REACTIONS ABROAD TO VIETNAM PROTEST DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE US
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Publication Date:
October 26, 1965
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OCI No. 2339/65
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENence
Office 26 October igt6511ig
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Reactions Abroad to Vietnam Protest
Demonstrations in the US
SUMMARY
1. In general, demonstrations against US
Vietnam policy abroad on 15-16 October were less
extensive than anticipated. In Western Eurobut
there were a number lightch InmLatinaAmerica,
attendance was very onse and in Asia and Africa
there was minimal resp
virtually none. Reports from these areas are sum-
marized in Annex A.
2. No demonstrations were reported from
ress, however,
Communist countries. Thcoveragelto phe demonstra-
gave the expected heavy
bons in the United States. These activities are
summarized in Annex B.
State Dept. review completed
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EUROPE
United Kingdom
Left-wing and pacifist groups carried out
their plans to demonstrate against US actions in
Vietnam, but the results were only a pale reflec-
tion of previous efforts such as the Easter marches
sponsored by the Committee of 100.
The US Embassy in London reported that the
maximum number of demonstrators at the embassy at
any one time was 800. The Committee of 100's rally
in Trafalgar Square was reported by the press as a
quiet and uneventful affair, with speakers receiv-
ing only polite applause.
The London press gave the UK demonstrations
only moderate coverage with no pictures. However,
the Times and Guardian did give heavy front-page
play to the demonstrations in the US, with Alstair
Cooke reporting demonstrations "on a bigger scale
than any since the war."
Canada
As expected, demonstrations of Canadian stu-
dents centered in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto.
The number of participants was small.
The US Embassy in Ottawa was picketed by 15
"youngsters" representing Carleton University"s
Vietnam Day Committee. One hundred twenty-five
students from McGill University and Sir George
William University attended a Montreal rally pro-
testing American action. Former premier Cheddi
Jagan of British Guiana addressed the gathering,
saying he had been refused entry to the US to speak
to similar gatherings there.
In Toronto an anti-US rally attracted 830
students--330 of whom were Americans. The dem-
onstration was sponsored by eight predominantly
leftist organizations, including the Young Com-
munist League, Students United for Peace Action,
and the Toronto International Vietnam Day Com-
mittee.
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Scandinavia
The demonstrations in the US inspired various
groups in Scandinavia to similar activity, but this
was limited to small groups of pro~hetpublico ap-
peared to be generally ignored by
In Stockholm on 16 October a group of some
80-100 demonstrators carrying placards protesting
the use of gas and napalm were admitted to the US
Embassy, where they presented a petition to a duty
officer. Earlier that day, five members of the
Communist-infiltrated "Swedish Vietnam Committee"
were received by an embassy officer who accepted a
relatively mild petition. The embassy notes that
this particular group was composed of pacifists and
ban-the-bombers.
In Copenhagen some 50-60 demonstrators assem-
bled quietly outside the US Embassy carrying signs
and placards. The group dispersed after its rep-
resentatives had presented the marine guard with a
petition, supported by four left-wing and Communist
groups, which reiterated the standard charges against
the US. Reportedly a meeting on Vietnam will be held
in Copenhagen on louthvgroup Studenter Samfundetlp
of the left-wing y
The Oslo police granted the Communist-front
Norwegian Women's Federation permission to hold a
two-hour demonstration outside the US Embassy on 15
October. This was an orderly gatheaceginhVietpamced
candle-lit placards calling for "p
outside the embassy premises.
According to the New York correspondent of
Sweden's largest newspaper, the Swedish Embassy in
Washington has indicated that Prime Minister Erlander
wishes to meet President Johnson during his trip to
the US next month in order to explain the Swedish
attitude on Vietnam.
Belgium
About 900 leftists demonstrated in Brussels
on 1C~ October in protest agaia~.,:c :; criF~ US mili-
tary effort in Vietnam. Most Belgian papers carried
limited, inside-page news items on this demonstration
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and those in the US. French-language TV gave sub-
stantial pictorial coverage of the major demonstra-
tions.
Switzerland
In response to an appeal put forth by the
youth section of the Swiss Communist Party, 50 per-
sons demonstrated in front of the American Consulate
in Zurich. Counterdemonstrators introduced an ele-
ment of confusion which made it difficult for ob-
servers and passersby to determine who was for and
against what. Press coverage of the incident was
light, with all articles pointing to Communist
sponsorship.
Austria
The student organization of the Austrian Com-
munist Party distributed leaflets in the area of the
University of Vienna urging support for the "days
of protest" sponsored by the Berkeley committee. The
appeal failed to provoke demonstrations over the week-
end anywhere in Austria.
