Consequent on withdrawal of facilities by Governments of India and
Pakistan, Netherlands Government have approached us with request
for facilities for Royal Dutch Airline (K.L.M.) to use Mauritius.

2. We realise that grant of these facilities might be open to
misinterpretation. We are, however, advised that under the
(Chicago) Convention on International Civil Aviation we have no
power to refuse Dutch request unless we at the same time prohibit
operation of all other services via Mauritius.

3. There are at present three services (one United Kingdom, one
South African and one French) which terminate in Mauritius and
provide normal air communications and we do not feel that it would
be possible to contemplate a complete stoppage of all civil air
services to and from the island. But refusal to allow the Dutch
alone to use Mauritius would be a clear breach of our commitments
under the Chicago Convention. We are clear that we should not be
justified in taking a step which could with justification be
represented as a breach of international law governing civil
aviation and which would set a precedent that might be of the most
embarrassing character.

4. After careful review we have decided, therefore, to grant Dutch
request but subject to prior undertaking from the Dutch that
K.L.M. aircraft allowed to proceed via Mauritius shall not be
allowed to carry either military personnel, arms, ammunition or
warlike stores.

5. We are anxious, however, that you should have prior information
of the action we propose to take and for the reasons for which we
see no alternative to it. A similar message is being sent to other
Commonwealth Governments.