Cable from the Chinese Embassy in Morocco, 'A Goan Discusses Goa’s Issues with Us'

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Telegram Received by the Foreign Ministry
Status: Very Urgent
From the Station in Morocco

9 August 1961

A Goan Discusses Goa’s Issues with Us

[To] The Foreign Ministry:

Today a spokesman for the Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies’ permanent secretariat in Morocco, Aquino de Braganca (a native of Goa, India, and member of the Goan People’s Party), came to visit Chargé d'Affaires Gong, and discussed two issues.

One, the current political situation in Angola: Angola has two major political parties. One is the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola [MPLA], which advocates studying China’s method of encircling the cities with the countryside, and the other is the Union of the Peoples of Angola [UPA] headed by Jima’er [sic]. Jima’er has always been close to the West; he refused to attend the Conference of the Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies held in Casablanca, and went to visit the United States. It is now certain that, guided by an American Christian organization in Africa, he receives American aid from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions via the Tunisian General Labor Union. The US is now supplying him with large numbers of weapons. His UPA party has actually arrested members of the MPLA, claiming that they are Communists. Moreover, the outside world, not understanding the situation, only reports on the struggle of the UPA against Portugal. [Braganca] wishes China and other socialist countries to understand this situation.

Two, the status of Goa’s struggle: The Goan People’s Party is carrying out the struggle to oppose Portugal and win independence. But the Indian government, in collusion with America and England, has been obstructing the People’s Party activities from all sides. Nehru does not have much power now, and there are many domestic difficulties; to shift the focus of people’s discontent, [his government] has been making trouble with China over border issues. Furthermore, Nehru is aging; as soon as he dies, India will shift even more to the right, and join the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Goa is set to become an important military port for SEATO, and because of this America and England attach considerable importance to the Goa issue. Kakodkar, General Secretary of the Goan People’s Party, hopes for an invitation to visit China, to study China’s experience and introduce the Goan situation [to China]. Surveillance by Indian government agents has made it inconvenient for him to raise this issue with the Chinese consulate in India, so he is doing so with the embassy in Morocco. The General Secretary was a member of India’s Communist Party, and later devoted himself to the cause of Goan liberation; he was imprisoned on Cape Verde, and not long ago was released and returned to Goa.

We have had general interaction with this person; in conversation, he frequently expressed dissatisfaction with India’s leaders, but [we] do not have a clear picture of how he came to Morocco or the political situation. We eagerly await directives on how to respond to the People’s Party General Secretary’s request to visit China.

[Chinese] Embassy in Morocco

9 August [1961]

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