Netherlands - Luxembourg
There were no demonstrations in the Netherlands
or Luxembourg. Some Luxembourg papers gave consider-
able coverage to the demonstrations in the US, par-
ticularly to the statements of the student who burned
his draft card.
West Germany
The North Rhine-Westphalia branch of the Inter-
national of War Resisters conducted a demonstration
near the grounds of the US Embassy in Bonn on 15 the
October. The demonstration was well monitored by
local police and was reported to be orderly.
In West Berlin the Free German Youth (FDJ), the
Communist youth organization, failed to demonstrate
on 15 and 16 October as it had originally planned.
According to the US Mission in BerCommitteeFDJ had
been contacted by the Vietnam Day
The demonstrations in the US were covered factu-
ally by the public media in West Germany, but there
was little editorial comment.
A-3
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Italy
A "Rome University Committeero~~stnagainstothe
Vietnam Day" organized a day of p
in
war in Vietnam for 16 October. The US Embassy
Rome believes the "Rome Cothetltalian Communist Com-
munist front organized by
PCI) as part of the PCI propaganda effort on
pa r.ty ( Committee's
behalf of the American Vietnam Dayarticipation in
activities. Notably absent from p
these plans were the Nenni Socialists ~pST). The
embassy has not reported on the results of planned
demonstrations in Rome or elsewhere, but previous
Italian Communist activities against US policy in
Vietnam have received little popular support. There
have been no indications that the Mora government
believes the activities in connection intSoutheast
Day will have any effect on US policy
Asia,
France
-~ The government-controlled radio-TV and the French
press, with the exception of L'HumanitC, gave the
15-16 October demonstrations of the Berkeley nDl5
prominent but factual treatment. AUnion~des Etudiants
October organized by the left-wing
de France was unexpectedly small, with only 500-600
students attending. Further demonstrations are
possible, however, and French students reportedly are
planning an "International University Week Against
War in Vietnam" ?n There hasebeen no official1French
with US students.
reaction which would indicate that PainsVbetnames t e
demonstrations will affect US policy
Spain - Portugal
As anticipated, no companion "Vietnam Day" dem-
onstrations were reported in Spain or Portugal.,
T~ATIN AMERICA
Efforts in Latin America to moun~otestbUS actions
onstrations on 15 a.nd 16 Ocuob~~c~~spul. Students and
in Vietnam were completely
American citizens in a number of countries had received
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circulars from the "Committee for Vietnam Day" in
Berkeley, California, and from a "Committee of
Americans Abroad for an Honorable Foreign Policy,"
located in Santiago, Chile. Response to these
appeals was triflingly small throughout the area.
No activities of any sort were noted in several
countries that had received the propaganda, including
Brazil and Uruguay. In Uruguay, the lack of interest
in Vietnam Day may be traceable to the preoccupation
of those Uruguayans most likely to get involved in
such activities with an internal politico-economic
crisis. A similar preoccupation with domestic
affairs may also have contributed to a lack of en-
thusiasm for the project in other countries of the
area.
In Mexico--which like Uruguay had been braced
for demonstrations of some significance--only a few
students at the National University in Mexico City
met on the Vietnam Day theme on 15 and 16 October.
Evidently only about 50 students in all were in-
volved, and their meetings were restricted to the
campus. In Argentina, a few poorly attended meetings
took place at the University of Buenos Aires.
In Chile, two local Communist-front organizations
called for a meeting on. Vietnam in Santiago on 15
October. Only about 20 people reportedly showed up,
and the event was marked by a singular lack of en-
thusiasm.
In British Guiana, American-born pro-Communist
leader Janet Jagan led ten demonstrators who picketed
the US Consulate in Georgetown for a two-hour period
on 16 October. No incidents were reported.
ASIA-AFRICA
The Berkeley appeal elicited virtually no rem
sponse in the non-Communist countries of Asia-Africa.
There was only spotty news coverage ,prior to the 15
October target date, and there have been no subse-
quent reports of successful demonstrations.
Some leftist and student organizations made plans
to demonstrate, but these apparently collapsed for a
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variety of reasons related to local conditions. For
example, Nigerian student and labor groups were
ready to take action, but were denied government
permission because of the unsettled aftermath of
recent Nigerian elections, Students, includingTsa~me
Americans, at the university in Dar es Salaam,
zania, were also refused permission by President
Nyerere?s office, possibly because Nyerere has been
showing his best face to the West lately. In Japan,
the leftists had been disappointed in the poor turn-
out against the Korean-Japanese treaty on 12 October
and were either unable or disinclined to try another
show of strength.
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ANNEX B
THE COMMUNIST BLOC
Although the Berkeley organizers of the protest
movement had claimed that sympathetic demonstrations
would be held in many foreign countries including
some behind the Iron Curtain, none in fact were staged
in the Sino-Soviet bloc nations.
