CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1956/10/31

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03178383
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2019
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2019
• Publication Date: October 31, 1956

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CONTENTS
1. THE NEAR EAST CRISIS _
V
2. THE SITUATION IN HUNGARY
(//
(page 3).
(page 6).
3. POLISH RADIO SAYS ROKOSSOWSKI PLANNED SWEEPING
PURGE (page 9).
4. EAST GERMAN REGIME INCREASINGLY APPREHENSIVE:
page 11).
15. SOVIET DECLARATION ON RELATIONS WITH THE SATEL-
LITES (page 12).
6. TITO URGES HUNGARIANS TO SUPPORT NAGY
(page 13).
7. WESTERN EUROPEAN COMMUNIST REACTION TO
HUNGARIAN REVOLT (page 14).
-8. JAPANESE TO RAISE EUROPEAN ATELL1TE ISSUE AT
(page 15).
9.
ASIAN SOCIALIST CONFERENCE
novERNMENT PRESSES ITS ADVANTAGE IN SINGAPORE
(page 16).
10. SECRETARY GENERAL OF NORTH VIETNAM'S COMMU-
NIST PARTY OUSTED (page 17).
31 Oct 56
THE ARAB-ISRAELI SIT UAT ION
(page 18)
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1� THE NEAR EAST CRISIS (information as of 0200 EST)
s of 0200, British military authorities
ere maintaining a news blackout on the
rogress of the operations against Egypt
orecast by Prime Minister Eden. An
fficial statement issued in London said
o information would be released before
0400 EST. Press reports, however, in-
dicated that a landing operation was taking
place0 The main objectives are presum-
ably those stated by Eden--the Suez Canal
centers of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez.
The political objectives of the move, as
reportedly stated to the French parlia-
mentary foreign affairs committee on
30 October, are to overthrow Egyptian
president Nasr and to install British and
French troops in the canal zone for an
indefinite period.
�
31 Oct 56 Current Intelligence Bulletin
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an estimated armored group began leaving the Giza
encampment outside the city early on the mornine of 30 Octo-
ber. a T 34
tank regiment was observed moving north in the canal zone,,
presumably toward the Firdan bridge across the canal, on the
night of the 29th. Israeli statements have also asserted that
a movement of Egyptian forces across the canal into Sinai
was taking place.
Israel has officially stated that its forces
are 18 miles from the Suez Canal, although it claims that the
Israeli objective is not the canal, but the occupation of terri-
tory from which fedayeen operated.
31 Oct 56
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31 Oct 56
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20 THE SITUATION IN HUNGARY (information as of 0200 EST)
Reports from reliable eyewitnesses in
Budapest indicate that as of 1400 (Budapest
time) on 30 October Soviet forces were
withdrawing from the city, but apparently
only to the outskirts. At noon Soviet tanks
withdrew from the Kilian barracks, which
were still occupied by armed nationalist
insurgents. Later in the day, at 1820 hours,
the Hungarian defense minister announced
that agreement had been reached with the command of the Soviet
forces in Budapest that all Soviet troops in the city would com-
plete their withdrawal by dawn of 31 October. The job of main-
taining order, according to the announcement, would be taken
over simultaneously by certain units of the Hungarian army,
the police, and the national guard.
On the other hand, the American army at-
tach�n Budapest, referring to Shepilov's statement of 29
October that "no Soviet units have arrived in Hungary in the
last 24 hours, in fact last 64 hours," observed that a Soviet
column was seen arriving in Budapest at 1100 hours on 30 Oc-
tober, with obvious signs of a long trip. Numerous reports
of reinforcements by large Soviet forces over the Czech-
r7arian border are not borne out by
Hurig
Coincidental with these developments came
the announcement of the formation of the Revolutionary Military
Council of the Hungarian Army. This council stated it approved
all the demands that had been made on the government by the
workers' councils, that it had decided to disarm immediately
those secret police formations which still remained armed, and
that it had dismissed a number of high officers including General
Toth, armed forces chief of staff, and Generals Hazai, Hidvegi
31 Oct 56
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and Szabo. Later announcements indicated that the council
would be responsible for maintaining order in Budapest and
throughout the country�
The announcement that the Soviet troops
would be withdrawn from Budapest contrasts with the earlier
Soviet statement that the insurgents in the city must lay down
their arms prior to any Soviet evacuation of the city. Although
Premier Nagy's attitude has been vacillating in regard to this
question, he clearly implied on 30 October that the insurgent
forces in control of the provinces should retain their arms.
He added that he expected these forces to become part of the
regime's newly organized national guard.
