FOREIGN REACTION TO THE WATERGATE DEVELOPMENTS (W/ATTACHMENT)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01482435
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: May 10, 1973

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LUiiI-
r'"4"NTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
ViAHINGTON, D.C. 20505
(b)(3)
MEMORANDUM FOR: Brigadier General Brent Scowcroft
Deputy Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs
SUBJECT Foreign Reaction to the Watergate
Developments
1. The official reaction abroad to these developments
has, not surprisingly, been scarce. Most foreign leaders
have declined to comment and are keeping their thoughts on
it very much to themselves. They are undoubtedly following
it carefully but withholding decisions until they are more
confident of its implications.
2. In contrast to the guarded official reaction, media
coverage, especially in Europe, has been extensive. The
attached paper, prepared by the Foreign Broadcast Information
Service, reviews this coverage.
3. No other distribution is being made of this paper.
Attachment:
As stated
EDWARD H W. PROCTOR
Deputy Director for Intelligence
CON
TI.AL
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10 May 1973
FOREIGN RADIO AND PRESS REACTION TO WATERGATE DEVELOPMENTS
SUMMARY
1. While West European official spokesmen have been circumspect.,
the successive public disclosur-es of developments in the Watergate
case have sparked increasingly heavy West European radio and press
reportage and commnt, with British and French reaction the most
extensive. The reaction has been generally critical of the
President's handling of the affair, scathing in criticism of his
White House aides, and apprehansive about the impact of the case
on U.S. 'foreign policy. There have been widespread expressions
of concern that the President's effectiveness in foreign affairs
may have been impaired at least temporarily, as wall as some
speculation that hL maybe tempted to take some precipitate foreign
policy action as a means of recouping his prestige at home. Their
unsparing criticism aside, a number of European. commentators have
viewed the public disclosures as a vindication of the American
political process and confirmation of the vitality of democratic
institutions.
2. In the Far East, reportage and comment has been especially
extensive from Japan, where newspapers broke with the normal
practice of carrying foreign news on inside pages to give front-page
prominence to developmerTs since 28 April- Admonitions against
concentrating too much power in the hands of v7hie House aides and
praise for the role played by the U.S. press predominated in Tokyo
press editorials Both in harshly critical and in sympathetic
editorials, there was a pervasive concern about possible
repercussions in the international arena.
3. Saigon,_Seoul, and Taipei reaction has been notably �circumspect..
No mention of Watergate has been heard in any official South
Vietnamese broadcast since at least mid-April, and press comment
has been noted in only three Saigon papers. Seoul radio has�
relegated most of its reports on the subject to the end of its.
newscasts, and the official news agency has limited its coverage
to reporting headlines in Seoul newspapers. Taipei radio has
reported Watergate development's in .its newscasts, but.the.CRINA
NEWS AGENCY has maintained a. blackout on the subject. A single
available press commentary said we do not like to attach too
much importance to this incident" but went on to deplore the
"scandal."' Other Asian reaction has been 'scattered, including. -
Delhi press comment focused on doubt as to the credibility of the
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President's statements and on the potential weakening of his
ability to govern. Two Thai papers editorially praised the
President for refusing to covet up the issue.
5. Comment has been monitored only from Cairo in the Arab
world. Egyptian papers argued that the methods used by the
Administration in domestic matters extend to U.S. relations
with other countries and comTrented that the Watergate disclosures
do not promote confidence in U.S. promises, plans, or statements..
Limited Israeli. press comment saw the, President's opponents as
unduly inflating an affair that would not have raised such a
furor in Israel.
6. There has been little reportage or comment from Africa.
Nigerian reaction was especially critical. Limited Latin American
comment has been iticai from Panama, Chile, and Argentina, mixed
from Colombia, and laudatory of the President from Brazil.
7. Washington's two partners in summit diplomacy have carefully
stayed aloof from the Watergate situation. Peking is still
ignoring it entirely. Moscow has never mentioned the President's
30 April address. Its first news scary since 29 April, when
PRAVDA reported FBI Director Gray's resignation, was a report
on 5 May that Richardson was to replace Kleindienst. By contrast,
Most of Moscow's East .European allies have reported the Watergate
developments promptly and commented on them, though not at the,
authoritative level of press editorials, East Germany and
Czechoslovakia have continued to air the harshest comment, While
much more limited Polish and Romanian coverage has been notably
sympathetic to the President's handling of the affair. Yugoslav
reaction has been restrained and marked by a focus on the possible
international implications--an aspect muted or ignored in the
Soviet bloc comment,
8. Hanoi and Liberation Radio have carried an increasing daily
flow of reports on Watergate since 24 April. Hanoi offered its
first extensive analysis in a two-part radio commentary in
Vietnamese on 7 and 8 April, judging. Watergate a 'great. political
loss" for the President that threatens not only his prestige but
also "his leadership of the nation."
9. Havana has continued to follow the Watergate developments
closely and'tc comment in a caustic vein. It has not, however,
developed a major anti-U.S propaganda campaign .around the subject.�
One broadcast- on 10 May found the inVolvement of "Cuban
counterrevolutionaries" not surprising in light of the President's
alleged relations with such gronps and his "important role" as Vice
President in planning the Ba of. Pigs invasion.
