CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1952/04/08

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02692618
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: May 24, 2019
• Document Release Date: May 30, 2019
• Publication Date: April 8, 1952

Approved for Release: 2019/05/08 CO2692618
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SEC Y INFORMATION
8 April 1952 3.5(c)
Copy No. 4
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO.
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Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SECURIT NFORMATION
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SUMMARY
GENERAL
1. Soviet Orbit charters of foreign vessels increasing (page 3).
2.
FAR EAST
3. Chinese again report civilian suffering in North Korea (page 4).
4. Chinese guard against plague threat from Korea (page 4).
5. France intimates willingness to repatriate Chinese Nationalists in
Indochina (page 5).
6. Indonesian Government uncovers plot to capture West Java capital
(page 5).
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NEAR EAST - AFRICA
WESTERN EUROPE
8. Severe crisis afflicts Trieste pro-Cominform party (page 6).
9. Possible end of West Berlin coalition government seen (page 7).
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GENERAL
1. Soviet Orbit charters of foreign vessels increasing:
Soviet Orbit countries chartered at least 421
merchant ships, including 32 tankers, totalling
approximately 1,525,089 gross tons from non-
Communist countries during the fourth quarter
of 1951.
2.
In the first ten months of 1951 the Soviet Orbit
chartered 583 non-Communist ships, including 44 tankers, aggregating
approximately 3,438,254 gross tons. Most of the ships involved were of ,
British, Norwegian, Panamanian, or Greek registry.
Comment: The Soviet Orbit drive to expand
trade with non-Communist countries is limited by dependence on foreign
merchant vessels, particularly tankers, since ships of foreiga flag carry
the greater part of Soviet Orbit ocean traffic. Some of these ships were
used in the China trade.
The total shipping chartered in the first ten
months of 1951 exceeded by over a million tons the combined Soviet and
Satellite merchant fleet in January 1951, which was estimated at
2,225,000 gross tons. Tankers chartered during the fourth quarter
amounted to 112,000 gross tons, or nearly seventy percent of the total
capacity owned by the Orbit.
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FAR EAST
Chinese again report civilian suffering in North Korea:
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Comment: Civilian food shortages, already
critical, are probably being accentuated by the traditional "spring hunger"
--the period between consumption of the fall rice harvest and the maturing
of the summer grains in June.
All indications, however, point to a continued
adequate level of supply for both Chinese Communist and North Korean
military units.
4. Chinese guard against plague threat from Korea:
The Chinese Communists are restricting the
return from Korea of personnel without an
inoculation record and a "no-plague" certificate.
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Comment:
Communist precautions
are understandable in view of the fact that plague is endemic to the area.
They also serve to emphasize the biological warfare charges.
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5. France intimates willingness to repatriate Chinese Nationalists in Indochina:
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According to the Chinese Nationalist Foreign
Minister, France has intimated that as a quid
pro quo for Security Council support on the
Tunisian question it would send to Formosa
the Chinese Nationalist troops interned in Indochina.
Comment: France has persistently refused to
repatriate interned Chinese Nationalist forces to Formosa for fear of pro-
voking the Chinese Communists to increased support of the Viet Minh.
The maintenance of these troops has been a substantial drain on French
resources in Indochina, and they represent a considerable security problem.
France recently indicated a willingness to discuss their eventual repatriation.
6. Indonesian Government uncovers plot to capture West Java capital:
/the Indonesian army and police
uncovered and thwarted a plot of the insurgent
Darul Islam to seize Bandung, the capital of
West Sava, on the night of 3-4 April. Captured
documfnts indicated the penetration of local army and air force leadership
by these fanatical Moslem rebels and the smuggling of large quantities of
arms and ammunition from government armories over a period of several
months.
The United States Army Attache comments that
although isolated events during the past four months had pointed toward
Darul Islam penetration of the military forces, this report constitutes the
first positive evidence of such a development.
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Comment: The Darul Islam is the largest,
best-organized insurgent group in Indonesia. It has long been attempting
to establish, by force of arms, a theocratic state in West Java, and more
recently has sought to extend its influence throughout the entire island.
NEAR EAST-AFRICA
WESTERN EUROPE
8. Severe crisis afflicts Trieste pro-Cominform party:
A crisis has reportedly developed in the ranks
of the pro-Cominform party in Trieste as a
result of the mildly pro-Italian stand taken by
party leaders during the recent demonstrations.
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Party chief Vittorio Vidali's "irredentist" speeches in southern Italy
have added to the dissatisfaction, and efforts by party leaders to dissipate
it have been unsuccessful.
Comment: The Trieste pro-Cominform party,
as opposed to its Italian counterpart, has been supporting the plan for an
independent Trieste under four-power control. There are indications,
however, that Vidali is preparing the ground for a shift to a policy compati-
ble with that of his "Italian brothers."
Although the small Slovene minority in the party
may be vulnerable to a Yugoslav attempt to exploit Vidali's alleged abandon-
ment of the independent cause, the preponderant Italian majority and the
old-line Communists will probably give full support to Vidali's leadership.
9. Possible end of West Berlin coalition government seen:
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Prospects for the successful continuation of the
present anti-Communist coalition government
in West Berlin are diminis ing, 3.3(h)(2)
One leading Christian Democrat stated that,
rather than agree to the Socialist demand for new elections., his party and
the Free Democrats would form a new government without the Socialists
but with a slim majority of five votes in the local assembly.
Comment: Considerable bickering has threatened
the existence of the Berlin city government since late January 1952, but an
outright split has so far been avoided. Although any new government formed
would be a pro-Allied grouping, the elimination of the Socialists, including
Mayor Reuter, would bring to an end the long-standing cooperation between
major Berlin parties which in the past has greatly aided the Allies in their
occupation.
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