Diario las Américas Newspaper, November 11, 1956, Page 10

Highlights in the Diplomatic Career of Ambassador . 1906: The 20th. Century is in its infancy, but already there are clouds in the sky — the imperial- ism of England and France, the possibility of a class war — while in America, the yeung republics are suffering from growing pains. Twenty - three - year - eld Miguel Angel Campa, a col- enel in the Cuban revolutionary army, sets out with his lovely bride to represent his four-year- old nation in Paris, France. “To us, Americans, the Pa- ris of 1906 was the meeting point of all nations and of all men. . . It was a world ef velvet and stylized well being . . . Nobody believed in wars and colonial or foreign problems were of ne con- cern to the masses, except for the fluctuation of values.” “France was just recovering from the Dreyfus scandal, the Ministers were a Clemencau, a Briand, a Viviani, and on the Elisée, at the great diplomatic receptions, only bearded old-tim- ers, illustrious and solemn, could be seen... I, only 23, and a new chief of mission, wished desper- ately te be 50!” 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole, the first transcon- tinental flight takes place in the United States, and, in Europe, France and Germany tangle over Morocco. Dr, Campa is Cuba’s Charge d’Affaires in Berlin. Of this pre-war era, he says: “The great colonial powers of Europe felt the world was well- apportioned, and though the Kai- ser’s (William I) sable was heard frequently trying to “ob- tain a place in the sun” (Aga- dir), aside from the constant ar- maments race, diplomacy — with soft and chastening words — en- deavored to contain those threats which little by little forged the danger zone.” , 1914: The first ship goes through the Panam&é Canal and, in Europe, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife are -assassinated at Sara- jevo with a shot heard round the world. The beginning of World War I finds Dr. Campa as Charge d’Affaires in London. “Asquith, Lloyd George, and Sir Edward Grey were Ministers ...the Irish question and fiscal problems engaged public opinion as did, sometimes, parliament- ary debates over the alarming in- crease in Germany’s naval pow: er. , “At Buckingham Palace soi- rees, where King George V and Queen Mary received the diplo- SUNDAY, matic corps and government and colonial officials in their colorful regional garb, no one suspected that all that brilliancy would soon be eclipsed. In the last days of July the whole world was shocked at the assassination in Sarajevo of Archiduke Francis Ferdinand and the Countess, his wife. .and, as the hours passed and diplomacy was unable to. contain, peacefully, the vanities, distrust, and impatience which poisoned the problem, it wags sensed that war was about to start. Generally, it was felt that war, should it break out, would be quick. . But men can easily err when they believe that hu- man forces, once unchained, are subject te the laws of logic or possibility. . .” 1919: The world rejoices at peace once more and, while com- munism starts to raise its ugly head in Russia, America begins to take the leadership in world affairs with President Wilson’s 14-point proposal serving as the basis for the Versailles Peace Conference. Dr. Campa is Secret- ary of the Cuban Delegation to the Conference. “. . .The months between the armistice and the Versailles meeting in July of 1919 were sometimes tempestuous... The differences between the Ameri- can ideal as presented by Presi- dent Wilson and European dip- lomacy, which followed its cus- tomary pattern of reestablish- ment of boundaries, were often apparent.. The mosaic fortress of Central Europe which through the centuries had served to con- tain eastern invasions, was un- dergoing territorial and political transformations. As an American I could only applaud the triumh of the new nations.” “In a world shaken by social unrest, exclusive drawing rooms frequented by elegant ladies dressed in rich furs and jewels, played, with unconscious snob; ism, at the cultivation of Marxist ideas.” 1922: In Europe, while the first meeting of the Permanent Court of International Justice takes place at Le Hague, Mussolini marches on Rome. In Washing- ton, a nine-power Conference is held to discuss limitation of ar- maments snd establish naval ra- tios for U. S., Britain, and Ja- pan. Dr. Campa, after acting as €uba’s Delegate to the early ses- sions of the League of Nations, is made Special Envoy and Min- ister Plenipotentiary in Tokyo. “In the immediate postwar years I settled in Geneva as \ Miguel Angel De La Campa _ Cuba’s Permanent Delegate to the League of Nations. I attend- ed the inauguration and first few assemblies of the League, and witnessed that stage of hope and failure which was the world of post-War I. It was there that Lat- in America established a system ef cooperation which, because of its intellectual and numerical im pact, has made the group’s pre- sence felt.” “But working in a pessimistic elimate, caused by the absence ef nations which could lend greater strength and effective- mess to the institution, the Lea gue soon reduced its political ac- tions. to recommendations and vetes which gave it the incon-. sequential personality of an. oral - high court; although it mast be admitted that many useful or-. Sanizations, such as the Inter- national Court of Justice and the International Labor Organiza- tion, were created or strength- ened by the League. . Moreover, through that first experiment the world learned that there un- doubtedly were other means of ample human cooperation, simi- lar to, but with a greater authori- ty than the League, to arrive at a good understanding between na- tions and exclude force as a means of solving international disputes.” 