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N7-ST EUROPE
West European spoLesmen have remained largely noncommittal at
the official level. The media have-reported official reactions
limited largely to public expressions of confidence in the
United States or private assurances discounting a Watergate
backlash on U.S. foreign policy. News reports and editorial
comment, however, have increased as the. disclosures relating �
to Watergate htve mounted, with the heaviest coverage monitored
fro,rn the Britih. and French pres.s,
BRITAIN Watergate has become the major, � continuing, story
for the British radio, television,-and press. It
was making front-page headlines in the London- press before the :
President's 30 April speech and has since become. an -even�bigger-
story. British correspondents in Washington have provided daily
reports on each new revelation, including developments relating
to the Ellsberg trial, the Vesco contribution, and the charges
of CIA involvement. The subject. has figured prominently in.
letters-to-the-editor columns.
The press in general has conveyed feelings of shock and dismay
and has expressed concern over the possible repercussions within
the United States and throughout the world. The DAILY TELEGRAPH,
a staunch supporter of the President during the Vietnam war,
declared in. a 30 April editorial that the Presiclent's "behavior
as this crisis mounted has been such as increasingly to undermine
faith not only in his cy;:in competence but also, however
hesitatingly, in his own integrity." Reacting several days
latter to the President's neu guidelines on executive privilege,
the paper cautioned that "no one should claim that any conversa-
tion about Watergate is confidential." It added that the
President "would be wise to forswear any right to executive
privilege in any of the Watergate hearings."
An editorial in the 6 May SUNDAY TELEGRAPH likewise criticized
the President's use of executive privilege saying that
"Chappaquiddick pales into insignificance in Comparison 'with
Watergate." After deriding the President's television speech
as "the pathetic patter of a third-rate car salesman," the
editorial N:,iarned that reliance, on executive privilege would
"further and perhaps fatally erode the fast-diminishing
confidence of the American people in the com:petence and integrit
of their President. That is too, high a price to pay for the
safety from legal impeachment which an imposed silence may
secure."
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Peregrine Worsthorne, the prominent rightwing journalist who has
been highly laudatory of President Nixon in the past, also had
harsh words for him. In a lengthy article, also on the �editorial
page of the 6 May SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, Worsthorne wrote: "If it took
a. pecularily insensitive and arrogant king to shock American
opinion into doing something about the excessive Tower of the
monarch, so it may be that there had to ha a pecularily insensitive
and arrogant President to do the same for the modern powers of
the White House." � What Watergate displays so eloquently, Worsthorn
continued, is the seamy side of power, its squalor and poverty
of spirit, its moral corruption and sheer ugliness."
The London TIMES, in a 2 May editorial on the President's speech,
wrote that Watergate "is indeed a bad business and a dirty
business, but it is not unique. It is not unique, but it is
vary dangerous." Sharply attacking the President's White house �
associates, the editorial said: "These- young � men with their
Pepsodent smiles and their football ethics--their 'name of the
game is winning' beliefs--were not fit people to be around the
White Nouse, not because they. wa.re wicked men, but because they
were only half men. They are not a species only found in the '
United States--there are plenty in London�but � they are totally �
unsuited to politics and are usually lacking in judgment, humor
or compassion- � For a great political party to. allow ,such man to
be so near the top is a' sign, oddly enough, that the Morality. of
old Joe Kennedy has prew41ed.". The .TIMES- went on to su8qest- that
the President felt more secure with second-rate ;subordinates
"partly, one would suppose, because the second-rate offer in. the.
short term an unqualified loyalty that better men do not give."
It is characteristic of "an insecure or self-centered man," the
TIMES added, "to demand such .loyalty, and characteristic of such
loyalty to betray the master's true interests in support of
his supposed wishes. It is.the.loyalty of the men who murdered
Becket."
An article in the 6 May SUNDAY OBSERVER, by Michael Davia,� also
-imuguad the competence o..f the President's advisers.. Watergate,
.he wrote, "shows how the American system throws amateurs up into
positions Of power." Davie went on to say that Watergate had
� exposP.d.a major flaw in the American political system�the
absence of any "rapid way of removing, without a massive convulsion,
a President who has lost the confidence of the people. This
theme has been reiterated in most: of the British papers.
The British Papers all expressed concern over the possible impact
of the case on U.S. foreign policy. The 2 May GUARDIAN, in an
editorial entitled The. Stench. of. Waterzata," wrote "Thi-s is not
the most auspicious time to pursue Dr. Kissinger's fruitful
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suggestion for a new Atlantic charter. Mr. Nixon would be wise
to let the dust settle a bit, assuming that he believes it will
eventually settle. This is a sad consequence of Watergate: 1.1�
Nixon's policies have had much success, notably with China and
Russia, but a pause is now inevitable." The FINANCIAL TIMES
declared on 2 May that the ability of the Nixon Administration.
to take a firm and consistent line an international issues
inevitably be weakened until the Watergate affair is satisfactorily
wound up."
Au article by Gordon Brook-Shepherd in the. 6 May SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
tynified Tritish comment on Fatergatais impact on foreign policy:
"Vihat it amounts to for us is this: In America they are reviving
the old jibe about Mir. Nixon not being the sort of man you
would buy a secondhand car from, but we. in. West Europe may soon
be buying something far more important than that from him--our
life insurance policy in the literal meaning of those words.
The President cannot complain if now, more than ever:before,.we �
resist any attempts of his to draw up that policy too quickly ar-
insert too much fine print at the bottom." The article went on
to say that, what will worry the Kremlin most is "the uncertainty,
not only about Nixon's own future, bu't about the future of his
policymaking style and methods."
The communist HORNING STAR published material on Watergate almost
daily and, like the major papers, mostly in front-page stories.
