CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1956/03/17

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03161848
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2019
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2019
• Publication Date: March 17, 1956

/17
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CURRENT
INTELLIGENCE
BULLETIN
TOP SECRET
DOCUMENT NO.
CO3F1
17
March
1956
Copy No.
NO CHANGE IN CLASS Pai
0 DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S
NEXT REVIEW DATE.
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATE: N a go REVIEWER:
C2-0,0
03
OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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CONTENTS
1. PUBLIC DISORDERS PROTESTING DEBUNKING OF STALIN
REPORTED IN SOVIET GEORGIA (page 3).
2. ALGERIAN ECONOMY REPORTED IN STATE OF NEAR-
COLLAPSE (page 4).
3. LUXEMBOURG FOREIGN MINISTER FEARS FRENCH
APPROACHES TO USSR (page 5).
4. TURKEY MAY RELAX POLICY ON CULTURAL EXCHANGES
WITH USSR (page 6).
5. MIKOYAN TO HEAD DELEGATION TO PAKISTAN
(page 7).
6, NEW INDONESIAN CABINO
(page 8).
7. PEIPING MOVES TO CONCILIATE BURMESE ON TRADE
page 9).
8. YUGOSLAV PARTY DELEGATION ATTENDS POLISH
LEADER'S FUNERAL (page 10).
17 Mar 56
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(page 11)
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 2
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1. PUBLIC DISORDERS PROTESTING DEBUNKING OF
STALIN REPORTED IN SOVIET GEORGIA
Ambassador Bohlen reports that pub-
lic disorders recently broke out in
Stalin's native Georgia in protest
against the attacks on his reputation.
The disorders were not, in Bohlen's opinion, directed
against the Soviet system as such or against policy de-
cisions of the 20th Party Congress, but exclusively
against the present official attitude toward Stalin.
The ambassador has been informed
by Swedish diplomats who recently returned from Tbilisi,
capital of the Georgian Republic, that on 7 March demon-
strations took place in front of the main government build-
ing. On 8 March, the demonstrations got out of hand, and
troops fired into the crowds with machine guns, killing
several people.
Members of the Western community
in Moscow who recently applied for tickets to Tbilisi were
informed that no transportation to the Caucasus would be
available for ten days.
Bohlen notes that the commemoration
of Stalin's death, an event ignored elsewhere in the USSR,
was permitted in Georgia on 9 March, four days after the
actual anniversary date. He believes that this was a con-
cession to Georgian feeling and a response unique in Soviet
history to any form of opposition to the party line.
17 Mar 56
Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 3
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2. ALGERIAN ECONOMY REPORTED IN STATE OF
NEAR-COLLAPSE
The American consul general in
Algiers reports that the Algerian
economy is in a state of near-
collapse over large areas as a
result of Algerian rebel attacks.
Recurring derailments and armed
assaults have seriously damaged rolling stock and
limited the use of many roads and railroads to daytime.
Movement of ore from the Ouenza Iron Mine, Algeria's
most important single enterprise, has been seriously cur-
tailed.
Rebels are cutting telephone and tele-
graph communication lines almost at will in some regions.
Areas affected by rebel operations are spreading rapidly,
and provisioning is becoming a serious problem in some
places. According to the French president of the Algerian
federation of mayors, hundreds of farms have been de-
stroyed and additional hundreds abandoned.
Comment This report supports other informa-
tion received as to the serious crisis
confronting the Algerian economy. This situation in-
creases the urgency for France of an all-out military ef-
fort, as threatened by the Mollet government, within the
next few weeks, and makes its success less likely in the
event of further delay.
17 Mar 56
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3. LUXEMBOURG FOREIGN MINISTER FEARS FRENCH
APPROACHES TO USSR
Foreign Minister Bech of Luxembourg
feels that French premier Mollet's ac-
ceptance of the invitation to visit the
USSR was hasty and may pave the way
for a Russian offer of aid. Bech told
American ambassador Buchanan that if the French seriously
"flirt" with Russia for assistance in North Africa or in
other fields, the West Germans will then try "to get to Mos-
cow first," in an effort to win unification--even agreeing to
become a neutral state in exchange.
