International records / Foreign Relations of the United States

407. Telegram From the Embassy in Ethiopia to the Department of State

n be said now with reasonable certainty is that the shaping of the outcome began on the afternoon of June 7 but things did not actually come together until fairly late in the day of June 8, and that the Committee of Nine composed of Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Congo, Uganda, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Zambia played a major role. By its composition this group was well placed to talk reason to the Polisario. A different turn of events could have made Sekou Toure the villain of the summit and dashed hopes for a Conakry meeting. As it turned out, he is the summit’s unsung hero. By rallying…