General Hales appointment produced a banner headline entitled
"Bombing General Moves Into White House.." The NORNI1:;G STAR
also seized upon Watergate as an opportunity to demand Ambassador
Annenberg's recall on grounds that he had given too much financial
support to the President and to "a system which is rotten to the
core."
Bernard Levin .in the 8 May TINES came to the President's defense
and reproved British 'critics for displaying "gleeful hysteria!'. over
Watergate. Levin praised the President's achievements in foreign
and domestic policy as greatly overshadowing anything he might be
criticized Tor in the Watergate affair. Levin's article drew
a response from Labor .HP Michael Foot, who suggested in a letter to
the editor in the next day's TIMES that Levin's credentials as a
political analyst were suspect and that his efforts to assist
"a United States President in trouble" would probably add �
considerably .to the latter's anxieties.
FRANCE Watergate emerged as a major issue in the French press
following President Nixon's 30 April speech, with the
main emphasis placed on the view that the. President had lost
credibility in the ayes of the American public.. LE NONDE-was .
particularly critical of what it described as the President's role
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in "the amateurism, incompetence, and ineptitude Which have
turned a sordid story of seedy espionage into an 'affair'
which is shaking the pillars of justice." On 2 May the paper
commented that whether one believed the President or not,.� "he
will have to confess to a series of errors of judgment in
order to exculpate himself." Correspondent Jacques Amalric
asserted in the 8 May LE MONDE that the President appeared
to be "less concerned with justice and truth" than with �
"using all his powers to further limit the inquiry." An
editorial in the 6-7 May issue of the same paper commented
that the President had shown in his White House appointments
."mental blindness which tomorrow may be called criminal
weakness, and this will weigh heavily on what remains of
his future as President."
LE FIGARO was somewhat less harsh in its treatment of the
President. In the only monitored direct French press reference
to the international impact of Watergate, a 7 May commentary
by correspondent Leo Sauvage stressed the tremendous political.
difficulties confronting the President and observed that he will
likely be handicapped in his foreign.aolicy by "the ball. and
chain tied to his ankle marked 'Watergate.'"
On the 7th L'AURORE summed up .the disclosures on Watergate with �
the observation that the ."different involved in the
affair were .selfishly trying to extricate themclveS: !Hoping�
to protect themselves and to lessen their responsibility, some. ...
of them are even. trying to allege that President Nixon is
likely to be directly responsible." Exploring the implications..
of the disclosures, LE FIGARO on the 8th questioned whether
events would "inexorably lead to the implementation of special
impeachment procedures.," It predicted an "ebb" in U.S. public
opinion and declared that the very people most responsive to
the campaign on the newspapers can tomorrow Or �after suddenly
feel angry at edam and blame the critics for having jeoardized
national unity"
The communist L'EUMANITE restricted itself mainly to reportage
on the President's speech:-..-which correspondent Claude Mores
described on 2 May as "unconvincing",--and General Tiaig's
appointment, The paper also emphasized the various U,S. opinion
polls recordin3 the President's decline in public favor. And it
scoffed at other newspapers for "daring to praise U.S. democracy
under the pretext that it Has not been possible to smother the
Watergate case,"
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WEST GERMANY Prior to the President's 30 April address,
coverage of Watergate in West German media . �
was confined largely to brief factual reports. In an
excePtion, an article by publisher Rudolph Augstein, of
Hamburg's weekly newsmagazine HER SPIEGEL, said that President
Nixon "will Probably go down in his country's history not only
as the audacious China politician but also as the. Watergate
President, whose personal regime produced the most shameful
consequences of cynical use of power."
The lesr.. German press beil,aa to conocnt2te on Waterczate develop-
m.ents oft. 2 May. . The gaTleral thr.ust.of coment was
typified by Hamburg's DIE UELT,. which declared on 2 May. that
"no matter How you look at this sensational case, Nixon's
position has been wakened." The Cologne radio orefacd its
7 May press review with the statement: 'After the new
escalation of the Watergate scandal, commentators are beginning
to ask themselves whether the position. of President Nixon
himself is now threatened." The commentary went on to assert -
that the newly issued guidelines on executive privilege were ,
widely regarded as an attempt to silence White House aides and
as an admission of Presidential weakness"
STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG, noting the possibility of international.
repercussions, said in an editorial on the 7th: "Twilight has
been cast not only on the parson of Nixon but OR the President's
office as well- Viewed from this angle, WatergLin takes on
frightening dimensions for the entire Western World, For
Richard Nixon is not some unimportant government chief but the
most powerful man of the Western alliance, holding an office
that seemed to take good care of the Western world's central
values." The editorial added: "It is to be hoped that the
Watergate affair will be cleared up completely even if this
should turn out to be most painful for the present holder of the
office,"
Oberndorf's SCHURZWAE-.LDER BOTH also speculated on the. possible
international fallout', "What. .will happen when, a few weeks �
from now, Nixon receives Sovj:et party. chief Brezhnev. for �
negotiations of the greatest importance for tbe 170 and Europa?
And what would happen If Nixon on that occasion should. be
tempted to' seel< an advantageous course of the talks only to
cause his involvement in a domestic scandal to be forgotten?"
Coustmace's SUEDKURIER struck a positive note in observing that .
"U.S. democracy. and its press remained fully able to function"
during the furor over Watergate. It continued: � "Things that
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are routine in communist and other dictatorships make head-
lines in a living democracy. Independent critical journalists
are not afraid to expose bad things even if the highest offices
and persons are involved."
