CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1953/07/15

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02050145
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: July 15, 2019
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2019
• Publication Date: July 15, 1953

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15 Iuly 1953
Copy No.
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
Ak.11H:
DAM.
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
GENERAL
1. UN secretary general to delay poll on reconvening General Assembly
(page 3).
2.
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SOVIET UNION
,Commenton Malyshev replacement (page 4).
Yugoslav charge in Moscow reports arrest of Soviet generals (page 5).
FAR EAST
5. American embassy comments on South Korean repudiation of economic
agreement (page 5).
6. Chinese Communists reportedly raid main Nationalist-held offshore
islands (page 6).
SOUTH ASIA
7. Indian Communist Party allegedly to increase contacts with Chinese
embassy (page 6).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
8. Caffery blames British military for new crisis in Egypt (page 7).
WESTERN EUROPE
Neiel More trouble anticipated in East Berlin (page 8).
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GENERAL
1. UN secretary general to delay poll on reconvening General Assembly:
Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold assured3.3(h)(2)
a member of the American UN delegation on 13
July that he is opposed to reconvening the Gen-
eral Assembly prior to the signing of a Korean
armistice. He said that he would delay polling
UN members on the issue at least until next week.
2.
Comment: General Assembly president Pearson
stated last week that in accordance with the formal request from Indian
prime minister Nehru, he would ask the secretary general on 14 July to
poll UN members about the desirability of a special session. Pearson
feels that no further delay is possible.
The secretary general is obliged under UN rules
of procedure to conduct such a poll immediately upon a formal request
from any UN member state. However, Hammarskjold apparently feels
that he can administratively delay the poll for at least a short time.
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3.
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3.3(h)(2)
SOVIET UNION
3. Comment on Malyshev replacement:
The revelation in Evening Moscow that I. I.
Nosenko has replaced V. A. Malyshev as minister of transport and
heavy machine building, a key economic post, has aroused speculation
that Malyshev is the first of many high-level figures to be purged in the
wake of Beria's arrest.
Part of the Associated Press report on
Malyshev's replacement was not passed by the Moscow censor which
may indicate either that his status was not known by the censor or
that a suggestion of his being purged was cut out.
While his purge remains a possibility, it
should be noted that Malyshev has had no known connection with Beria.
His appearance at the Bolshoi Theatre on 27 June with 1.1. of the 14-
member presidium suggests that he had replaced Melnikov, who was
absent, as an alternate member of that body.
Malyshev, a top-flight administrator with
engineering background, was once reported as involved in producing
equipment for Russia's atomic energy program. He may have moved
out of his previous ministerial position to take over the direction of
atomic energy in place of Beria.
Nosenko, who has been Malyshev's deputy
since 1950, is also a top-flight engineering administrator and a logical
choice for his present position.
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4. Yugoslav charge in Moscow reports arrest of Soviet generals:
The American embassy in Moscow reports
that one of its more reliable sources, the
Yugoslav charge, has "confirmed" recent
rumors concerning the arrest of certain
army officers including General Sintlov, chief of the Moscow garrison,
and General Artemev, commander of the Moscow Military District,
The Yugoslav's source, a Red Army colonel, reportedly added that
rumors were circulating in army circles that the government planned
a reduction in the armed forces.
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In the opinion of the Yugoslav charge, the
Beria case was a serious blow to the regime, and he expressed appre-
hension that a feeling of weakness might lead the Soviet leaders "into
actions which otherwise they might not take." He also believed that a
stiffening in the Soviet attitude would take place in the immediate future.
Comment: Both Sinilov and Artemev have
held their present posts for many years. As head of the Moscow Mill-
tail District, Artemev has provided troops on occasion as auxiliaries
to MVD forces for government protection and in 1939 was reported to
have commanded a motorized rifle division for security police operations.
An earlier reported rumor of Marshal Zhukov's arrest has been negated
by a press report of his presence at a Mongolian embassy reception on
12 July.
The Soviet regime probably does not feel so
unstable as to consider it necessary either to go to war or to make
major concessions to the West to maintain itself in power. Indications
since Beria's ouster suggest that the Soviet leaders will continue the
"conciliatory" post-Stalin foreign policy.
