CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP79T00975A011200040001-2
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
T
Document Page Count:
13
Document Creation Date:
December 14, 2016
Document Release Date:
January 24, 2003
Sequence Number:
1
Case Number:
Publication Date:
May 15, 1968
Content Type:
REPORT
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CIA-RDP79T00975A011200040001-2.pdf | 455.11 KB |
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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Central Intelligence Bulletin
Secret
15 May 1968
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No. 0156/68
15 May 1968
Central Intelligence Bulletin
CONTENTS
South Vietnam: Situation report. (Page 1)
Panama: The government fears disorders and is not
releasing election results. (Page 2)
Czechoslovakia-USSR: Both countries seem to be
trying to ease the tension. (Page 3)
Czechoslovakia-Hungary: Animosity growing between
Slovaks and Hungarians in Slovakia. (Page 4)
West Germany - East Germany : Bonn continues its
attempts to cultivate contacts with East Germany.
(Page 5)
Dominican Republic: Government party expected to
do well in municipal elections. (Page 6)
Chile: The Communists and Socialists are differing
over support of the government. (Page 7)
Korea: Border incident (Page 8)
Guatemala: Communist guerrillas (Page 8)
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C South Vietnam: Fighting was sharp yesterday
at points in northern I Corps and in the provinces
surrounding Saigon.
A ten-hour battle took place less than three
miles east of Quang Tri city between two South
Vietnamese battalions and two companies of North
Vietnamese. Clashes were also reported near Hue
between US troops and an encircled North Vietnamese
unit. There were several small-scale actions in
central Quang Nam Province.
Most of the heavy fighting around Saigon,
which involved Communist units of company to bat-
talion size, occurred near probable enemy exfiltra-
tion routes from the capital environs. The city
itself was quiet.
the first reaction of enemy
forces to the Paris talks probably will be to fight
harder to achieve the most favorable bargainin
position possible. I fficers
have good morale, but 11 the rank and
file are increasingly war-weary and their
morale bably will sag if the talks are dragged
out. (Map)
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Panama: The government appears to be delay-
ing release of the final election results for fear
of touching off further disorders.
Both sides claim victory in Sunday's elections,
which were characterized by more fraud and intimida-
tion than usual even in Panamanian politics. The
national guard and goon squads loyal to government
candidate Samudio were responsible for most of the
fraudulent activity.
the electoral tribunal will be unable
to certify the final results before June or July,
but when it does "Samudio will win by about six
thousand votes." The government may insist on a
recount on grounds that the voting was close, and
stall for some time before announcing Samudio's
"arranged" victory. Meanwhile the national elec-
tions board, composed of members of all parties,
plans to begin its official review of the election
figures on 18 May.
National Union (NU) leader Arnulfo Arias, how-
ever, may be unwilling to await a postponement.
the NU candidate intends to ask the tribunal
to declare his victory at once. If it refuses,
Arias claims that his followers will be instructed
then "to act as they see best." Under these cir-
cumstances, extremist groups supporting Arias prob-
ably would attempt to provoke new disorders against
the government. 1
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Czechoslovakia-USSR: Prague and Moscow seem
to be seeking to ease the tension.
Limited information concerning the two-day
conference in Prague of regional and district
party secretaries suggests that Dubcek intends to
continue the reform program but also to move against
both dogmatic party members and the extreme liberals.
The latter's activities and statements have been a
major cause of Soviet concern.
The conference also discussed preparations for
a party congress. The date will be set by a plenum
of the central committee later this month. The
congress probably will be the setting for Dubcek
to attempt to remove or neutralize his opponents.
The Soviet Union also seems to be relaxing the
pressure somewhat. Although Moscow still has not
directly supported Prague's claim that Soviet troop
movements were only routine "maneuvers," it may be
edging in that direction. Soviet Marshal Yakubov-
skiy, the Warsaw Pact commander, said in a Pravda
article of 13 May that the Warsaw Pact powers
"have held, are holding, and shall hold exercises,"
and he attacked the Western press for "malicious
provocations." Yakubovskiy's remarks were vaguely
worded but suggest that Moscow does not now intend
to intervene militarily.
Moscow has continued to criticize only care-
fully selected features of the Czechoslovak lib-
eralization movement. The journal Sovietskaya
Rossiya yesterday struck out at the efforts of
some people" to rehabilitate Thomas Masaryk. The
article asked if these people--presumably Czecho-
slovak journalists--"realize what disaster" they
can bring on by their activities. Some Czecho-
slovak journalists may feel obliged to answer this
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Czechoslovakia-Hungary: Animosity between
Slovaks and Hungarians in southern Slovakia is
growing.