ITALY. The Italian press has. covered the Watergate developments
closely, making � frequent use of U.S. press comment and
reports of American public reaction. Milan's CORRTERE DELLA�SERA
has been running almost daily dispatches .from its New York
correspondent reporting the general skepticism in the United
States about the President's avowed "strategy of making a
"cle ,eep" of t1la Watatcl ra6, Like v,Iny ether Italian
papers, the Milan daily in. its 4 May issue stressed the possible
impact on the President's ability to govern "with the necessary
authority and affec,tiveness" if the crisis is not resolved.
In a similar vein, Turin's Lk sTAITA on 5 and 6 May expressed.
hope that the affair--said to have "irreparably- damaged the.
Presidency"--will restore "honesty and discipline' to U.S.
politics. The paper was also hopeful that General Uaig's appoint-
ment to the White_ House staff would lead to a major government
reshuffle. Discussing the international implications, LA STAMPA
warned. on 6 May that the Watergate case was "encouraging
isolationism and protectionism!' in the. 'United States had already.
incurred the hostility of Congress; and would complicate U.S.
forein relations�
A.
The. communist L'UNITA's coverage of Watergate since the end of
April has consisted mainly of reports by its Washington
correspondents on repercussions of the continuing disclosures.
- A report on the President's Speech in the a May issue. called
it an attempt to placate the public and restore the credibility,
. of the Presidency and the Administration.
OTHER COUNTRIES , Austrian media have provided extensive
reportage�of.the Watergate developments but
little comment. The President has been mildly criticized for
having responded to the crisis belatedly and only after massive
public pressure. While the noncounist press has generally
given tffta President, as DIE PaESSE put it, the benefit of the.
doubt" about his pesonal involvement in the affair, the
communist VOLKSSTI= seized on the President's new guidelines
on executive 'privilege as "a clear admission, of guilt." The.
26 koril papers quoted the leaders of the two major Austrian
political parties as saying the affair "has harmed U.S. inter-
national prestige." An article in DIE PRESSE on 9 May stressed
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the urgency of a quick settlement of the affair
the President's forthcoming talks with Brezhnev
restraint on the part of the Democrats. Obsery
only Nixon but America and its institutions are
being put to a hard test," the paper declared:
of revenge for the election defeat are suicidal
circumstances."
in view of
and counseled
ing that "not
currently
"Any feelings
under these
In Switzerland, the NEUE ZUERCHER ZETTUNG on 7 May was critical
of the new White House guidelines on eKecutive privilege on
rouns the the. v:onld only nottif3h suspicious that the
Preside.tat had something to hide. In the next day's issue the
paper took up the. question of Moscow's reaction, saying the
Soviet Union had chosen to remain silent .because of the
importance it attahed to Kissinger's Moscow. visit and adding- .
that the Kremlin probably regretted the. Watergate crisis,
partly because it had been portraying the. President as "a not
altogether bad strong man of America."
The Swedish and Finnish radios tarried brief news reports on
the President's television address and the resignations of the
top White House aides. Helsinki:radii) also reported the
security measures undertaken by FBI agents in the White House
following the resignations of Ehrlichman and Haldeman. Neither
radio, in monitored brdadtasts, had commented directly. In.
Denmark and the retherlan, the co=unist press ridiculed the
Presidents speech in particularly vitriolic tems, charging that
it had failed to resolve the grbwing domestic political crisis.
ASIA AND THE FAR EAST
JAPAN The Watergate affair became the top foreign news � topic
in japan on. 28 April when Patrick Gray resigned as
acting head of the FBI. Public iced official reaction, however,
has been limited to a brief 1 1-Jay remark by chief. Cabinet�
Secretary Susumu Nikaido who said that he did not think Watergate..
would. affect Triiza Ifinistar Tanaka 's plan.s to visit Washington
this s.:1.111rner.
Foreisa news is usually published on the. inside pages of the.
Japanase-danguri.ge press, but on 28 April Asa&I,
ymalaI, and SAN= gave front-page play to dispatches from
their correspondents on Gray's resignation, and TOKYO SHIMBUN
and NIHON KEIZAI--the 'latter primarily a journal of economic
news�reported the resinatIon on page two. .S-Plecf-4va front-page.
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coverage continued with ASAHI and YOMIRI reports on General
Haig's White House appointment; ASHAI, YONIURI, MAINICHI, TOKYO
SHIMBUN, SANKEI; and NIHON KEIZAI coverage of the President's
remarks on testimony by White House officials; and various
reports in the papers of John Dean's accusations, disclosures
by TIME magazine, and the proposal for a special Watergate
prosecutor.
Admonitions against concentrating power in the hands of..
"politically inexperienced". aides and praise for the role played.
by the U.S. press predominated in Tokyo newspaper editorials on
the An aditoial in. the 2 Nay ASHAI termed Watergate
a scackdal" and argued that President Ni7Kon 'waited too
long" to deny White House involvement. Noting that the President -
had achieved great diplomatic successes in the past, the �editorial�
asserted that it "ill not be easy for him to restore the
credibility and. prestige that have been drastically damaged both
at hone and abroad." ASHAI lauded U.S. newsmen for overcdminc,
"strong White House pressure" and continuing their "persistent
probing" of the Watergate affair. Asserting that "all the �
details of this unprecedented, dismal Scandal have not been
uncovered," an editorial in the English-language DAILY YOM-MIon 2 May concluded that the Watergate affair cannot diminish the.
