Evening star., 1949-12-04

many OF CQe countries OF LAtlu
upsets south Of the
vital to us in our resistance to
Communist advances in the At
lantic and Pacific as it was when
we were still sparring with the
Axis powers to stay out OF the
Second World War.
Then, too, the extremists Of
both the right and left have been
more active in Panama in the past
year and half than they have
at any time since prewar days.
Both elements supported Arias in
last years elections. Nor will
Arias and his henchmen ever be
convinced that his downfall in
1941 was not dictated, or at least
engineered by United States mill
tary and Canan Zone officials.
He now says, as he did before
his previous term in the same
office, that he believes 1t vital
for Panama to work closely with
this country. But few persons
who know him, including many
responsible Panamanians. take his
words at face value. They believe
that he is still full Of rancor and
longs for an opportune moment
to revenge himself against the
Yankees.
The Panamanian incident has
also served to bring to the fore
once again the thorny problem Of
diplomatic recognition of de facto.
or revolutionary, regimes In Latin
America. In recent years our
State Department has expert
mented with various policies and
procedures in an effort to md
satisfactory solution to the ques-
ton, or at least in an attempt to
find a way of minimizing revolu-
tions and strengthening the hands
of democratic elements in the
southern countries. But whether
it followed a policy Of immediate
recognition or withholding its
diplomatic blessing. the jugger-
naut of revolution has rolled
steadily on.
'Wait-and.See' Policy
Secretary of State Acheson, as
have so many Of his predecessors.
recently came forward with q
new, or at least a restatement OF
policy on the subject. I'VE main
tain diplomatic relations with
other countries" says the Secre-
tary, primarily because We are
all on the same planet and must
do business with each other. We
do not establish an embassy or
legation in a foreign country to
show approval of its government"
However. he went on to say that
when a freely elected govern
ment is overthrown and a new
and perhaps militaristic one takes
over, we do not need to recognize
the new government Immediately.
We can wait and see if 1t
really intends to live up to its
international commitments" Or
I'VE can consult with other gov
ernments as we have often done"
The Secretary also said that our
act of recognition need not neces-
sarily be understood as the FORE
runner Of a policy of intimate CO.
operation with the government
concerned"
At any rate, Assistant Secretary
of State Edward G. Miller has
not only professed profound
shock" at what has taken place
in Panama but he has declared
that United States Ambassador
Monet B. Davis is accredited to a
government which no longer ex-
lists" In other words. he makes it
plain that we will not only follow
Secretary Acheson's policy OF
waiting Ito see if (the Arias re-
gime) intends to live up to
it's international commitments"
but that we will take our own
good time about consulting with
our neighbors as to whether we
will extend recognition.
Meantime, there can be serious
difficulties connected with the
policy of consulting with other
governments" about recognizing.
and even more serious difficulties
in delaying recognition OF the
Panamanian setup. Since a pre-
ponderance of the other govern
ments in Latin America are either
outright relationships or strongly
influenced by military cliques. any
new government coming into
power by force is bound to have
their approval, regardless of con-
sultation.
Our Position Awkard
Worse still, following most Of
the recent coups, the more power
full dictators, usually led by
President Peron of Argentina.
have jumped the gun and vel
coined the newcomers into full
diplomatic companionship before
there was time for consultation,
thus placing the powerful United
States in an awkward position.
Similar action by Peron and
the others in regard to Panama
would place the State Department
in an unusually embarrassing
position. Only the intense desire
on the part Of all the various
governments to obtain loans or
economic assistance from this
country will prevent such action,
and even that may not delay
them very long.
But whether the Arias-Remon
regime wins immediate recogni-
tion from us or not, no would-be
.