Comment
Bech, who has been foreign minister
of Luxembourg since 1926, is one of
the most astute and respected "elder statesmen" of Europe.
His remarks indicate the seriousness with which Luxem-
bourg and other Benelux nations view recent developments
in France, which suggest to them waning support of NATO
and a decline in France's ability to play its part in the West-
ern alliance.
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4. TURKEY MAY RELAX POLICY ON CULTURAL
EXCHANGES WITH USSR
Turkey is considering the advis-
ability of a policy of "cautious,
controlled elasticity" toward the
�Soviet Union on such matters as
cultural excnanges, according to Secretary General
Birgi of the Foreign Ministry.
Birgi told the American charg�n
Ankara that Turkey, like other countries, has been the
target of repeated Soviet overtures and is beginning to
feel isolated in its policy of resistance because many of
its allies are responding favorably to such overtures.
Birgi emphasized that Turkey will always oppose Soviet
aggression, but that a policy of opposition does not pro-
vide sufficient latitude for peacetime relations.
Comment Continued relaxation of East-West
tensions will probably result in some
exchange of Turkish and Soviet delegations. In view of
Turkey's seriously weakened economy, Ankara would
probably find it increasingly difficult to ignore Soviet
offers of economic aid and credit.
17 Mar 56
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5. MIKOYAN TO HEAD DELEGATION TO PAKISTAN
Anastas 1. Mikoyan, number-three
man in the Soviet regime, will head
a delegation attending the celebra-
tions in Karachi on 23 March mark-
ing the proclamation of Pakistan as a
republic.
Mikoyan, as the USSR's foreign trade
overlord, undoubtedly will use this occasion to make di-
rect offers of Soviet assistance and lend new force to
Soviet efforts to fortify neutralist sentiment in Pakistan.
While Karachi's dissatisfaction with its Western ties may
have been moderated by SEATO support on Pushtoonistan
and Kashmir, Mikoyan's visit will give Pakistan an oppor-
tunity to play East and West against each other.
Moscow began its attempt to win Pakistan
away from the Baghdad pact and SEATO on 6 February when,
in answer to questions asked by a Pakistani editor, Premier
Bulganin outlined ways to improve Soviet-Pakistani relations,
implying an offer of a trade pact and Soviet assistance for
developing atomic energy for peaceful uses.
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6. NEW INDONESIAN CABINET
Comment on:
The new Indonesian cabinet headed by
former premier Ali Sastroamidjojo, in
which the three major non-Communist
parties are equally represented, will
nave overwneimmg parliamentary support; its stability will
depend on the continued co-operation of its three major com-
ponents, the National Party (PM), the Nandlatul Ulama (NU),
and the Masjumi.
The PM, by taking the premiership and
foreign affairs and defense posts, clearly demonstrated its
superior bargaining position, resulting both from President
Sukarno's support and from the differences between the two
major Moslem parties, the Masjumi and the NU. Ali, who
temporarily assumed the defense post himself, is highly un-
popular with the army, which played a large role in the down-
fall of his previous government. He is reported to have
agreed that the ministry would be operated by a triumvirate
comprising himself and the first and second deputy premiers,
members respectively of the Masjumi and the NU.
The new foreign minister, Ruslan Abdul-
gani, as secretary general of the Information Ministry in
Ali's earlier government, showed an awareness of the dan-
gers inherent in his party's co-operation with the Commu-
nists.
Since the new cabinet is not dependent on
Communist support, as was the case with the earlier Ali gov-
ernment, it should not have as strong a leftist tinge. The
highly nationalistic PM is in a strong position to dictate its
policies, however, since it can threaten to seek Communist
support in the event of Masjumi defection.