Nixon Administration's achievements in international �affairs but
that "the stain on the moral integrity of the Administration- may
take a long time to fade."
more Positive view Was expressed in a 2 lay editorial in the
English-language JAPAP. T=S, which claimed that the President,
by going directly to the .people in his 30 April speech and �
emphasizing that he had no prior knowledge of the bugging attempt
or of the subsequent moves to cover up the tatter, had .displayed
the same. "great courage" ha had shown in�1952�"whet he was .
accuseJ, as the vice presidential candidate, of having a plush,
secret campaign ,fund." Japanese interest in the -Watergate. case
is piyyrcularly keen., the editorial declared,. because "the
undoia of. the American President's influence and prestige in
these critical times 'would be most unfortunate not. only for the
Unite0. States b,.1t also for the world at large." The editorial
concluded that 'undoubtedly., the American people will accept
President Nixon's statement of his noninvolvement, for they do
prefer too,:ep the offtce of the president sacrosanct and beyond
scandal." TOKYO SHIMBUN the same day editorialized that Watergate
might provide Congress "with a favorable opportunity to apply the.
brakes to an excessive. concentration of power in the White House,"
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The Japan Communist Party organ AKAHATA charged on 2 May
that Watergate developments had exposed the "Nixon regime as
willing to do anything to. achieve its. objectives." The
President, characterized as "stubborn and crafty," was charged
with attempting to "evade criticism and the attacks against
him by sacrificing his aides." AKAHATA on 6 May called the
White House a "headquarters for'professional spies" and
charged that "the U.S. political world is just like a
mafia-controlled gangsterdom." On the 3th,.AKAHATA said
continuing disclosures of Watergate misconduct had revealed
that even a former deputy director of the CIA was "entangled
in the Nixon Administration's corrupting spyinL., operations.
It is inevitable, ,threfore, that Tfi:::Dn's responsibility as
President will he further probad."
SOUTH VIETNAM South Vietnamese official. broadcast media
have avoided any reference to the Watergate
case since at least two weeks prior to the President's. 30 April
address. The VIETNAM PRESS �bulletin, disseminated by the RVN
ministry of information, has carried only sporadic foreign news
agency reports on Watergate developments. From 30 April to -
9 May, VIETNAM PRESS in English carried four press reports
attributed to foreign news agencies,' but the Vietnamese-language
edition carried only one such report'--a brief. UPI summary of
the President's 30 April speech�on 2 May.
Available comment in the local Saigon press has' been confined to
three papers, two of them opposed to the Thieu government. The
opposition DIEN TIN on 3 May, for example, argued that the
Watergate case had become a "notorious scandal unprecedented in
U.S. election history." And DAN SONG, published by the dissident
An Quang Buddhist faction, related the. Watergate case to the
local South Vietnamese political scene: "In Vietnam police checks
on household members have been conducted daily, frightening elderly
parents whose loved ones have reached draft age," but nothing
has come to light as it did with Watergate.
The progovernment CHENH LUAN asserted on 9 Eay that even if the
affair does not result in the President's resignation, he will
still be in a "weak position.," since it will be difficult for the
Republican Party to hold its own in next year's congressional
elections. ,CHIN LUAN speculated that this situation might
encourage the communists "to try to embark once again on a
military adventure."
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SOUTH KOREA Monitored Seoul radio coverage has been
limited to Western news agency dispatches and
cabled reports by the. Washington-based correspondents of Seoul
newspapers. Apart from the Preident's- 30 April address,.
Watergate developments have generally been relegated to the
end of newscasts .� Brief, factual radio re-Ports have covered.
all major aspects of the situation�including speculation
about imneachment possibilities, alleged CIA involvement, and
a possible tie-in with the Pentagon papers case.. White House
denials of involvement and .reports .that President Nixon is
Taking great efforts CO geL to the bottom of the affair have -
also been reported.
The official news agency, HAPTONG, however, has avoided any
detailed reportage on-the case, carrying only headlines and
editorial titles from SeoulYs morning and afternoon newspapers.
Representative editorial titles quoted in HAPIONG's 2 May press
review were "Nixon and Watergate Scandal" appearing in TONGA
ILBO and "America's Good Political Conscience, A Comment on
Watergate," published in CHUNCANG 31E6.
OTHER COUNTRIES � Delhi radio has broaccast reviews of several
Indian nespaper,commentaries on the subject�
most of them critical of the. President's. handling .of the situation.
The INDIAN EXPRESS, the NATIONAL. REULD, the STLTESAN..� the
TRIBUNE, the HINDUSTAN:TILES, aiv:Lthe PATRIOT focused en reportt.
.of doubt as to the credibility of the Presidents statements, on
the potential weakening of. the -.President's ability to govern anri
exercise moral authority,. and on the implications for the .
viability of the U.S. election system. A 4 May INDIAN EXPRESS'
editorial maintained that the President "apparently had no choice
but to make the kind of .statcment he did, obviously a bid to
spivage his image." The NATIONAL REaALD said it would "L,E.
difficult for him to prove that he was thnt in the dark throuhoul-."
Thai newspapers have editorially praised- the President for assuming
respousibility�and for refusing to cever nT) an issue tl.lat has
"sullied the- political his soy Of America." (:1,ILY NEWS, 2 nay) and
has exposed "dirty politics" in a eeuatry with a :traditionally
democratic form of government (THAI .RNIH, 3 Ilay). Liore critical
comentaries appeared in SIS on 4 and 5 Ilay: The pacer accusrl �
the President at "grasping at straws to save himself" when he said .
the Watergate affair showed that the American political system was �
capable of bringing hidden facts to light through normal processes. �
�
1;alaysia1s STP,AITS TINES on 2 May carried an editorial expressing
confidence the President will extricate himsell!, his government,
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and his party from the unholy mess" if .he returns "to the. �
traditional method Of putting executive responsibility in
the hands of ministers, not blue-eyed personal counselors
without political or public experience.'
