THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 17 SEPTEMBER 1971

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005992866
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 17, 1971

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The President's Daily Brief
17 September 1971
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
17 September 1971
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
In East Pakistan, the political climate has not been
improved by the measures Yahya has taken to date,
and general disruption remains severe. (Page 1)
On Page 3, we comment on Egyptian President Sadat's
latest speech.
Israel
\
French\
(Page 4)
South Vietnam's militant Buddhists are now calling
for a boycott of the presidential election. (Page 5)
/Chinese
(Page 6)
Peking is employing high-ranking trade missions to
try to strengthen economic and political ties abroad.
(Page 7)
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32-
IRAN
JAMMU
AND
KASHMIR
amabad* Srinagar
?1,
Lahore.
WEST
PAKISTAN
*New Delhi
CHINA
51K KIM
Karachti .
.Benares
Catcutta.
INDIA
agong
BURMA
Arabian Sea
Bombay,
0
'Madras
MALDIVE
ISLANDS
80
Bay of Bengal
0 400 M'Ies
0
551879 9-71
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PAKISTAN
Actions taken by President Yahya earlier
this month to improve the political situa-
tion in East Pakistan have had little ef-
fect to date.
Despite the amnesty announced early this month
for all but a few hundred insurgent leaders, several
prominent East Pakistanis presumably covered by the
amnesty are still in jail and, according to our con-
sulate in Dacca, the popular view is that Yahya's
announcement was an empty gesture.
The new civilian governor in the East, A. M.
Malik, has been seeking to convince his fellow Ben-
galis to work for reconciliation and reconstruction.
His promises of protection for refugees, Hindus,
workers, and students have not so far elicited any
favorable public response.
, friction between the
military leaders is inevitable-
overnor and local
Guerrilla attacks on transportation and power
facilities in East Pakistan continue. Travel be-
tween Dacca and Comilla has been repeatedly inter-
rupted. Damage to the main power line furnishing
electricity for the major port of Chittagong has
left industry there at a standstill for the past:
week. The restriction of army movement caused by
flooding has enabled insurgents to operate openly
in some parts of the province, and the Bangla Desh
flag flies over some towns. In Dacca, however, se-
curity forces appear to have broken up the local in-
surgent organization, .at least temporarily.
Food distribution problems continue to plague
East Pakistan. A study conducted by US officials
in Dacca indicates that available foodgrains will
be just adequate to avert mass starvation, but in-
dividual consumption will have to be kept at an ex-
tremely low level. Much depends on the functioning
of. the internal transport system which must move
food from ports and from surplus to deficit areas.
To date, transport disruptions-have continuously
hampered foodgrain movements within the province.
(continued)
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An upsurge in guerrilla activity, which appears
likely as additional guerrillas complete their train-
ing in India, could further jeopardize food distri-
bution efforts. The flood waters now moving down
the Ganges River through India may also hinder trans-
port activity and could threaten the rice crop.
Meanwhile, West Pakistan, with reduced food
stocks, is approaching the critical December through
April period when food shortages may occur. Accord-
ing to a West Pakistani official, output in Punjab--
which normally produces 75 percent of the West wing's
wheat--is down 20 percent from last year, and the
Punjab government has refused to supply wheat to
other provinces.
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EGYPT - MIDDLE EAST - UN
President Sadat in his nationwide address last night
threatened to put the Arab-Israeli problem back into
the hands of the UN. He said he would call for a
Security Council session at the foreign minister level
"at some stage" so that everyone, including the US,
could "define his attitude" and so that the interna-
tional community could "shoulder its responsibility"
toward the Middle East dispute. Deploring US failure
to define its own position on a settlement, Sadat
several times accused the US of "deception" and mis-
representation of the positions of both Israel and
Egypt and of Egypt's terms for a settlement. He also
complained that, although Egypt had agreed to a period
of quiet diplomacy, it had had "no contact whatsoever"
with the US since 6 July and that "there is a limit
to everything."
Sadat's speech also dwelt at length on the political,
economic, and social reforms he had put in motion at
home, asserting that these were not diversions or ends
in themselves, but a necessary foundation for "the
battle." He repeated his claim that 1971 would be a
decisive year, "whether through peace or fighting,
but he made it clear that building the domestic
foundation will be a' "long road."
British Foreign Secretary Douglas-Home told Ambassador
Rockwell in Rabat yesterday that it was his impression
from his just-concluded talks with Sadat and other
Egyptian leaders that they want and need a settlement.
He felt that they were anxious for more substantive
contacts with the US, but that they feared the US had
given up on Egypt and was resigned to accepting the
Israeli position.
The outlook' regarding Security Council considera-
tion of Jerusalem may be further clouded by Sadat's
latest attitude. Jordan's failure to present the
draft resolution it had worked out with the US at
yesterday's Council session on Jerusalem stemmed
from the resolution's unacceptability to a majority
of the Arab delegations.
most of the
Arabs still favor, seeking some' resolution that can
win majority approval in the Council now that the
subject has been raised. Intra-Arab agreement on
a. text,. however; apparently: may take until- as long
as. the end of next week to reach. ?
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ISRAEL-FRANCE
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The An Quang Buddhists issued a statement yes-
terday calling on their followers to boycott the
presidential election.
some of the more radical Buddhist leaders
are said to be consulting with other opposition
groups, including Ky's camp, in an effort to enlist
support for an active antigovernment campaign.
Earlier information, reported in The
President's Daily Brief of 13 September,
had indicated that the An Quang leader-
ship was against doing anything that would
increase political turmoil and was not
planning to oppose Thieu. The call for
? a boycott suggests that the leadership may
have been under pressure from some of the
? more radical An Quang elements to take a
stand. An Quang leaders are still likely
to shy away from open agitation against
the government, but their boycott could
result in a substantial reduction in the
number of voters.
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COMMUNIST CHINA
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COMMUNIST CHINA
Several high-ranking Chinese trade delegates'
are now abroad, or going shortly, seeking to
strengthen economic and political ties. The. minis-
ter of foreign trade is-to,head a delegation to
France, Italy, and Algeria next month; .the trips to
Paris and Rome are to reciprocate for similar visits
to Peking during the past year and to assess inter-
est in increased trade, while the 'stop in Algiers
will concern, at least in part, disposition of a re-
cently concluded Chinese loan. China's deputy for-
eign trade'minister, who recently completed a visit-
to.Guyana, is currently on a tour of Scandinavian
countries, planning to meet-with industrial repre-
sentatives. China's minister of light:lndustry-has
been visiting Yugoslavia over the past week in con-
'junction with Peking's participation in a Yugoslav
trade fair for thefl first time in, over' ten years.,
Later this month, Chinese textile expert S are ex--
pected to visit Italy, France,.. and Switzerland.:
With these trade'initiatiVes, the Chinese
will exploit foreign:hopes to develop an
expanding China market and will be work-
ing to build support from these countries
for Peking's international political po-
sition. Wider trade contacts with devel-
oped European states could bring greater
opportunities for the Chinese to obtain
much needed equipment of 'an advanced
scientific and technical nature.
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