LibGuides: History Vault: Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, 1960-1969, Africa and the Middle East

Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, 1960-1969, Africa and the Middle East

Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, 1960-1969, Africa and the Middle East (Module 28)

This module focuses on those U.S. State Department Central Files that have not been microfilmed by the National Archives or distributed by other publishers. It contains a wide range of sensitive materials from U.S. diplomats in foreign countries: reports on political, military, and socioeconomic matters; interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials; important letters, instructions, and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel; and reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers.
Among issues in the Africa and Middle East module is the pivotal 1964 Rivonia trial of Nelson Mandela and leaders of the African National Congress.

Module Highlights

Rivonia trial of Nelson Mandela and members of the African National Congress
Includes text of Nelson Mandela's speech at the conclusion of the Rivonia trial. Named after the Johannesburg suburb in which members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) had been arrested the previous year, the trial centered on charges of more than two hundred acts of sabotage allegedly designed to "ferment violent revolution" in South Africa. Folder also includes coverage of U.S. opposition to apartheid; sentences against Orange Free State policemen for assault and murder against detained Africans; RSA Supreme Court rulings on 90-day detention clause; Robert M. Sobukwe; Nigeria opposition to death penalty for Rivonia defendants; U Thant call for mercy; Walter M. Sisulu testimony.
File on arrests and detentions in South Africa
Covers Suppression of Communism Act and sabotage trials; Abraham Fischer statement urging opposition to apartheid; Defence and Aid Fund annual report; UK intercession on behalf of John Harris; Broederbond; Commission of Inquiry into Secret Organizations report by D. H. Botha; Sons of England; Freemasons; Fischer trial.
U.S. relations with South Africa and political affairs in South Africa
covers Robert F. Kennedy visit to RSA; Union Theological Seminary criticism of apartheid; Harold L. T. Taswell; Rhodesia; A. Gardner Dunn; G. Mennen Williams negative comments on RSA; Hendrik F. Verwoerd speech in Durban attacking United Party; ANC; Consultative Council on South Africa; House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa hearings on RSA.
Ghana political programs and administration of Kwame Nkrumah
Covers United Party; Granville Sharp Commission (investigation of alleged plot to assassinate Kwame Nkrumah); Preventive Detention Act.
Economic conditions in Ghana
Covers Foreign investment; geological survey of Ghana by Russian team; Bui Dam project; trade relations between Ghana and People's Republic of China; tobacco production; economic and technical cooperation agreement with Japan; Ghana Airways.
On May 30, 1967, Lieutenant Colonel C. Odumegwu "Emeka" Ojukwu, the military governor of Nigeria's eastern region, declared the independence of the "Republic of Biafra"
Ojukwu led a breakaway movement composed primarily of ethnic Ibos who had suffered persecution and massacre at the hands of supporters of Nigeria's Federal Military Government (FMG).

Module Highlights (continued)

Military operations in the Biafra-Nigeria civil war and U.S. government policy
The U.S. government, under the administrations of Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, officially maintained a policy of neutrality toward the Biafra-Nigeria conflict, deeming it "essentially a Nigerian, African, and [British] Commonwealth matter", but the reality of U.S. involvement was more complex. Despite an arms embargo prohibiting military assistance to either side, the U.S. government continued to recognize the FMG as Nigeria's sole government while becoming one of the key international sources for humanitarian relief for the Biafran people.
Biafra-Nigeria military operations
This folder is the beginning of a section that provides day-by-day, month-by-month accounts of military actions, diplomatic maneuverings, and the international reach of the Nigerian Civil War.
Biafra-Nigeria military operations, war damage
This folder is the beginning of an almost-daily narrative of the enormous humanitarian crisis brought on by the war and the efforts of various actors, notably the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Joint Church Aid (JCA), to address those needs.
Weekly State Department reports on political conditions in Iraq
Covers Arab Summit Conference; Iraq-Kurd conflict; KDP; November military coup; Iraq reaction to John F. Kennedy assassination; Syro-Iraqi economic unity talks; Ba'ath Party; Algeria-Morocco crisis; Iraq-Kuwait relations; Arab unity; Iraq-UAR relations; Iraq-USSR-Kurd relations; February coup; Communist coup attempt.
Kurdish-Iraq conflict
Covers International reaction to Iraq-Kurd conflict; possible UN action; alleged atrocities against Kurds; NCRC; noncombatant casualties in Iraq-Kurd conflict.
Relations between Israel and Jordan concerning water boundaries
Covers diversion of waters of Hasbani River, Baniyas River, Jordan River, and Tiberius River.
Military operations in Israel, including United Nations operations,
Covers UNTSO; military vehicles in DMZ, Syrian Arab Republic; espionage; armistice violation; military prisoners; prisoner exchanges.
Israel and Jordan boundary disputes, violations, and incidents
Covers Arab attitudes toward Israel; Fatah; sabotage; Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission; armistice line violations; Mt. Scopus