factors such as attitude of North African extremists in Cairo. But in any event, agreement has made it possible for negotiations on convention to be resumed and both sides agree that tempo of negotiations is to be stepped up. Present hope is that agreement on principles applicable to the several conventions can be reached within ten days or so, with drafting of texts of conventions to take another month.
- This telegram was repeated to Tunis, Tangier, Rabat, Algiers, Rome, Malta, and Cairo.↩
- Not printed; it reported a tempest had been stirred in the French press by a message by Bourguiba to the Neo-Destour National Council in Tunisia and recent press interviews, especially with the New York Times. (772.00/11–1954)↩