AMBASSADOR SIMONSON'S VIEWS ON ETHIOPIA*

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00937A000400030017-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2000
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: July 17, 1956
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2006/11105 :CIA-RDP79T00937A000400030017-7
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state Dept. declassification
release i nstructi ons on fi le
C EIdTRAL I NTELL IQEMC E At3ENC 1
OFFICE ~OF NATIOI~A~, .1?~5TIMATES
l7 Ju1y 19~~
STAFF ME~'lC1RANT}LQ~ IdOo ~8-~55
S1[,~JEGT: AMBASS~-DOR SIMQIVSON ~ S VIEWS ?N ETH~O.PTA ~
la Ambassador Jaseph Simonson, who its ~?etursri.ng to Addis Ababa
fo]llow;~ng h~ae leave, discussed ~s views on Ethiopia with in~rasted
Eoard and St'f m~abers on l3 Jua~e o ~Ie referrs~d those interested to
h$s despatch of last spring giv5.ng impressions of the country after
almost three years, services
Zm fan er of Cozm?nun~~~et Pc~etratian4 The ~nbassador noted that
the Sovicst gatioaa had recent3.y ?en raised to F~nbassy status and
that for ~a? first tune tiro Soviet t~nilitary attaches had beenn accredit
+ad to Addis .Ababaa Whiles these moves might rant in themselv~ss ba
significant, ~e Ambassador believed thsy were indicative of increased
Soviet interest in Ethiopian ~3e also raised the question of whetkaer
tlae 1"ugoslavs may be fronting far the Slop in Ethiopia, citia~g as
evidence a) tho fact that ~Cugoslavs operate the largest depar~anent
stores in the capital, which sells primarily Czech and ~Cugaslav goods;
b) ths~ tone of tYb?ir pmopaganda outputs c } a Be~,grade ruffior report
ed through the Aeaeri,c~t E~bassy there that Tits ~rould act as a Soviet
?8front man" during has visit to Ethiopia; d} ~'ugoslav eid offers to
Ethiopian The A~ttbassador stated, how?vera that none of the evidence
was as yet conclua~~.veo
~o Xugaslav-Etbio ian I~1,a.tiaaasa Mr9 Simonson aa3.d the dove
feast" bet~ee these ~o es began to rm~~cede about the time of
Titots visits Thero were sev~-ral reasons for this: First, Tito stay-
ed too long--tan day~m-its viet~ ref Ethiopiaes limited faci].ities~ In
addition, the emperor arad the Marsha,]. "got in each other?s hair" as a
result of being thraen tagether tae much? Second, the Ettz3.opians grew
~ This me~zorandu~ has been coordinated with WE
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rather weary of Y'ugos-~.av antimltal?1.an ta3kQ ~A.bout the time of the
visit' substantive conversations b~stween Ethiopia and Ttal~ on a
reparations agreement had about been carrapleted and the Ethiopians Want
ed to get on with the settlemento Marshal Tito gave the ?ror two
gifts One, a very f7r~e small yaclit~ is kept at Massawao The otherp
a monument in the cap~:tala had caused somas problems o Styleri after the
Washington Monument, it was gs~nerally in good tastes except for a series
of brons~e reliefs axound the base depicting sc?nes from .Sthiopiart his-
tory in which grcaat prominence is given to the vax~,ohs Italian massacreso
Fo3lor,aa~ng an Ita7._i.an prote~at~ the goverr~raent decided to deacnphasixe the
manurn?ntm It was not mentioneei, much less dedicated$ during Tito~s
visit and the Ambaasa~lor thought the brons~as might e~rentua~.~,y be removedp
!to Y,cin ~~~~~~__r~~~a ~a~bassador Simonscan be3imved the real posh
sibility on5 ranga~~ommunis4; penetration lies in the number of dis?
satisfied students coming home from abroado TPiere are rseveral hundred
in the US now and others e].sewl~?reo The govexn~reent9s capacity for
absorption of this educated gr?up has about bec~, reachedo If they canes
not find useful employment they gill probably became sub,~ect to Coaomunist
props:gandao This is i~ot to sash that there is much prospect of a mesa
revolution Revolutionax~r activities are not in tree Ethiopian character
and th? peop~.e genea~al.ly have adequate land and food suppl~.es o ~iow~rvcr~
a factor of discanterat will. be jresentp The answer weans to lies the
Aanbassador said, in developing .industries related to agriculture, much
as improv~nent in the growing, grading and marketing of Ethiopian coffsem
So far there are fe~a i ndicatie~~.a~ that this cr~untry has mineral resources m
1~h3.1e heav3r industry does not semen apprap~eiate, the new educated class
could be absorbed in clevelopan~~nts coran~acted with e~sting resources and
in bus.iness$ a fi.ald the Eth?opians have general:L~r ignored
5o Cio^~ea~en~ 1 Affair~m ~imbassador Simc~x~son noted that the Crown
Prince was sing roui;h~ci~~ and mare into proareinenc? and that mere
seemed little doubt that he would succeed his father on the thrones
There is a possibility that the Crown Prince, whose ;gr?asp of affairs of
state has improved Cor~sidezaibly, may ~?isit the US n~ct yearn He not~ad
tiaere had been some in~provt,~nent ire goverrBnent as3.ministration The three
brothers occupying th?~ mirx.stries of Foreign Affairs and Finance and the
Vice Nlisaistex? of Educat3.on ~rere cited. as particularly alai?v CIn theory
the Emperor serves as his ~A~an I~.nister of ucation; in practice the
'~icse Ministex? runs the sholr~) 4n the other handy athers9 such as ~e
Minister of Posts, Te~.ephoa~,sa and Telegraph was incompetents Th? '
I~inistrSr of Interior also kad soma diaficulties in exerting government
authority i.n areas recrote from the capitals
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6o Musl~an ~i.narr imp in ~n~aer to ~ queatioa~~ Amb~saador S~aor~on
notQd that tAae sl~tu+eninox~ty in ~hiopia proper is very larger tieing
dust wader ,~~ percents ana. would be a ~ea~ority if ~ritc~ea were included.
This fac$ has a polit~ic~. b~saring on E'tbiopigse relations with Egypt,
the Sudan and will a??..~??ect the development of the Somali que~ationo
74 Relationr~ wi~~h they Westa The Ethiopians have been inaE"luanced
by the be that a neutra~.3st nationsa such ass .ptA seem to have
profited ire than firm friends of tie ~3e-stQ Tae Ambassador said thia3
question was brought yap frequently i.rt the Embassy e s official dealirg$,
Tree Ethiopi~as were hart at not b~.ng iaaformed in advance of the
annrrancetnent of Uq~UIS~~~D to a3,d Egypt in the cana~truction of th?
Aswan High I~am.o (die :indicated dcracwledge that such ply wexe now in
abeyancen~ At the sa~n? tinieA the E'Chi.opiana have no present plans for
dravelopin,g the watdrs of #~.e Elue N#.lam Sites for ~~electric
stations are quite r~~ate and t''_ ~ area through ~ahi.ch the river flows itt
Ethiopi+s is not suitaiale For agricultureo
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