The only monitored Indonesian reaction was a �2 May Jakarta
radio commentary uhich speculated that the President would �
respond to the setback by initiating a new �move on the inter-
national scene. Mutual and balanced. :force reduction in Europe
was seen as a possible arena for ,uch a mov,,
While Taipei radio has factually reported. Watergate developments,
the CHIN NEWS AGENCY has transmitted no reports on the subject.
The only available press comment, a UNITED DAILY NEWS editorial
on 2 May, said that. "as an ally of the United States, we do not
like to attach too much importance to this incident."
Nevertheless, it went on to say that "the Watergate scandal
has more or less exposed the 'dark side of American democracy'
and suggested that the affair may have undercut the effectiveness
of U.S. leadership "in opposing communist. totalitarianism."
MIDDLE EAST
AR/23 COUNTRIES Onl-j Cairo has originated oemment on. .the
Watergate developments, With Egyptian broadcasts�
summarizing articles- from the Cairo press. While of all Arab
radios Cairo has carried the fullest, most regular news coverage,.
its accounts nevertheless have been brief Eag1dad�radio has. � �
given the developments the least attention. It reported the
resignation of the President's top aides on 30 'April', then
ignored the situation until $ May..
Cairo's AL-AKTiBla observed on 6 ilay that "th2se scandal's are a
lesson that does not promote. confidence in the promises end plans
of the U.S. Government or r the statements-of U.S. officialq.
AL-AKHBAR declared that if a nation's. basic system is founded on.
injustice, .racial persecution, and. armc?.d. .a:;cgression, Epad if this
system: permits the state to deny the. rights .of other peoples,
as the United States: denies the Palestinians' rights, than
individuals � in that state "will find nothing criminal in committing
various types of violations." ,The Same paper commented on 7 Hay�
that although the U.S. "scandalsP are basically domestic, they
axe in fact part of "the methods of deceit, cheating', plotting,
and agression that the Nixon Administration has resorted .to" as
official policy since its first days in offir-,... -AL-JUHEIVRIYAH -
said on 6 May that the revelations in the Watergate affair can
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serve as a guideline for other states in determining their
relations with Washington, because it is .unlikely that a person
who plots against his fallow citizens would not plot against
others as well,
ISRAEL Israeli media have promptly reported developments
since 28 April, hut other than press articles
-
briefly noted by Jerusalem radio on 2 May, there has been no
col=ent.. The radio's review of the press said that �.both HAMODIA'
and. YEDI'OT HADASHDT balieVr-d the President's opponents were
uxidT.Y ihflat:'!...71 the Watrg.e.bgging and_ found.it h5d to
3uch a furor over 4 similar situation in Israel.
YEDI'OT AHARONOT said all countries, including Israel, could
learn a. lesson from the case, particularly from the fact that
President Nixon took responsibility even though he was not
personally involved and dismissed his top advisers merely -
because they were under suspicion.: There are people in Israel,
too, who are "responsible for omissions," the paper added but
they are never dismissed.
GREECE, TURKEY,. . Athens and Teheran radios have giVen. the. � .
IRAN, CYPRUS Watergate case scattered attention in news
broadcasts, while the .Turkish press and � �
Ankara radio have .provided regular news coverage of developments.
since 30 April, None of the radios has carried original comment,
e.N.d there is no r-rv;.LLI.e:Y1e press reaction from Iran. The Istanbul�
CU3== on -2 Nay carried a lengthy- raoort on �tha case and �
on reaction to it, including a-comment by the London SUNDAY TINES'
Henry Brandon that 'for the first time in 23 years I sense a
fear that the government may be rotten to the core."
Comment in some Athens papers has viewed the case against the �
background of the political situation in Greece and the issue Of �
press freedom there. Observing that "domestic political -
eep ooa: Y is a Ti_Sus-a of po,,Ter, TO VE:A remarked on 2 Y47 that
it realted fror;., the "gradual transfer of political power (and.
the rule of the people)" to "forces outside the constitution who
have the means and power to act without controls." The paper
condered the public outcry for .a cleanup a healthy sign "Which
only a dewocracy can guarantee,". whereas "authoritative regimes"
can cover up what they wish, 'nth the recent confiscation of the
Athens paper I VRADY111 possibly in mind, TO VIHA co-wanted on
4 May that the dress should be free not just to say what. the
authorities would like but also what they do not like..
