THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 5 MAY 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014789
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 5, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
May 5, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption categorK58(1)A2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
May 5, 1975
Table of Contents
Cambodia: We present a first-hand account of the
communist occupation of Phnom Penh and the
foreigners' journey to the Thai border.
(Page 1)
South Vietnam: The communists have set up a com-
mittee to oversee the occupation of Saigon
and are taking further steps to restore nor-
malcy. (Page 3)
Notes: Cyprus, West Germany (Page 4)
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CAMBODIA
The following first-hand account of
the communist occupation of Phnom Penh
and the foreigners' trek to the Thai
border was related to US officials in
Thailand by Americans who were among some
300 foreigners deported from Cambodia
over the weekend. All those in the first
group of deportees have agreed not to
publicise their experiences until over
200 foreigners still in communist hands
have reached safety.
Young members of the communist underground ap-
parently were the first communist personnel to sur--
face in Phnom Penh on April 17, the day of the cap-
itals-surrender. They armed students from stocks
of abandoned or surrendered Cambodian army weapons.
They were relatively permissive toward foreigners,
but as the day proceeded and insurgent veterans'
moved into the city, the communist mood became hos-
tile.
Late on April 17, the communists ordered West-
erners to leave the Hotel Phnom which the Red Cross
and United Nations had declared a neutral zone.
These persons joined those who had already sought
refuge at the-French embassy compound. Eventually
some 1,200 people--including numbers of Cambodians
who came in over the walls--gathered in-the compound.
The French consul refused entry to Cambodian army
officers.
The consul won the first skirmish to maintain
French sovereignty over the compound by insisting
that under international law the ground was French
soil and by observing that Paris had already recog-
nized the new regime. He lost the battle- later in
the day, however, when communist troops returned to
state that according to their theorists a revolu-
tionary situation was not subject to international
law and that the new leadership had not recognized
the conventions the consul had cited. The commu-
nists later confiscated the embassy's transmitter
and insisted on the return of Cambodian nationals--
a demand on which the consul had to yield.
Sink Matak, a former senior statesman, was
among those Cambodians who gave themselves up; he
is reported to have walked to the gate and told the
(continued)
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communists, "I am ready to answer for my crimes,"
Although not specifically mentioned as having been..
in the compound, former prime minister Long Bbret,
former minister of information Thong Tim Huong, and
Lon Non, the former president's brother,-were listed.
as among those, known to be in communist hands. Ac-
cording to two intercepts, the communists are still
searching for former minister of interior Hou. Hong.
and former deputy prime minister Hang Thun Hak,
? For the entire period that the foreigners were
detained, the Americans had high praise for the
French consul and for an official from the French
school in Phnom Penh who had taught one of the com-
munists guarding the compound. The communists pro-
vided food and water for the detainees.
The communists initially had trouble restoring
electricity to the city and in operating the water
system.
Trek to the Border
The trip to Thailand in open trucks began early
on April 30--the day officials at the border were
expecting the convoy to arrive. The 250-mile jour-
ney to the town of Poipet took three days with the
trucks under way for 16 to 18 hours a day. The con-
voy did not run out of fuel but took an extremely
circuitous route. Although initial reports indicated
that two persons died en route, .the American who
provided the most detailed account of the trip knew
only that one baby had succumbed.
Local units stopped the trucks once claiming
that they were looking for Americans, but the com-
munist in charge of the convoy, told them that only
Frenchmen were aboard, On another occasion a com-
munist guard told an American not to speak English,
explaining that local residents were hostile.
The order for the overland evacuation came from
the Khmer Communist Party Central Committee and was
therefore a calculated move rather than the act of
confused second-echelon officials. The more inter-
nationally attuned Prince Sihanouk--who may return
to Cambodia this week--is probably dismayed at the
type of diplomacy now being practiced in Phnom Penh.
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The communists announced over the
weekend the formation of an 11-man "mil-
itary management committee," headed by
Viet Cong General Tran Van Trap to over-
see the occupation of Saigon.
The committee reportedly met yesterday with a
number of senior officials of the former government
all of whom were "allowed to return freely to their
families."
Other steps taken by the communists intended
to restore normalcy to Saigon include:
--A call for all Saigon municipal employees to
return to work; 1,500 had reportedly done so on
May 1.
--The publication yesterday of the first edi-
tion of the new newspaper Saigon Liberated
Daily.
--Announcement of the first Viet Cong flights
into Tan Son Nhut.
--Resumption of programs on Saigon television.
--Announcement of registration procedures for
former government military personnel.
The communists continue to press for the re-
turn of US-supplied aircraft and ships used by es-
caping South Vietnamese. The Viet Cong have sent
formal notes to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and
the Philippines demanding the return of the equip-
ment. Hanoi has zeroed in on the Thai, saying that
a "correct attitude would constitute an important
contribution to the normalization of Thai-Vietnamese
relations."
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NOTES
The first round of talks in Vienna between
Greek and Turkish Cypriots ended on Saturday with-
out a breakthrough on any major issue. This round
may have set the stage, however, for a narrowing
of differences in later talks.
Greek Cypriot negotiator derides and Turkish
negotiator Denktash agreed to set up a joint com-
mittee to consider the powers of the central and
regional governments in a future federation.
the Turkish side would be
more flexible on territorial concessions and on the
return of refugees if the Greek side would accept
a weak central government. The talks are scheduled
to resume in Vienna on June 5.
In West Germany yesterday, Chancellor Schmidt's
coalition parties won modest victories in two state
elections regarded as key tests of public attitudes
toward national party leaders and their policies.
In North Rhine - Westphalia, the Social Demo-
cratic - Free Democratic coalition retains a major-
ity in the state legislature and control of the
state's five votes in the Bundesrat, the upper
house of the federal parliament. In the Saarland,
the race ended in a photo finish, ending the Chris-
tian Democratic control that had existed since the
end of World War II. Each side now has an equal
number of seats in the state legislature. The
Saarland has three votes in the Bundesrat, and the
Schmidt government would have a majority in that
house for the first time if the coalition parties
form the state government.
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Top Secret
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