17 Mar 56
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7. PEIPING MOVES TO CONCILIATE BURMESE ON TRADE
The Burmese ambassador in Peiping
has recommended to Rangoon that it
accept Communist China's counterpro-
posal on the form of payment for its
purchases of Burmese rice. Peiping
now proposes to pay for 10 percent of the rice in foreign
exchange, instead of making the whole payment in goods as
provided in the contract. The Burmese had been asking
for 20 percent cash,
According to the ambassador, the 1956
Sino-Burmese trade contract signed on 30 December 1955
had provided that Peiping would absorb all foreign exchange
costs for the shipment of goods between the two countries.
Comment The Burmese complained
that Peiping was not living up to its
promise to provide goods that could be re-exported to earn
foreign exchange. The speed with which the Chinese have
moved to conciliate the Burmese indicates that Peiping is
anxious to avoid jeopardizing its favorable relations with
Burma.
The latest Chinese proposal makes the
terms of the 1956 contract at least as favorable for Burma
as those of last year's pact. While China paid 20 percent
in cash for rice purchased in 1955, Burma spent more than
half of this on freight costs for the delivery of Chinese goods.
(Prepared by ORR)
17 Mar 56
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8. YUGOSLAV PARTY DELEGATION ATTENDS POLISH
LEADER'S FUNERAL
The Yugoslav Communist Party sent
two high party men to the funeral of
Polish Communist leader Boleslaw
Bierut. Vukmanovic-Tempo, a mem-
ber of the Executive Committee (polit-
buro) of the Yugoslav party, delivered
an oration at the funeral on 16 March in
which he mourned the fact that Bierut
had died "when prospects for co-operation
between socialist movements on the
Leninist principles of equality had been
created."
The American embassy in Belgrade
notes that this is the first overt contact between the Yugo-
slav party and a Soviet bloc party since the "normalization"
of relations began.
Comment Yugoslav vice president Kardelj stated
on 29, February that the Yugoslays were
ready for party contacts. Since Yugoslavia's relations with
Poland have appeared to improve more than its relations
with other Eastern European countries, this was a natural
opportunity for the initiation of party contacts.
17 Mar 56
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THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(Information as of 1700, 16 March)
New instances of sniping and minor
patrol clashes have been reported from Israel's Egyptian and
Jordanian borders.
Jordanian prime minister Rifai stated
that the Arab Legion would behave exactly as it has
behaved in the past unless the Israelis break the armistice
agreement. He noted that the British and Israelis may be fos-
tering the idea that the Legion under Arab command is less able
to maintain a peaceful frontier. It seems doubtful that Rifai has
much if any control over Legion actions; the recent increase in
the number of incidents along the Israeli-Jordanian border seems
to belie his statement.
Israel has asked the USSR for arms and
ammunition,
the USSR had agreed to supply
Israel with arms but had attached conditions "that the Israelis
could not accept," such as that Israel must not permit the es-
tablishment of NATO bases on its territory. Israeli ambassa-
dor Avidar left Tel Aviv to return to Moscow on 13 March.
Some small-scale requisitioning of civilian
motor vehicles was noted on 15 March
recent intense air
training activity, including a large number of low flights over
populated areas, is a series of exercises related to air raid
drills and is designed to condition the Israeli public to acceler-
ated defense plans.
In early December the Israeli minister to
Brazil was seeking to recruit 900 soldiers and officers of the
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Brazilian reserves as volunteers to serve in Israel
A Saudi ship from the Red Sea port of Jidda
was expected to arrive at the village of Haqal on the Gulf of
Aqaba no later than 15 March, carrying an unspecified number
of troops and 200 tons of equipmen(
The ship was to have been met by
an advance party under two officers which had come overland
with 18 vehicles. This move places a Saudi force within 20
miles of the Jordan border and the port of Aqaba, and continues
the steady increase in Saudi-Egyptian forces in the Gulf of Aqaba
area.
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