No. 936 is signed for the Ambassador by Edward L. Freers, minister counselor.
Senator COOPER. I might also refer to the earlier dispatch November 2, 1959, Commission Exhibit No. 908.
Now, were the procedures followed with respect to his request for renewal of his passport---that is in reference to the Department of State, for decision---was that the normal procedure followed when persons who had attempted to renounce or had renounced, claimed or desired to secure renewal of their passport--to refer it to the Department of State?
Ambassador THOMPSON. Yes, sir; I think in every case that would be done.
Senator COOPER. Now, between the time of Oswald's entrance into the Soviet Union and his exit, did you ever see Oswald yourself?
Ambassador THOMPSON. No, sir; I never saw him that I knew of.
Senator COOPER. Did you hear anything about him during his stay in the Soviet Union?
Ambassador THOMPSON. My only recollection is of this first briefing. I don't recall hearing anything else about him.
Senator COOPER. In evidence it has appeared that not too long after he came to Moscow, he went to Minsk and secured a job there.
From your experience as Ambassador, our Ambassador in Russia, and also in other positions in the Embassy, would you consider that unusual, that Oswald should be able to secure a job in a Russian factory while he was there?
Ambassador THOMPSON. No, sir; I think that once they had agreed to let him stay in the Soviet Union, they would have assisted him in obtaining employment, because they believe that everyone that is able to in the country should work, and since he was obviously not staying just as a tourist, I think they would normally have provided employment for him.
Senator COOPER. Also in evidence it indicates he was provided by the Soviet officials with a passport or document which described him as a stateless person.
From your experience would you be able to say whether or not that was a normal procedure for the Soviets to follow with respect to an American tourist?
Ambassador THOMPSON. I think that as long as they agreed to let him stay beyond the normal time of a tourist, that is a month or at the most 2 months, that they would then provide him with documentation so he could identify himself to the police. The police would not normally be able to read an American passport. In the Soviet Union, if you travel at all, you have to produce documenta-tion-to stay in a hotel, very often to obtain transportation. So I think it would be normal that they would provide him with documentation.
Senator COOPER. Would you say that in late 1959, or 1960 or 1961 that the provision by the Soviet Union officials to a tourist of a document like this, saying he is a stateless person, and allowing him to stay beyond the usual time, for a tourist, was ordinary or usual? Would that indicate anything unusual to you, from your experience in the Embassy in Moscow?
Ambassador THOMPSON. No; I think not. I think that in cases of this kind that this would be normal.
Senator COOPER. Would it indicate in any way that they might be considering further his application to become a citizen of the Soviet Union or, in another way, that they were considering whether or not he might be used as an agent of the Soviet Union?
Ambassador THOMPSON. Well, I think there have been a good many cases of people who have come to the Soviet Union from abroad, and I believe that a number of them have not formally renounced citizenship. I recall that in 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union, that there were a number of people who turned up that we had not known were in the Soviet Union, had never been near the Embassy, and had never, as far as we know renounced their citizenship. But they had been living there all this time.
Senator COOPER. You would not have any reason to think, then, that these circumstances might indicate that the Soviets were could consider using him as an agent at some future time?
Ambassador THOMPSON. I would not have much on which to base a judgment on that, other than that it seems to me, of course, possible, in this or any other case in which a foreigner has come in to reside. But as I say there have been a great many cases.

« Previous | Next »

Found a Typo?

Click here

Last Update: Wed, 3 Aug 2016 21:56:34 CET