MONTHLY REPORT--BANGKOK BUREAU--NOVEMBER 1983

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00040R000100190002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2008
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 2, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT Monthly Report--Bangkok Bureau--November 1983
1. Only now, with the merciful onset of dry, cool weather, is Bangkok
beginning to recover from the effects of the October-November flooding.
Water around some of the embassy housing complexes, including the apartment
of editor did not recede until late in the month, while some STAT
local and TCN employees are still using boats to travel from their homes.
The estimates of losses from flood damage have been astronomical, and the
bureau's employees have sustained their full share of the loss, from water
damage to houses and cars to the added cost of maintaining regular schedules
in the face of widespread deprivation and forced immobility. Many of the
outer-lying areas are still under water, including sections of the road to
the Bureau' facility and the antenna field itself. STAT
2. In a particularly significant step for a country practicing strict
neutrality, on 4 November Burma severed ties with the DPRK over the 9 October
Rangoon bombing incident in which several South Korean ministers were killed.
In the latter part of the month, the radio began carrying the transcripts of
the resultant trial nightly, which has significantly added to the volume
of and interest in Burmese coverage. Elsewhere in the region, the 23-29 November
Commonwealth conference in New Delhi and political unrest in Bangladesh sharpen-
ed interest in South Asian coverage. Because of all these developments, the
editorial staff "enjoyed" the opportunity to enhance its monitorial capabilities,
as unexpected hospitalization, coupled with out-of-town leaves in the South
Asian unit, decimated the monitorial ranks.
A. Monitorial/Editorial
Bangkok and Okinawa bureaus dusted off the model used for last spring's
New Delhi Nonaligned Movement summit to cover the 23-29 November New Delhi
Commonwealth conference. Okinawa provided TV coverage support, while Bangkok
maintained primary coverage from the radio. Most of the coordination occurred
on the opening day when two bureaus split texting responsibilites for the
leaders' addresses to speed processing.
B. Technical
1. The printers used for Vietnamese press coverage have been relocated
back to the commo room to free space for a monitorial position.
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2. The dehydrators used with the transmission lines
have been reconfigured until parts can be obtained for one of the units. The
rains and high moisture level have put quite a strain on the dehydrators. No
outage of service has resulted from the temporary reconfiguration.
STAT
A. Personnel
1. The 25 October-4 November recruiting trip which Deputy Chief
and South Asian Unit Chief made to New Delhi and STAT
Madras netted six acceptable candidates for our new Tamil-Hindi-Urdu slot.
The position has been offered to of Madras. STAT
2. New Indonesian-Malay monitor) )arrived in Bangkok STAT
with his wife on 27 November and entered on duty the next day.
3. Former Vietnamese Chief
of Chief Monitor effective 27 November.
position of Vietnamese Unit Chief on the same day.
was promoted to the position STAT
was promoted to the STAT
4. Editor was promoted to GS-9 effective 13 November. STAT
B. Buildings and Grounds
The bureau's construction projects, focused mainly on creating
monitorial positions for incoming personnel, were suspended during most of
the month, as the contracted company was forced to abandon its premises to
flood water. At month's end the carpenters were back on the job and have
almost completed construction on consolidated copy and library shelves in the
editorial room to free space for more monitorial positions.
A. of the Embassy's DAO/TLO Office visited the bureau on STAT
23 November and was provided with an extensive list of times and frequencies for
foreign-language programs being beamed into Thailand.
g Bureau Staff Engineer visited Hon Kong on TDY 6-12 STAT
November to help move the bureau back to the building, a project STAT
which brought praise from Headquarters for its efficiency.
