As you know, the question of interviews of Algerian rebels by the CBC has been active since May 24 when Mr. Chanderli, the New York representative of the Algerian "Front of National Liberation" (who was in Toronto to address the Canadian Institute of International Affairs) was interviewed on a CBC television programme. For your convenience, I attach a summary of developments since that date.?

2. On June 5 the French Ambassador delivered to me a note? protesting against the appearance on June 4 on a local CBC French-language television station of two representatives of the Algerian "Front of National Liberation" (FLN). They apparently had been interviewed on a programme entitled "Local News" and according to the French Embassy had made very serious accusations against France and the French Government. The note recalled a previous occasion (in October 1957) that Chanderli had been interviewed on the CBC television network and pointed out that representations had been made by the French Government at that time. (For your information, the Minister at that time informed the French Ambassador that he was averse to any interference with freedom of discussion and would not like to see the Government issuing a directive to Canadian citizens or visitors to appear on radio or TV. Mr. Smith explained the separate identity of the CBC and suggested that the Ambassador might like to take up with the Chairman of the CBC the matter of getting some or more time for the presentation of the French viewpoint on Algeria.)

3. The note went on to mention the "surprise and indignation" with which the French Government had learned of Chanderli's appearance on May 24 and the Ambassador stated that he had been able to announce to his Government that following his démarches and in accordance with the formal request which had been made by the French Government to the Canadian Embassy in Paris, the interview scheduled by the CBC for June 2 had been cancelled.

4. The Ambassador in his note and in his discussion with me, made it clear that despite our past explanations about the independence of the CBC from Government control, he and his Government could not understand the fact that programmes such as this could not be prevented. The note closed by asking that I bring about the adoption of measures which would henceforth make impossible a recurrence of similar incidents. (A copy of the note is attached. A translation is being prepared by the Translation Bureau.)

5. The Ambassador did not have instructions from his Government to deliver this protest but he considered that he had to do so since he had been instructed to take this action in the Chanderli case, but had withheld the protest when the second broadcast was cancelled. Although we have attempted, both here and in Paris, to avoid giving the French the impression that there was any causal relationship between the French protest and the cancellation of the June 2 broadcast, it seems clear from the note that the French assumed that they had received an undertaking from the Canadian Government to prevent similar broadcasts, although they had been told that there could be no question of Government direction, and that therefore the Government could give no guarantee that there would be no recurrence.

6. The French of course are very sensitive about the subject of Algeria. They consider it to be a purely internal problem but they resent the fact that their NATO allies do not give them the consistently strong support inside and outside NATO which they consider is their due. We have been sympathetic to the French on this subject and have done what we could in the United Nations to develop some recognition of the immensity of the problem facing France and the real attempts which have been made to solve the problem. The French Government is aware of our attitude but I suspect that it accepts any sympathy and support which we extend as a matter of course, while reacting very strongly to any indication that support is not wholehearted. (In this connection, it has been indicated that one of the main factors contributing to the French decision to withdraw their Mediterranean Fleet from NATO in time of war was the failure of the United States to vote against an African-Asian resolution on Algeria in the last Session of the General Assembly, in which vote they abstained.)³⁵⁰

N.A. R[OBINSON]

³⁵⁰Note marginale :/Marginal note:
N.B. The SSEA did not send the draft letter to the Minister of National Revenue, or show him the memorandum, but he did discuss its content with him. R. C[ampbell] 19/6