AK:201'0.1:E3 observed on. 3 May that the case had taken on such
proportions as to endanger, "if not fir, Nixon's position, � at least
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his authority and effectiveness as President." The paper �
saw the affair as coming at a bad time for the United States,
with relations with Europe still "unregulated," the war in
Indochina continuing, Middle East news not reassuring, and
"continuing aoom" on Wall Street. On the 4th AKEWPOLIS
asked how the United. States could be. politically decisive and. -
assert itself at home and abroad under such conditions. It
urged Connally, Vice President Agnew, and "others Who have not
been tainted" to support the Presidnt-and.brIng a quick end
to the affair,
Cypriot media, both Creek ;:ind Tura, have gLvn almost
daily
attention to developments in factual news reportage, but
the
only available com:Tlent has come from KHARAVYI, the organ of the
Cyprus cormunist party, and from the apposition paper I CNMI-
KHLRAVYI on the 8th, speculating on the possibility of
impeachment of the President, claimed that Mr. Nixon was
already accountable to the public for "this hideous electronic.
exercise in brute. force." Militating against impeachment,. �
according .to the paper, was the fact that many Republicans
and Democrats � faced the possibility of an Agnew in the
Presidency" as "tha 'ulti7,1P-e evil,' greater than the continuation.
of Nixon in the White House," The oppoSition.I GNall saw the
Watergate case as a victory for democracy and the press and,
relating it to the Cypri:s situation, asked if the Opposition
and its press enjoyed the slightest freedom to judge and criticize
the President. A
AFRICA
NORTH AFRICA Tripoli radio has carried aIMost daily reports �
on Watergate developments with no orip:ina:1
comnient, although it did report the 7 May Cairo AL-AKEBE),
contary. There was virtually no monitored reportae frol
Maghreb broadcasts. . The North African press has pUbilitd
generally short, factual reports, usually citing.U.S. rapers and
Western news agencies. The only availz.lble direct conrent came
on 6 May. in the Casablanca Li ATIN, which assessed the Presidellt's
speech as "weak'bates "bringing him credit., " Morocco's
L'OPLNION on I May prefaced a REUTER article on the White Rouse
resignatios,with its own Observation that the Watergate 'political -
scandal" was still having.rapercussions that were of interest to .
both domestic and international public opinion. An article in- the.
Algiers EL MUJIII.EID on 4 May on time President's state of the world
message noted in passing that the Nixon Administration "has been
badly shaken." by. the Watergate affair.
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SUB-SARN AFRICA nonitored Sub-Saharan African coverage
has been limited in volume and generally .
relegated to the end of newscasts, but critical in tone.
Comment is available only from Nigerian and Ghanaian media.'
In a talk broadcast over Lagos radio on 2 and 4 Nay, .President.
Nixon was judged to be "at. the center of the whole Watergate
mess," which was viewed as "just one of the usual occurrences
of the American way of life" and as puncturing "the illusion
of America as God's own country and the bastion of damocratic - �
ideals." A Lagos 4 May DAILY EXPRESS editorial said.the effects
of Watergate were "sufficient to senI sN-L.en packing
even though he had othei:wie enjoyed a enduring
career," Ghana's DAILY GRAPHIC', published�in Accra, asserted
in a 2 nay editorial that even the resignations of President
Nixon's advisers "Can do little to erase the 2eat reverses.
which the affair imposes on the future of free elections everywhere
in the world."
LATIN AMFRICA
Latin American radios have broadcast considerable factual news.
coverage of Watergate developments, Comment is available so far
from Panama radio and television and from newspapers in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, and Colop,bia.
Panama 'City Televisora National decribed th;, s.fair as
"unquestionably sordid," and the government station Radio
Libertad said the President demonstrated a "slippery technique
when he attempted to "skim over the. Watergate scandal," An
editorial in the Chilean ULTIMA HORA viewed Watergate as a
revelation of the "total decadence of the Lilierican system" and
an example of why the President's image has "deteriorated' in
the eyes of the American people, The Buenos Aires' LA PRENSA
on 3 publis11 1a lo-c dispatch .rom 11:1 orres-Dondnt in
New York consisting orinas fly of bakround Daterial and sue tins
from the President's .critics in the Unit:ed. States. LA PRENSA
comented that the "scandal" reached "a new dimension of notoriety
when the President on 30 Aesil accepted "the rspon....;ibilitylor
the espionage."
Bogota's EJ, TI=O on 4 May commented sarcastically on what it called
the President's "gift _for filling his' eyes with tears in public"
and on the "insolence" of his Administration in the past rear months,
But more favorable colment appeared the next day in the Colombian.
EL SICLO, which said the President clearly had nothing to do with
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Watergate because it would have been "completely foreign"
to his nature. In a similar vein, an editorial in Rio de
Janeiro's 0 GL030 on 4 May said Watergate had placed the
'President's personal position in jeopardy but his dignified
behavior had enhanced his personal stature and ennobled the
democratic system.
COYMUNIST COUNTRIES
THE USSR Having reported the 'President's 17 April statement
about "major developments" in the case on the 19th
and than ignored Watergate until the 28th, when TAGS tersely
reoorted rBI f.)rector Gray's resignation and the apnointm,-nt
of auckeishaus to replace him, Moscow again fell silent until
5 May. A single-sentence dispatch on Richardson's replacing
Kleindienst appeared in central newspapers that day and the next,
with no indicatiorithat the shift related to Watergate. Soviet
media have yet to mention the resignations of any of the White
House staff aides or the President's 30 April address.
The sole commentary on Watergate to appear in any monitored
Soviet media came at about.the,same.tima PRAVDk reported the -
President's 17 April statement. A commentary in the -Quechua
dialect, in a radio service tailored for Indian audiences in
Bolivia and Peru, used the-Watergate case to press the basic,
simplistic theme of the Quechua broadcasts�that the "imperialist"
system is decadent and 7.orruptz No mention of the case has been.
heard in any other Moscow broadcast to any audience-.
THE EAST EUROPEAN BLOC Most East European media, having given
Watergate developments low-level coverage
from the outset, have stepped up their comment since the events of
30 April. There is no comment to date, however, at. the authoritative
level of a press editorial.