1924-25: Lenin dies, Hitler writes Mein Kampf while in jail, and the Locarno Conference is held to imsure peace and pre- serve boundaries. Dr. Campa is now Speciai Envoy to Rome. 1929-30: Kellogg Peace Pact has been signed and 15 nations outlaw war; Vatican City is es- tablished as a State; the New York stock market collapses and world depression begins. Amb. Campa is now in Brazil., “I felt almost up-rooted from America when I was called back to Havana in 1925 to become Assistant Secretary of State, shortly after presenting my cre- dentials as Minister in Rome.” “The VI Inter-American Con- ference was to be held in Havana in January, 1929. It was attend- ed by the most prominent states- men of the Continent and the agenda was on a par with the prominence of the delegates. . . There the first steps were taken toward insuring the equality of the States and, with them, the survivorship of Pan American- ism which heretofore had been limited to timid attempts at mut- } ty Ambassador de la Campa at the beginning of his career, uniform of legation secretary. ual cooperation and eloquent toasts te good friendship. The American world awakened to a new life of reciprocal knowledge and aid and more ample and be- neficial exchanges.” 1933: The threat of Hitler looms over the European horizon while, in America, the Roosevelt era begins. The Seventh Interna- . tional Conference of American States opens in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Dr. Campa is Am- bassador to México. 1938-39: Hitler invades Aus- tria and makes triumphant entry in Sudetenland and, in America, Orson Welles’ “Attack from Mars” broadcast sends this na- tion inte panic. With war im- minent in Europe, the first Pan American Conference of Foreign Ministers is held in Panama, the 300-mile safety belt around Ame- rica is voted, and President Ro- osevelt vows to defend our Latin American neighbors with arms and finances. “Already, and notwithstanding its neutrality, America suffered from the interruptions of its in- ter-communications systems, in- creasingly necessary because of the cessation of trade with Eu- rope. The Cuban Delegaiton, with the backing of the U. S. Delegation, proposed the estab- lishment ef the so-called Ameri- can Safety Zone to prevent bel- ligerent nations from seizing the American seas as a theater of operations which would curtail our regional contacts.” 1940: The world is shocked as France surrenders to the Nazis and Hitler’s terror spreads throughout the Continent. Roose- ~ velt is reelected to a third term by a nation reluctant to become entangled in Europe’s turmoil. But the threat is there and a second Conference of Foreign Ministers is held in Havana. Dr. Campa, as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, presides at the meeting. “The occupation by the Nazis of the European Continent in- creased the threatened danger to America, and caused a second Conference of Foreign Ministers to meet in Havana in July, 19- 40. To avoid the possibility of ‘a seizure of European colonies in the hemisphere, an agreement wearing was reached to occupy them in the event of an attempt to over- take them by a foreign power, and to determine, collectively, a provisional plan to better their Political and social condtions.” “At this Conference, where I had the honor to meet Cordell Hull, illustrious fighter for the freedom ef Cuba during the last stages of our Independence War, not only was this measure pass- ed but the seeds for a greater unity sown and the inter-Ameri- can principle of ‘All for one and one for all’ born. . .The event- uality of our collective interven- tion in the world conflict, fore- seen at Havana, became a reali- ty months afterward as a result of Pearl Harber.” 1952: George VI dies and Elizabeth II assumes the throne; NATO conference approves Eu- ropean Army project, and the UN continues to show strength over the Korean conflict. Amb. Campa is Delegate to VIII UN the General Assembly. 1954: Nautilus, first atomic- - powered submarine, is launched at Groton, Conn.; Big-Four Min- isters meet in London to discuss German and: Austrian peace trea- ties; and the Tenth Inter-Ame- rican Conference, held in Cara- cas, Venezuela, adopts an anti- communist resolution, calls for elimination of European colonies in South America, and considers economic problems. Amb. Campa heads Cuba’s Delegation to the Conference and presides over its Economic Commission. “, . Both at the UN General Assembly in 1952 and the Cara- cas Conference in 1954, where I presided over its Economic Com- mission, I presented the points of view of the Cuban Govern- ment combating the infiltration of the communist ideology in America.” 1955: Dr. Campa is named Ambassador to the, United States. aie ¥ Hewes “In 1955, somewhat dver ° a year and a half ago, I came. to the United States as Ambassador, qhere I am happy to have reach- ed, in this unique post, my fiftieth year in my carrer. But, nearing 74, and surrounded by youthful and eminent colleagues, sometimes I say: I wish I were 231" F