FAR EAST
5. American embassy comments on South Korean repudiation of economic
agreement:
The South Korean government has informed 3.3(h)(2)
American officials that it will not honor its
previous agreement relative to a hwan-dollar
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exchange rate, and that it has "decided not to advance any more hwan"
to the UN Command. The note, dated 10 June but only delivered within
the last week, asserted that the exchange rate will remain at 60-1 unless
the United States agrees to a permanent rate of 180-1, and announced
that the United States must settle for all hwan drawings since 30 April
at the former rate.
The American embassy comments that South
Korea's "bare-faced" disregard of its commitments as well as of eco-
nomic realities, shows that in the economic as well as military and
political fields, the government believes that the United States cannot
afford to withdraw its support.
6. Chinese Communists reportedly raid main Nationalist-held offshore
islands:
Small groups of Chinese Communist troops
during the first week of July raided Chinmen
and two other Nationalist-held islands close
to Amoy in Fukien Province
Several Chinese Nationalist soldiers were
captured by the Communists before their withdrawal.
Comment: These raids may have been
made to gain basic information prior to a major attack. Chinmen,
the largest of the Nationalist-held islands immediately off the China
coast, is now garrisoned by approximately 50,000 men.
The Chinese Communists are currently con-
ducting a campaign against the Tachen Islands about 400 miles to the
north.
SOUTH ASIA
7. Indian Communist Party allegedly to increase contacts with Chinese
embassy:
A. K. Gopalan, Communist party leader in
the Indian parliament and recent visitor to
Moscow, allegedly has stated that he wishes
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to shift the contacts of the Indian Communist Party from the Soviet to
the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, 3.3(h)(2)
Gopalan added that the Soviet Union desires that the Indian Communist
Party give special emphasis toward affiliation with the Chinese.
According to Gopalan, the Soviet embassy is
prepared to supply the New Delhi Communist headquarters with about
$20,000, provided Indian Communists follow the current Moscow line.
Comment Aside from the issue of greater
affiliation with the Chinese embassy, this information is consistent
with known facts and current analysis. It therefore appears that Soviet
influence over the Indian Communist Party is dominant but that the USSR
and Communist China are aware of each other's programs and are work-
ing together.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
8. Caffery blames British military for new crisis in Egypt:
Ambassador Caffery feels that the British 3.3(h)(2)
military authorities at the Suez base "have
again upset the apple cart" in Egypt and is
convinced that the whole affair is the result
of "almost incredible blundering of the British military." The fact
that the British seem honestly surprised at Egyptian reaction, Caffery
considers evidence of their failure to grasp the real temper of Egypt.
He believes that the British "ultimatum" to
the subgovernor of Ismailia for the return of the RAF airman, allegedly
abducted by a "well-known thug" and an Egyptian officer, and the subse-
quent military controls established around the town have laid the British
open to current inflammatory Egyptian statements.
According to Caffery, British embassy
spokesmen have stated categorically that the Suez military officials
took action in reference to the airman on their own initiative. British
charge Hankey left the impression with Caffery that he was extremely
upset by the affair and trying hard to play it down.
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WESTERN EUROPE
9. More trouble anticipated in East Berlin:
American officials in Berlin believe that the 3.3(h)(2)
partial withdrawal of Soviet military forces
from the city is designed to salvage the prestige
of the East German Communist Party by demon-
strating confidence in its ability to control the situation without Soviet
assistance.
The slow-down campaign in the factories and
the demonstrated weakness of the East German government make it
possible, however, that there will be further uprisings, which could
be put down only by Soviet force. Some heavy military equipment and
several thousand Soviet troops are still in or near Berlin. The factory
workers are continuing to make both economic and political demands,
but they appear to lack effective organization above the factory level.
Comment: Reports that strikes are planned
In a number of East German cities for mid-July suggest that the eco-
nomic reforms have been insufficient to placate the population. An
East German Christian Democratic paper is said to have called for
"a basic political solution" for the zone's "grave internal illness."
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