THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 15 AUGUST 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014876
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: August 15, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
August 15, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category, 513( 11,f 21,(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
August 15, 1975
Table of Contents
Bangladesh: Commerce Minister Ahmed was named
President this morning, following the ouster
of Mujib. (Page 1)
Portugal-Azores: The Portuguese government( has in-
stalled a non-communist junta to administer the
Azores. (Page 3)
Saudi Arabia - Israel://
Egypt-Israel:
/ (Page 4)
China:(
/ (Page 6)
USSR:1
/ (Page 8)
Angola: Heavy fighting involving all three of
Angola's liberation groups broke out Wednesday
in the major port city of Lobito. (Page 10)
Libya-Tunisia/
/ (Page 11)
Notes: Portuguese Timor; Portugal;
France - West Germany (Pages 12 and 13)
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BANGLADESH
Kondakar Mushtaque Ahmed, a pro-
Westerner, has been named President of
Bangladesh following the ouster early
today of the government of President
Mujibur Rahman. There have been con-
flicting reports over the fate of Mujib.
Some say he is under house arrest,
others assert he has been killed. His
two nephews and the Prime Minister have
also been reported killed.
Martial law has been declared, a 24-hour curfew
has been imposed in Dacca, and the airport has been
closed. The name of the country will reportedly
now be changed to the Islamic Republic of Bangla-
desh.
It is not yet clear exactly which elements of
the military moved against Mujib or what the nature
of the new government will be, but Ahmed, the former
commerce minister, was reputedly the most pro-
Western member of Mujib's cabinet. He leads a
centrist faction within the ruling party.
As Ahmed seeks to consolidate his political
power he may seek the support of rightists in the
party, who have been in political eclipse recently.
The rightists have long been displeased with what
they viewed as Bangladesh's leftward drift, Mujib's
dependence on India and the Soviet Union, and his
increasingly authoritarian rule.
While few Bengalees have dared to speak out
against Mujib, discontent has been widespread,
especially with his inability to deal effectively
with the country's serious economic problems.
(continued)
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India will be watching developments in Bangla-
desh closely. New Delhi views the maintenance of
a stable and friendly government in Dacca as vital
to its interests. The Indians are sensitive to
Bengalee charges of interference in the country's
internal affairs, however, and are unlikely to in-
tervene directly unless there is a complete break-
down of law and order.
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PORTUGAL-AZORES
The Portuguese government has in-
stalled a non-communist junta to admin-
ister the Azores and has provided a bud-
get of $20 million to help solve economic
problems there. Lisbon hopes thereby to
ease the growing pressure for Azorean
independence.
General Magalhaes, the military governor of
the Azores, who will head the junta, announced on
Wednesday that Lisbon had approved his selection of
six technical experts to serve with him. The junta
has also been charged, in coordination with the pop-
ularly elected constituent assembly in Portugal,
with drawing up a statute on autonomy.
The Azoreans had feared that Portugal's mili-
tary leaders would appoint pro-communists or radical
leftists to the junta. General Magalhaes apparently
succeeded in convincing the leaders in Lisbon that
such a move would trigger a revolt, which Portugal
would find difficult to suppress.
Prior to Magalhaes' announcement of the junta,
a constituent assembly deputy from the Azores told
a US embassy official in Lisbon that Azorean sepa-
ratists would not be satisfied with increased auton-
omy for the islands. The deputy, a member of the
Popular Democratic Party who is believed to be a
leader of the separatist Azorean Liberation Front,
claimed that the momentum for independence is now
irreversible
In any event, the Front's ability to stage a
successful revolt depends on the support it can win
from local military units and their commanders.
Magalhaes told newsmen in Ponta Delgada Wednesday
that the military in the Azores widely support the
doeumerit-15 g circulated on the mainland by the
ntunes group. Local military support
r a r- volt would decrease if the Antunes group
should succeed in gaining power in Portugal.
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SAUDI ARABIA ? EGYPT
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EGYPT?ISRAEL
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CHINA
(continued)
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USSR
(continued)
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Port-Francqui
? int
Cabin
Kinshasa
Luluabourg
LUANDA
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Malanje
oo
Henrique
di Carvalho
ila Teixeira
e o
Nova Redondo
Lobito
Benguela
havuma
Cassin
Ondangua
SOU 'H-WEST AFRICA
(Intern tional Territory)
558335 8-75
MILES
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ANGOLA
Heavy fighting involving all three
of Angola's liberation groups broke out
early Wednesday morning in the major port
city of Lobito. The Popular Movement for
the Liberation of Angola, which controls
Luanda, reportedly was pushed out of
Lobito and is now holding firm at Ben-
guela, 12 miles south.
In Luanda, meanwhile, the Popular Movement is
attempting to take advantage of its strong position
in the city. A spokesman for the group announced
on August 11 that it is taking charge of the Minis-
try of Labor and Social Services, which was run by
the National Union until the transitional govern-
ment collapsed. According to the US consul, the
Popular Movement is also quietly taking over a num-
ber of other posts vacated by its two rivals. The
National Union voluntarily withdrew from the city
rather than risk being dragged into a fight for
which it was ill-prepared.
The National Front is attempting to minimize
the implications of its defeat in Luanda. The
Front's chief representative declared in a press
interview in Kinshasa that the transitional govern-
ment is not defunct and announced that it would
soon be convoked "at some secure locality in Angola.
The Popular Movement, at least, is likely to ignore
any such summons.
The Portuguese military commander announced
yesterday, however, that he is assuming administra-
tive responsibility for the territory.
It is evident that no one knows what to do next.
Portuguese military officials in Lisbon and Luanda
are too distracted by the political struggles in
Lisbon to offer any solutions. With the exception
of Savimbi, liberation group leaders seem resigned
to making the best of whatever military or politi-
cal situation presents itself.
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LIBYA?TUNISIA
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NOTES
Portuguese Timor
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Timor is apparently deterioraing. Violent clashes
are said to have taken place between rival Timorese
political factions both in Dili and in the interior.
Some deaths have been reported and the capital is
described as tense.
Pressure continues to grow for the removal of
Portuguese Prime Minister Goncalves.
President Costa Gomes is said to have called
yet another emergency meeting of the Revolutionary
Council. Goncalves' political survival at this
point hangs on Costa Gomes' indecision and on dis-
unity among those who want Goncalves out.
(continued)
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Press reports that France plans to withdraw
one third of its troops stationedin West Germany
appear to be overdrawn.
The wave of press speculation in France and
West Germany was touched off by a report published
earlier this week in the French newsmagazine Le
Point and was quickly picked up by the West German
press. The French ministry of defense has issued
a formal denial of the report, and a high official
of the French foreign ministry told the US embassy
that he had no knowledge of such plans.
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Top Secret
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