The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 198
182 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN the leader of the Liberian delegation, had given me his assurance that his instructions were to oppose Partition. But he had added that they were likely to be under great pressure from the United States and that he was not sure that his instructions may not be changed. About lunch time it began to be rumoured that the President, Mr. Aranha of Brazil, intended to adjourn the meeting that afternoon until Friday morning without taking a vote. Foreign Minister Fadhil Jamali of Iraq and I went to see him in his room in the Assembly immediately after lunch and asked him whether this was his intention. He told us that he intended to adjourn the session because he had been told by Trygve Lie, the Secretary General, that the staff would not be willing to work late, this being Thanksgiving Eve. We suggested it would not be necessary to sit very late. He said he had still five speakers on his list that would take the whole of the afternoon, possibly a part of the evening also, and if the voting started then, what with explanation of votes and points of order it would take us quite far into the evening. Fadhil Jamali and I were two of the five speakers whose names he had on his list and we told him we were prepared to withdraw our names to make it easier for him to dispose of the item by dinner time, but we could not move him. The curious thing is that ever since then, not only the staff has worked late on Thanksgiving Eve but the Assembly has sat regularly on Thanksgiving Day till 2 P. M. This was only an excuse to get an adjournment so that those who were in support of the resolution could make their last-minute efforts to wean away some of those who were opposing the setting up of the State of Israel. But even if the President had not been so willing to fall in with the wishes of those who were supporting Partition, the adjournment could have been carried by a simple majority, and we could not have blocked it. The session was resumed on Friday morning, and in the meantime, strings had been pulled. The representative of Haiti met me in the lounge and, with tears literally coursing down his cheeks, said, "Mr. Minister, what can I do? I have now received instructions that in spite of my speech, in accordance with the instructions of my government, and my declaring that we were opposed to Partition, I have now to vote for it. " General Romulo had in the meantime left for the Philippines, but the Philippines voted for the resolution. Mr. Dennis was still there, but