THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF - 1968/01/12

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05974220
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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The President's Daily Brief
ret 12 January 1968
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DAILY 'BRIEF
12 JANUARY 1968
1.
2. South Vietnam
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The arrest of six labor leaders
may prevent early settlement of the
electrical workers' strike in Saigon.
The strike began yesterday morning
over demands for additional wage bene-
fits. Union negotiators are said to
have made major concessions and to have
been at the "half-way mark" toward set-
tlement when the police made their ar-
rests.
Other unions in Saigon, including
port and transport workers, had earlier
threatened sympathy walkouts if �any ar-
rests were made in connection with the
strike.
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4.
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Sihanouk's remarks to Ambassador
Bowles seem to discredit
that the Vietnamese
Communists had asked about using Phnom
Penh as a site for negotiations.
Sihanouk said he had been in touch with
the North Vietnamese representative in
Phnom Penh and had suggested his capi-
tal as a site for talks, but the North
Vietnamese had shown no interest.
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FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY
Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
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12 January 1968
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Special Daily Report on North Vietnam
for the President's Eyes Only
12 January 1968
I. .NOTES ON THE SITUATION
Hanoi Reaffirms Trinh's Statement: In an un-
usual but not unprecedented move, Hanoi has con-
firmed for an American newspaper the accuracy of
Foreign Minister Trinh's statement on the willing-
ness of his government to talk with the US. Accord-
ing to press reports from Hong Kong, a correspon-
dent for the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor
cabled Hanoi asking about the accuracy of Trinh's
statement. He received in reply a cable from the
head of Hanoi's press and information service
quoting Trinh's remarks as they were broadcast on
30 December. In keeping with Hanoi's current si-
lence on the foreign minister's remarks, the cable
to the Monitor correspondent contained no comment
on the new formulation.
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Moscow Comments on-US Reaction to Trinh State-
ment: In one of its limited comments thus far on
the US reaction to the.Trinh statement, Moscow radio
in a commentary on 11 January claimed that the an-
nouncement of increased US appropriations for the
Vietnam war undercut statements by American officials
that they are "studying" the foreign.minister's
statement. .The commentary pointed out that the in-
crease in appropriations would seem to end President
Johnson's "hesitation" in answering the North Viet-
namese minister's step, and concluded by declaring
that the US "just cannot obliterate the thought of
continuing and consequently expanding the war."
* * *
Repairs to Power Plants: North Vietnam has
partially repaired electric power plants feeding
the Hanoi-Haiphong network, taking advantage of the
period since October when the last damaging at-
tacks on power plants were made.
The Hanoi power plant Continues
to operate at auout 50 percent of capacity-.
* * *
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Worker Morale:
formerly worked at a coal
mine in an area northwest of Hanoi claims that the
workers at the mine were demoralized by the war,
the demands on their physical energy, the weight of
political supervision, and the scarcity of proper
food. Only hard-line party members seemed to be en-
thusiastic about the regime's war effort. Party and
government control in the area was reportedly ex-
tremely tight. Workers with bad records were im-
mediately sent to "re-education centers." The
about one percent of the
people refused to be molded by the party, openly
defied the regime, and refused to work. These per-
sons were subsequently deprived of their rice ration
and all other rights of citizens, and became out-
casts of societ
figure of one per-
cent probably represents only isolated cases that
came to his attention.
Canadians.May Send Envoy to Hanoi: According
to ,a 'French press Agency report from Ottawa, Canadian
-Minister of External Affairs Paul Martin stated re-
cently that Canada hopes to be able to send an envoy
to Hanoi shortly. Martin named Ormond Dier, former
head of the Canadian mission to the International Con-
trol Commission, as the likely choice for such a
mission, although he indicated that former ambassador
Chester Ronning (who has twice previously journeyed
to Hanoi) might be an alternate choice. Martin did
not suggest that any Canadian mission to Hanoi was
imminent but stated that Canada is actively engaged
in consultations with other countries on the subject
of Vietnam and is "most desirous of making a useful
contribution to this cause."
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Hanoi.. and Western Correspondents:
/ Hanoi has
not allowed any Western correspondents into the
country since at least last November, and there
has been some indication that the North Vietnam-
ese have ruled out such visits for the time being.
Wilfred Burchett, the Australian Communist apolo-
gist for Hanoi, stated as much in mid-December.
* * *
Hanoi Press Officer in Paris Recalled for Con-
sultations: Tran Ngoc Kha, head of the North Viet-
namese press office in Paris, has been called back
to Hanoi to report on his activities during 1967.
The urgent note in Kha's recall cannot be
readily explained, although it may be connected with
providing guidelines for handling Hanoi's latest
statement on its willingness to hold talks with the
US in return for an end to the bombings.
* * *
-II. NORTH VIETNAMESE REFLECTIONS OF US POLITICAL
ATTITUDES ON THE WAR
:More on Dr. Spock: Hanoi radio in an 11 Janu-
ary broadcast in English announced that the Libera-
tion Front Committee for Solidarity with the American
People recently sent a message to Dr. Spock voicing
high indignation at the "Johnson administration's
prosecution against him and four other American intel-
lectuals." The message "warmly hailed the patriotic
activities of these and other progressive Americans"
in their strong support for the antidraft movement
among American youth and their "active defense of
the peace and justice-loving tradition of the Ameri-
can people."
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