The area was characterized as a "powder keg"
in an article published on 26 April in Bratislava
Pravda, the organ of the Slovak party's centra
committee. The Hungarian minority in Slovakia,
numbering about half a million and isolated by the
language barrier, is increasingly demanding auton-
omy, parity for Magyar, and return of the land from
which Hungarians were forcibly evicted after World
War II. These demands have drawn countercharges
of separatism from the Slovaks, who point out that
such resettlement would mean the eviction of many
Slovaks from their present homes.
The Bratislava Pravda article called for an
acceleration of plans to appoint a group of experts
to work out a comprehensive settlement of the prob-
lem, warning that if it is ignored it will be set-
tled "either b fatigue or by a Doorom."
Map
Location of Hungarian Minority in Czechoslo
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West Germany - East Germany: Bonn is continu-
ing its efforts to develop contacts with East Ger-
many despite the recent restrictions on access to
Berlin.
Last week, West Germany proposed the establish-
ment of joint West and East German representation
to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.
In the past, Bonn, itself a full member of WHO,
has opposed any kind of East German participation
in international organizations to avoid an upgrad-
ing of the Ulbricht regime. Bonn apparently is
still opposed to separate East German membership,
but is willing to accept some kind of "all-German"
representation in the interest of keeping hopes
of eventual German reunification alive.
In another move, West German postal minister
Dollinger is requesting, in a letter to his East
German counterpart, that the East Germans provide
a detailed accounting of their claims against West
Germany for past postal services, presumably as a
first step toward achieving a financial settlement.
The letter avoids controversial elements contained
in earlier exchanges between the two ministers.
Bonn officials see "at least a fair chance" that
the East Germans will agree to some kind of dis-
cussion of the postal claims.
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Dominican Republic: Various leftist elements
reportedly will attempt to disrupt tomorrow's mu-
nicipal elections, but security forces are aware
of their plans and are probably capable of prevent-
ing any serious violence.
The turnout probably will be light. Govern-
ment efforts to get out the vote are being coun-
tered by the opposition parties, which are urging
their followers to abstain from voting because of
alleged government harassment and repression.
President Balaguer's Reformist Party (PR) is
being challenged in about two thirds of the 77
municipalities by a conglomeration of Social Chris-
tian and independent slates. Many of the latter
are fronts for the abstentionist parties and others
represent dissident-PR elements. Reformist Party
candidates probably will fare well at the polls be-
cause of the lack of significant opposition and the
relative popularity of the Balaguer government.
F__ I
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Chile: Differences have arisen between the
Communist Party and its Socialist allies over sup-
port of the government.
Communist secretary general Luis Corvalan
stated on 12 May that his party would support the
government against the military coup the party
claims is imminent, even though this would mean
maintaining a "bourgeois regime." This position
is generally in line with the Communists' commit-
ment to democratic action as opposed to armed
violence.
Their stand is in direct contrast with that
of the Socialist Party, with which they cooperate
in the Popular Action Front. The Socialists have
implied that they would welcome any crisis that
would hasten the downfall of the government. The
Socialists are much closer to Castro's revolution-
ary policies than are the Communists, who fear
that they would be the first target of the military.
However, some Socialist leaders--but not the
party secretary general--apparently sanctioned the
Communist position by appearing on the platform
during Corvalan's speech. Also present were leaders
of the opposition Radical Party, which has been
cooperating with the Communists on a number of
issues, including a recent key senatorial by-
election.
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NOTES
Korea: In the first major incident since
2 May, a North Korean patrol drew heavy fire from
a South Korean guard post when it crossed the Mili-
tary Demarcation Line on Monday to probe for mines
and booby traps. According to South Korean reports,
at least three North Koreans were killed and one
South Korean seriously wounded. Radio Pyongyang
almost immediately played up the incident as fur-
ther evidence of the aggressive intentions of the
United Nations forces.
Guatemala: The Communist Rebel Armed Forces
(FAR) is continuing preparations to resume guer-
rilla warfare in the next several mcnths. FAR
tactics will call for hit-and-run raids against
army installations in northeastern Guatemala in
the hope of drawing the army into ambushes. FAR
units will not try to control specific areas, but
instead will remain flexible and highly mobile,
The guerrilla
movement appears better disciplined and organized
for insurgency than in the past, and it may prove
more difficult for government security forces to
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