Czechoslovak and, particularly, East German media have continued
to provide' the most extensive reportorial coverage and the �harshast.
comment. Several East German commentaries were especially -critical
of the President's personal role,. A 4 May commentary in DER MORGEN
found the President's assertion of innocence in the Watergate.affair-
"incrediblej and a BERLINER 4EITUNG article termed those who have
resigned in connection with the affair "Tricky Dick's scapegoats."
By contrast-, Romanian and Polish coverage, parked by very limited .
comment, has bean notable for a generally sympathetic portrayal of
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the President's handling of the affair. The Polish Government
paper ZYCIE WARSZAWY on 3 May, for example, emphasized that
Watergate was a crisis for the. U.S. political structure but not
for the President personally, since he was "emerging from these
straits unscathed." The Romanian press on 2 May carried an.
AGERPRES dispatch which lad off by saying the President had
given assurances that "justice'will be pursued fully and
imoartially in the Watergate affair, no matter who is involved."
CzeChosiovak, East German, and to a lesser extent Hungarian�and
Polish media have pictured the Watergate case as exemplifying
practices encluHe to the capitalist system and have played do7m
its possible lc--rmagz, ran ficatlocs either for the ZAminiGilratioa �
or for the U.S. political system. While East European.comment-as-
a v7hole has avoided broaching the question of how Watergate might
affect the United. States international position, a Bulgarian
press article on the President's state of the world massage did
cite U.S,. sources for an assertion that the White_ House- hopes
for some positive achievements in foreign policy to cover up
'all the dirt" surrounding Watergate. By and lage,. however,
Bulgaria's coverage has been sparse and muted, typically following
the Soviet lead.
YUGOSLAVIA Limited coverage in YugoSlav,media has been
restrained and somewhat more serious and analytical
in tone than that of Moscow's 'Fast European allies. a.lgrada.
r.:1io said the PreF,dde1:t. would now try to convince domestic critics
not to capitalize on the Watergate developments in order to.
minimize their impact in coming talks with Brezhnev. and West
.European leaders and in international forums. A commentary on
the results of Kissinger's recent trip to Moscow suggested that
the failure to announce a definite date for Brezhnev's U.S. visit
may have been related to Watergate.
THE VIETNAMESE tWIMNISTS Vietnamese commun-Tst media weta slow
5n rcact disclocures in the
Watargat(-1 c..53e, with the firs .tr:epcift coming in a Hanoi radio
broadcast on 24 .1,nril--a full week after the President's stateMent
of the 17th. Hanoi's initial sileacemay have been related to -
rie-vioents in TiRV-U.S. relations or may 1.1,,Ive merely- reflected
caution in evaluating the significance of the case. Hanoi's
pubJ.:Lc:Lty lies been confined to routine-level radio and press accounts,�
with no authnritative press coment. In keeping with the- pattern
since the signing of the peace agreement, Hanoi's treatment of the
President has been devoid of the kind of persOnal invedtive that
had been a staple of DRY comment during the war years. Reports
on Watergate have been critical of the President; but derogatory
references have generally been attributed to the Western 'press.
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Since the �24th there has been an increasing daily flow of.
Hanoi. and Liberation Radio attention to Watergate. Typifying_
Hanoi's relative circumspection, however, Hanoi's first lengthy
report, broadcast in Vietnamese on the 28th, .cited Western
news agencies for the allegations that "Nixon has become �
furious as his role in the Watergate case is being tracked down"
and that "the activities of the:White House are virtually
paralyzed." Hand-its reports on the President's 30 April speech,
included a. 3 May broadcast which claimed he had "admitted
part of tha guilt" and cited U.S. sources for speculation that
the President had participated in a coverup and might resign.
A Liberation P.71(7.io comae: tary on 3 1:17 claled that the "entire
ruling apparatus" of the United Stat2.3 vJas involv3d in efforts
to "rig" the election.. The broadcast also cited OP for a
report that South Vietnamese President Thieu is worried about
the possibility that the Watergate affair may adversely affect
Smith -Vietnam.
A two-part radio commentary in Vietnamese on 7 and 8 May
offered Hanoi' a first eaten.oive analysis of the affair.-
� ,
Reviewing events over the past year, tue commentary judged
Watergate to be a "great political Loss" for the. President and
his. Administration. which "not only threatens the President's
prestige but also threatens his leadership of the nation."
ALBANIA, An article la the Albanian party's zoll I POPULLIT
ff_MH KCP.EA on 8 :nay and limited domes radio comment since
the 4th, while belated, has b,,,an typically .
vituperative. The basic themes were that Watergate is one of many
symptoms of the corruption of the American political system and
that the President has been "maneuvering" to cover up the facts -
and forestall further revelations.
Pyongyang's reaction was also vituperative, though it .too was
belated and low in volume. A limited amount of press and radio
comTen',7. since 3 Hay has focud critically on the President's
handling of the case and concluded that Watergate attests to the
"rottenness" of American society and of the U.S. leadership.
CUBA Havana has continued to reDort e:etco.sivaly on the Watergate
developments and has .sustained the caustic tone of its
comment. Commenting on the President's 30 April speech, the domestic
radio and PRENSA LATINA emphasized that the affair had by no means
reached its culmination and that further evidence linking the-.
President himself to the affair would likely emerge. A Havana
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broadcast to ,.he Americas on 10 May focused the "Cuban
counterrevolutionaries" involved. It found their participation
not surprising in light of the President's "long-standing close
relations" with such groups and his "important role in planning
the mercenary invasion of Playa Giron when he was Vice President."
Havana has not developed a major propaganda campaign around.
Watergate, however.
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