C. Okinawa editor
10 November while on private travel.
Chief, Bangkok Bureau
visited the bureau STAT
STAT
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BANGKOK BUREAU PRODUCTION REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 1983
I. TOTALS FROM ALL SOURCES
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH:
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH:
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH:
II. INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE:
(minutes or issues per week)
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
Melbourne Overseas Service in
English
Sydney THE AUSTRALIAN in
English
Sydney THE BULLETIN in
English
Sydney THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN in
English
BANGLADESH
Dhaka Domestic Service in
Bengali
Dhaka Domestic Service in
English
Dhaka BSS in
English
Dhaka SANGBAD in
Bengali
Dhaka THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER in
English
Dhaka International Service in
English
570,050 (517,790)
229,270 (237,250)
1,391 ( 1,357)
BROADCASTS PRESS AGENCIES PUBLICATIONS
15,390 ( 15,390) 20,205 ( 20,205) 232.23 ( 232.23)
min. min. issues
5,800 ( 290)
8,190 ( 1,460)
1,290 ( 0)
0 0)
0 ( 0)
0 ( 0)
780 ( 110)
Rangoon Domestic Service in
Burmese
Rangoon BOTATAUNG in
Burmese
Rangoon LOKTHA PYEITHU NEZIN in
Burmese
Rangoon MYANMA ALIN in
Burmese
Rangoon WORKING PEOPLE'S DAILY in
English
1,470 (
0 (
0
1,630 (
0)
0)
0)
1,170)
Beijing in
Cambodian to Kampuchea 0 (
580)
Beijing in
Hindi to India 0
0)
Beijing in
Malay to Malaysia 0 (
0)
Beijing in
Urdu to India and Pakistan 0 (
0)
Beijing International in
Bengali 0 (
0)
Beijing International in
Burmese 350 (
90)
Beijing International in
Indonesian 0 (
0)
Beijing International in
Lao 0 (
830)
Beijing International in
Thai
CLANDESTINE
(Clandestine) Radio Kawthulay in
Burmese to Burma 3,490 (
2,770)
(Clandestine) Radio Kawthulay in
English to Burma 1,900 (
0)
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BROADCASTS PRESS AGENCIES PUBLICATIONS
CLANDESTINE (continued)
(Clandestine) Voice of Democratic Kampuchea in
Cambodian 23,380 ( 27,370)
(Clandestine) Voice of Malayan Democracy in
Malay 0 ( 0)
(Clandestine) Voice of The National Army of Democratic
Kampuchean in Cambodian 6,180 ( 4,610)
(Clandestine) Voice of The People of Burma in
Burmese 550 ( 2,440)
(Clandestine) Voice of the People of Malaya in
Malay 1,600 ( 1,440)
Hong Kong AFP in
English 65,110 ( 32,470)
Delhi General Overseas Service in
English 3,150 ( 3,980)
Delhi Domestic Service in
English 47,530 ( 31,920)
Delhi ISI Diplomatic Information Service in
English 380 ( 490)
Bombay THE TIMES OF INDIA in
English 610 ( 900)
Calcutta ANANDA BAZAR PATRIKA in
Bengali 0 ( 0)
Calcutta THE STATESMAN in
English 710 ( 930)
Delhi INDIAN EXPRESS in
English 0 ( 0)
Delhi NATIONAL HERALD in
English 0 ( 0)
Delhi PATRIOT in
English 0 ( 230)
Madras THE HINDU in
English 0 ( 0)
Jakarta International Service in
English 2,980 ( 2,850)
Jakarta Domestic Service in
Indonesian 9,910 ( 5,650)
Jakarta BERITA BUANA in
Indonesian 0 ( 2,220)
