Egyptian Envoy Protests to State Dept. Against Picketing of ‘cleopatra’

The United Arab Republic today made known its “official concern” in a protest to the State Department over the refusal of American dock-workers to unload the Egyptian freighter Cleopatra in New York harbor.

United Arab Republic Ambassador Mostafa Kamel delivered the protest personally to G. Lewis Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. The Ambassador said the picketing was “unfair discrimination” that could undermine American -UAR relations. He asked the Government to intervene with the Seafarers’ Union and Longshoremen’s Association to bring about the unloading of the Cleopatra and other UAR ships.

Ambassador Kamel said the UAR maintained certain restrictions against Israeli shipping because of a technical state of war. But no “state of war” exists between America and the UAR, the Ambassador argued. (The Unions are picketing the Egyptian ship in New York because of UAR discrimination against American ships trading with Israel.)

Mr. Jones reassured the Ambassador that the New York picketing did not reflect the official policy of the United States. The Ambassador was informed that it would be difficult if not impossible for the Department of State to intervene with the picketing unions to end the boycott against UAR ships.

(In Cairo, U.S. Ambassador G. Frederick Reinhart discussed the ‘Cleopatra case’ with Mahmoud Fawzi, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Republic. It was understood that Mr. Reinhart pointed out that the United States Government had no legal means of forcing the maritime workers to discontinue picketing the Egyptian ship except through the courts and the courts took time. The Ambassador was said to have reminded the Arab officials that in last year’s steel strike not even the President of the United States could take swift action.)