THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 3 JANUARY 1976

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014994
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: January 3, 1976

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The President's Daily Brief
January 3, 1976
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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January 3, 1976
Table of Contents
Lebanon: Leaders of the two main Christian parties
are blocking implementation of the Franjiyah-
Asad understanding. (Page 1)
China-USSR:
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Italy: The degree of Socialist success in a current
parliamentary debate may determine whether the
party brings down the Moro government next
week. (Page 3)
India: Mrs. Gandhi's recent charges of Western in-
terference reflect her personal bias and her
use of foreign scapegoats to justify contro-
versial political moves at home. (Page 5)
Guyana-Angola: A token unit may be sent to support
the Popular Movement in Angola. (Page 6)
Note: Thailand (Page 7)
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LEBANON
Leaders of Lebanon's two large
Christian political parties, the Phalanges
and the National Liberal, have so far re-
fused to approve the political conces-
sions necessary to implement the general
understanding reached by President Fran-
jiyah and Syrian President Asad. Should
the impasse in negotiations continue,
serious fighting could resume.
Maronite political and religious leaders de-
cided on Wednesday to reject the two principal re-
forms proposed by Syria: equal representation of
Christians and Muslims in parliament, and election
of the prime minister by parliament. The Maronites
are holding out for unspecified Muslim guarantees
of Christian rights, and particularly, for assur-
ances that the Palestinians will live up to their
past commitments to Beirut.
The Christians now credit the principal Syrian
and Palestinian leaders with a serious desire to
end the fighting, but believe they do not intend to
force the fedayeen back into the refugee camps or
to enforce restrictions on the type of arms they
possess, as required by earlier agreements.
The Phalanges Party newspaper reported this
week that the party will soon offer its own reform?
plan, apparently to keep the dialogue going and
prevent new fighting. Neither this initiative nor
the Christians' willingness to permit economic and
social reforms, however, will be seen by the Mus-
lims as adequate substitutes for Christian accept-
ance of Damascus' proposals on political reform.
A Phalangist official this week expressed
fear that if the current Syrian initiative fails,
Damascus probably will despair of negotiations and
decide that Franjiyah must resign or be driven
from office. Such a decision by Syria would lead
to renewed fighting.
The Christians are also stalling in the hope
that the continuing division in Muslim and leftist
ranks will ultimately prompt their less-radical
opponents to make concessions or at least settle
for less.
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CHINA?USSR
L
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ITALY
Prime Minister Moro's government
will probably try hard to placate the
Socialist Party during parliamentary
debate on a key portion of the govern-
ment's medium-term economic plan.
Earlier this week Socialist leader De Martino
cited the government's failure to consult the So-
cialists adequately on the economic plan as a major
reason for his threat to withdraw Socialist parlia-
mentary support from Moro's coalition.
De Martino complains that the government gave
the Communist opposition more advance notice of
the economic package than it did the Socialists.
The Socialists are also concerned that support
for the bill as it stands would put them out of
step with their supporters in organized labor.
The bulk of labor is sharply critical of the gov-
ernment's proposals.
All of this has made it increasingly diffi-
cult for De Martino to maintain control of his
badly divided party as it prepares for a national
congress in February. Rival Socialists are scor-
ing points by arguing that the party gains nothing
politically by continuing to support Moro.
Earlier, De Martino had been inclined to avoid
challenging Moro, at least until after the congress.
De Martino is not likely to return to that position
-unless the Socialists receive major concessions on
the economic plan or some other issue before the
party directorate meets on Wednesday. The direc-
torate is slated to make a final decision on
whether to end Socialist support.
(continued)
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Moro's Christian Democrats adopted a concilia-
tory tone in their initial comments urging De Mar-
tino to abandon his threat, perhaps foreshadowing
some concessions. The Communist press is also ar-
guing that now is not the time for a change of gov-
ernment.
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INDIA
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's re-
cent charges of Western, and particu-
larly US, interference in the internal
affairs of India reflect both her long-
standing personal bias and her frequent
use of foreign scapegoats when trying
to justify controversial political
moves at home.
It is unclear whether Gandhi's blasts mean
that, as far as she is concerned, the period of
slowly improving India-US relations is over. Her
statements, delivered at a just-concluded national
conference of her Congress Party, were largely ex-
temporaneous and may have been influenced by the
responsiveness of her audience to such rhetoric.
Gandhi used the conference to obtain party
approval for an indefinite extension of India's
state of emergency and for a one-year postponement
of national elections. She also announced her in-
tention to seek constitutional revisions--probably
in the parliamentary session beginning on Monday--
intended to make permanent the powers she now exer-
cises on an emergency basis.
Although there appears to be little opposition
to these moves within the Congress Party, Gandhi
remains highly sensitive to criticism, particularly
from the West, about her authoritarian rule.
Her attacks probably were also aimed at appeas-
ing leftists in the Congress Party and the pro-
Soviet Communist Party of India, which is allied
with her party. Indian leftists, and probably Mos-
cow, are displeased over what is widely seen as an
Indian "lurch to the right" since the emergency was
-imposed six months ago.
Such a "lurch" is reflected in the increasing
prominence of Gandhi's son Sanjay, in the new, more
moderate leadership of the Congress Party's youth
wing, in the choice of new central cabinet members,
and in the government's focus on pragmatic rather
than ideologically based economic policies. At the
conference, Gandhi emphatically denied any rightward
trend and reaffirmed her government's commitment to
socialist goals.
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GUYANA-ANGOLA
Prime Minister Burnham may decide
to send a token unit from the Guyanese
defense force to Angola.
Formal recognition seems sure to come soon.
During his speech celebrating the nationalization
of Reynolds aluminum mines, Burnham announced full
support for the Popular Movement and said that the
"freedom fighters" in Angola are waging "a war that
is ours."
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NOTE
A threatened general strike in Thailand failed
to materialize yesterday, but labor leaders in
Bangkok claim that workers will begin walking off
their jobs today to protest an increase in the
price of rice.
The increase was to go into effect on Thurs-
day, but Prime Minister Khukrit postponed it for
two weeks; labor leaders have probably interpreted
this as a sign of government weakness. Khukrit's
critics, such as Defense Minister Praman and for-
mer army commander General Krit, would likely try
to exploit serious labor disorders for their own
political gain. Krit has already let it be known
that he is dissatisfied with Khukrit's indecisive-
ness/
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