ar men tate - TELEGRAM 7 Teeucr 92313 -a 28332 7 16 iN o- OCT-01 I - RELEASE IN PART 86 -cuo P Y BY 86 aw ouR MASSIVE TRIBESHEN COULD BE a-Rgpeifgornn venr guests INIBANGLADESHI 3 LEciivg GENOCIDEHIHASVRESULIEQ ANY o ssr- DENJ POHER IN FOOLJSH To 33 IF-IT rs TRUECTHITJHE oo or BURUNDI AND IesnoguD- ope wgubg poLuow THAI AGthiEs wEHHAvgnNo BROV10E THsiLevegAGgg RELIEF 18 0F uarous vAuue AND BE MORE TUTSI GOVERNMENT PEORLE HERE To vofe- or SUPPORTING THE t is Ema -gtaF l L- USE 05-1652 UNCLASSIFIED U S Department Of State C858 NO DOC NO 017980047 Date 0751 2017 UNCLASSIFIED US Department of State Case No F-2016-07743 Doc No 017980048 Date 07 31 2017 I Wr the Tutsi regime the U S Government tried to be help- IN PART as July 20 1972 OFFICIAL-INFORMAL LIMITED OFFICIAL USE DISSENT CHANNEL Dear 86 After the Department received your telegram #2313 of July 7 I consulted with the Bureau for African Affairs and other interested officers in the Department This further response to your message outlines in some detail the Department's actions in relation to the crisis in Burundi - As soon as the crisis in Burundi erupted on April 29 1972 with a coordinated Hutu attempt to overthrow ful from both the humanitarian and political points of view In response to the initial requests from the Burundi Red Cross Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Inter- national we supplied $80 000 worth of relief supplies to help victims of the initial hostilities We are reasonably certain that these first supplies reached the intended recipients without discrimination against any ethic group 0n the political side we joined with other govern- ments represented in Burundi in an appeal to the Burundi Government to refrain from reprisals and repression against the Hutu majority In View of the fact that we have no aid program in Burundi beyond a modest self-help program $35 000 in FY 72 and that traditionally the United States has been identified with the Hutus because of American missionary activity we felt that the most effece rive influence on the regime to cease the repression could be exerted by other African governments We actively pursued contacts with African leaders who are well known and respected in Burundi such as President Mbbutu of 86 American Embassy Tegucigalpa LIMITED OFFICIAL USE UNCLASSIFIED US Department of State Case No F-2016-07743 Doc No C17980048 Date 07 31 2017 UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2016-07743 Doc No 017980048 Date 07 31 2017 OFFICIAL USE 2 Zaire President Ould Daddah of Mauritania and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia Apart from Mbbutu who sent a special envoy to Burundi to urge moderation all the other Africans appeared relucant to interfere in what they considered an internal matter of a sovereign Afri- can state The annual summit conference of the Organi- zation of African Unity in June 1972 did not even dis- cuss the problem bution of humanitarian assistance was being controlled in such a manner as to deprive the Hutus in favor of Tutsis we suspended all consideration of providing further aid Other organizations such as the Inter- national Committee of the Red Cross also suspended 1 plans for providing assistancesoon as it became clear that subsequent distri- I In late June the Secretary General of the United Nations sent a mission to Burundi to determine the facts and to recommend courses of action The mission was sent with our encouragement and Embassy Bujumbura assisted the mission in obtaining an accurate picture i of the situation despite Burundi Government efforts to the contrary we are now awaiting the Secretary General's reaction and are encouraging his associates to move quickly because the killing and suffering continue In addition to the suffering within Burundi a serious refugee problem has developed in neighboring 3 countries especially along Lake Tanganyika in eastern I Zaire and in Tanzania Host of the refugees including many Hutu students who escaped execution squads are in i terrible condition The Department has requested the posts in the area to focus on this problem'and to make recommendations we have urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to take an urgent interest in the matter and he has agreed to send a representative to the area immediately to coordinate assistance The Catholic Relief Services is already working there and I the Department gave that organization a grant of $50 000 I on July 14th to start the relief program going while we obtain more details LIMITED OFFICIAL USE UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2016-O7743 Doc No C17980048 Date 07 31 201 UNCLASSIFIED US Department of State Case No F-2016-07743 Doc No 017980048 Date 071319017 LIMITED OFFICIAL USE 3 I believe that from the foregoing you will agree that the U S Government has been doing the maximum within its limited capabilities to help the Hutus and to encourage a return to peaceful conditions Sincerely yours Signed William I Cargo William I Cargo Director Planning and Coordination Staff DraftedzAF C moohen SP Cz JSpiro ebd qy Concurrence AF - Mr Newsom V I LIMITED OFFICIAL USE UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No Doc No 017980048 Date 07 31 2017