These bloc countries, as expected, have energet-
ically exploited the demonstrations in the US in their
propaganda denouncing "US aggression" in Vietnam.
The Soviet Union has asserted that US officials
had been conducting a "brainwashing" campaign in an
effort to combat growing criticism of US policy but
are now compelled to recognize that the demonstra-
tions "constitute a serious factor." Moscow claims
that Washington has adopted "scare" and "witch-hunt"
tactics to counter the protests.
The claim by US organizers that sympathetic
demonstrations would be held in Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and Hungary did not materialize. These and the other
East European countalanda~dCOVe~ageebutgnoecoordinated
strations wide prop g
theme was discernible in their commentaries.
Communist China, North Vietnam, and North Korea
also gave heavy propaganda play to the demonstrations
in the US, As expected, they endea~rored to convey the
impression of growing antagonism between the American
public and Washington officialdom.
Below are some representative samples of the
propaganda statements of various Sino-Soviet bloc
countries.
"The unusually strong and wide scope of the pro-
test demonstrations--millions of people have taken
part in 'the last few days--has aroused serious con-
cern among the ruling circles of the US and of other
countries which support the aggressive US policy....
The authorities have started an extensive campaign
of repression against 'the participants in the antiwar
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demonstrations....The President fully approves of
the measures planned by the Department of Justice...
and an obviously inspired slander campaign against
the participants has begun....One can see every
sign of the beginning of a frantic witch hunt with
the help of which American reaction intends to in-
timidate and stifle the progressive forces of the
country....It is difficult to make anybody believe
that the 100,000 persons who participated in the
latest antiwar demonstrations are being incited by
the Communists. The movement against the aggressive
US policy in Vietnam is rapidly gaining momentum...."
"Americans Ashamed of America" was the head-
line in the 18 October issue of Izvestia. "Wash-
ington is alarmed," the article ec ared. "The
purpose of the new witch hunting is to frighten
opponents of the war in Vietnam. Washington is
afraid of further growth of the antiwar movement."
Eastern Europe
East Germany's Neues Deutschland commented on
19 October that the American people were beginning
to exercise their "right of co-determination" in
foreign policy. It added that the escalation of
fighting in Vietnam, of which President Johnson and
"his sponsors" were proud, was now creating an escala-
tion of conscience in the US.
The Polish youth paper Sztandar Mlodych said
that for the first time one cou~spe~al~-~~`an open
political revolt" by the younger generation of
Americans, but warned against overestimating the
demonstrations' impact on US policy. However, it
concluded that the demonstrations, coupled with world
public opinion, might force the US to cease its
aggression and commence negotiations.
Czechoslovak and Yugoslav news commentaries
mentioned the reaction in the US to the demonstra-
tions. Whereas the Czechs saw a "rise of terror"
and President Johnson's drawing closer to the right
wing, the Yugoslavs gave a factual account of various
events colored only by a reference to a "wave of
protests" sweeping the US.
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FAR EASTERN COMMUNIST COUNTRIES
Communist China
Peking papers depicted a rising tide of protest
throughout the US. An editorial in the autheroiletive
People's Daily asserted that the "American p p
ar--~~ronte~ with the real d~heeJohnsonladministra-
ground war imposed on them by to take to
tion," and portrayed the public as willing
the streets "braving tear gas shells" so as to end
"the aggressive war in Vietnam." Emphasis on a
groundswell of popular dissent was a common element
in most commentary broadcast from Peking over the past
week. The demonstrations were depicted as honlnan
taken place in all sections of the eOUleryfrom all
unprecedented scale and involved p p
walks of life."
North Vietnam
Hanoi propaganda exulted over the cu~a~singave
of Vietnam protests in the US, lavishly p
"the large-scale gatherings held coast to coastle of
which demonstrated the "high tide of the strugg
the US people" against the government's policy. News
media reported that "tens of thousands" vigorously
protested the war. ParointedlouN~t~ieDthelAmerican
editorial on the 16th p !~ the "un.just"
people are "realizing more clearly
nature of the US attest betweentthetadCtionssofbtheh
an identity of inter
American demonstrators and the eressionoofttheVUSt
namese peoples to resist 'the agg
North Korea
Reaction from Pyongyang was similar in tone
and content to that from Peking and Hanoi. A com-
mentary broadcast on 19 October claimed thatrece-
"present large-scale antiwar movement is unp
dented in the history of the US." An editorial
in Nom g Sinmun the following day struck a similar
note.
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26 October 1965
OCI No. 2339/65
Copy No.~t
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
REACTIONS ABTO~I~NS N THE USROTEST
DEMON ~
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
Office of Current Intelligence
25X1
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This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
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