Jakarta JAKARTA POST in
English 700 ( 300)
Jakarta KOMPAS in
Indonesian 0 ( 0)
Jakarta MERDEKA in
Indonesian 0 ( 0)
Jakarta TEMPO in
Indonesian 0 0)
Jakarta THE INDONESIA TIMES in
English 0 ( 2,190)
Jakarta Domestic Service in
English 280 ( 300)
Phnom Penh Domestic Service in
Cambodian
Phnom Penh SPK in
English
Phnom Penh SPK in
Vientiane Domestic Service in
Lao
15,290 ( 20,690)
27,420 ( 33,070)
13,370 ( 8,370)
13,240 ( 18,620)
0 0)
STAT
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BROADCASTS PRESS AGENCIES PUBLICATIONS
Vientiane PASASON in
Lao
Kuala Lumpur International Service in
English 6,470 ( 10,070)
Kuala Lumpur Domestic Service in
English 3,220 ( 3,050)
Kuala Lumpur Domestic Service in
Malay 0 ( 0)
Kuala Lumpur NEW STRAITS TIMES in
English
Kuala Lumpur NEW SUNDAY TIMES in
English
Katmandu External Service in
English
Katmandu THE RISING NEPAL in
English
Karachi Overseas Service in
Urdu
Karachi Domestic Service in
English
Karachi Domestic Service in
Urdu
Singapore Domestic Service in
English
Singapore THE STRAITS TIMES in
English
Singapore THE SUNDAY TIMES in
English
Colombo International Service in
English
Colombo Domestic Service in
English
Colombo DAILY NEWS in
English
Colombo THE SUN in
English
Colombo WEEKEND in
English
390 ( 900)
8,670 ( 9,490)
5,690 ( 10,970)
3,230 ( 3,750)
500 ( 270)
7,200 ( 10,400)
80 ( 0)
1,800 ( 1,440)
0 ( 0)
Bangkok Voice of Free Asia in
Cambodian
0 (
2,660)
Bangkok Voice of Free Asia in
English
3,470 (
6,350)
Bangkok Voice of Free Asia in
Lao
0 (
2,770)
Bangkok Voice of Free Asia in
Thai
4,130 (
3,450)
Bangkok Domestic Service in
English
4,180 (
2,480)
Bangkok Domestic Service in
Thai
3,420 (
2,750)
Bangkok BANGKOK POST in
English 29,790 (
42,520)
Bangkok BANGKOK WORLD in
English 3,270 (
2,700)
STAT
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BROADCASTS. PRESS AGENCIES PUBLICATIONS
THAILAND (continued)
Bangkok KHLET LAP in
Thai 0 (
0)
Bangkok LAK THAI in
Thai 1,020 (
0)
Bangkok MATICHON in
Thai 2,080 (
2,820)
Bangkok MATICHON SOT SAPDA in
Thai 1,360 (
2,380)
Bangkok MATUPHUM in
Thai 5,350 (
3,360)
Bangkok PATINYA in
Thai 0 (
1,850)
Bangkok SIAM RAT in
Thai 1,540 (
4,600)
Bangkok SU ANAKHOT in
Thai 570 (
0)
Bangkok THAI RAT in
Thai 430 (
2,540)
Bangkok THE NATION REVIEW in
English 28,970 (
21,290)
Moscow in
Bengali to Bangladesh
Moscow in
Burmese to Burma
Moscow in
Cambodian to Kampuchea
Moscow in
Hindi to India
Moscow in
Indonesian to Indonesia
Moscow in
Lao to Laos
Moscow in
Thai to Thailand
Moscow in
Urdu to India
Moscow in
Urdu to Pakistan
Moscow Radio Peace and Progress in
Indonesian
Hanoi
International Service in
Cambodian
Hanoi
International Service in
English
Hanoi
International Service in
Thai
Hanoi
Domestic Service in
Vietnamese
16,340 ( 1,030)
o ( o)
0 (
0)
180 (
0)
580 (
0)
0 (
0)
250 (
0)
0 (
40)
0 (
0)
0 (
0)
0 (
0)
0 (
0)
0
0)
6,440 (
7,030)
110 (
3,560)
54,220 (
59,220)
Hanoi in
Vietnamese
Hanoi TAP CHI CONG SAN in
Vietnamese
Hanoi NHAN DAN in
Vietnamese
6,590 ( 5,290)
26,030 ( 14,570)
17,980 ( 21,910)
STAT
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