There are still no clear indications from
any source whether and how soon Soviet troops may be with-
drawn from Hungary. In a speech the afternoon of 30 October,
however, Nagy repeated an earlier statement that he was nego-
tiating this question with the USSR. Moscow's announcement
on 30 October that it is "ready to enter into relevant negotia-
tions . . . on the question of Soviet troops in Hungary" sug-
gests that agreement may be reached soon concerning this
matter.
The announcement by Nagy last night that
"the Revolutionary Military Council shall operate until the new
government to be formed through general and secret elections
takes office" meets the other major demand of the insurgents.
Along with the announcements concerning the withdrawal of
Soviet troops from Budapest, it suggests that the Nagy regime
is moving toward complete capitulation to the rebels.
Earlier in the day Nagy revealed that the
one-party system in Hungary had been abolished and that a
coalition government consisting of representatives from the
Communist Party and from the other parties existing in 1945
(presumably the Smallholders, National Peasant, Citizens'
Democratic, Radical and Social Democratic) would be formed.
31 Oct 56
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An appeal was issued simultaneously for the reorganization
of these parties.
Later Budapest announcements stated that
the Social Democratic, National Peasant, and Smallholders
parties had re-formed in Budapest. If the Social Democrats
should join the government it would be a clear indication that
the Nagy regime has given in completely to rebel demands.
So far, Nagy has been unable to gain Social Democratic partici-
pation in his government because of unwillingness to satisfy
their demands.
Unity of purpose among the rebel forces--
who have no central authority and who remain only in tenuous
contact with one another--appears to be confined largely to
the question of Hungarian independence and the need for an
immediate Soviet troop withdrawal from the entire country.
Since actual fighting in the countryside apparently has ceased,
and since the present moves of the Nagy regime may have
caused some confusion among the rebel groups, political
maneuvering is probably already under way between various
insurgent factions, particularly between Communist and non-
Communist elements. The Communist insurgents apparently
�retain their confidence in Nagy--insisting, however, that he
� must implement his promises before they will actively support
him--, but non-Communist rebels Probably remain suspicious
of both Nagy and his intentions.
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3. POLISH RADIO SAYS ROKOSSOWSKI PLANNED
SWEEPING PURGE
According to a Warsaw radio broadcast
on 26 October, a pro-Soviet group, led
by Marshal Rokossowski and several
politburo members, attempted to arrest
large numbers of liberal Communists
shortly before the recent central com-
mittee plenum. The broadcast quoted a
speaker at the meeting of the Gdansk
Provincial Committee of the Polish United Workers (Com-
munist) Party as stating that the pro-Soviet group issued
orders to the army to arrest 700 liberal Communist leaders
on 18 October, the day before Khrushchev arrived in Warsaw.
The move was unsuccessful because of the actions of "pro-
gressive elements" in the army, security policy, party, and
among the workers who alerted those scheduled to be arrested
and seized control of key positions in the city.
The speaker named Marshal Rokossowski,
Zenon Nowak, Klosiewicz, Berman, General Witaszewski,
Joswiak-Witold, and Zawadski, as members of the group,
known as the "Natolin group:'
Comment
This information probably has some founda-
tion in fact and provides an explanation for
for the unexpected arrival of Soviet leaders in Warsaw on 19 Oc-
tober and the coldness of their reception. In view of its publi-
cation, Rokossowski can hardly retain his posts as deputy premier
31 Oct 56
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and minister of national defense. He is now "on leave"
and reportedly has gone to the USSR with no date set for
his return. Most of the other listed members of the Natolin
group have already been removed from office, along with
eight provincial first secretaries, but Zenon Nowak still
holds the post of deputy premier and Zawadski retains his
posts as chief of state and politburo member.
The publicizing of the activities of the
Natolin group also suggests that some members of the group
may not only be deprived of their positions but may be sub-
jected to criminal prosecution as well.
31 Oct 56
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4.E
EASINGLY APPREHENSIVE
The East German regime is becoming
increasingly nervous over the dissatis-
faction with internal conditions and the
mounting tension among the population
caused by the upheavals in Poland and
Hungary. Military, police, and secu-
rity forces have been alerted. The orders
issued to them, together with public state-
ments-by government and party officials, show that the regime
is determined to crush the first signs of hostile activity.
crowds have been gathering in several areas ana are MS-
cussing Polish and Hungarian developments. Many people are
asking why East German governmental policies are not under-
going a liberalization similar to that in Poland and Hungary.
Student discussion groups in several localities have posed em-
barrassing questions to party agitators sent to give them the
correct line. Local and university officials have been warned
to keep a watchful eye on student activities.
Party first secretary Walter Ulbricht and
Premier Otto Grotewohl, appearing on a radio and television
"round-table discussion" on 27 October, gave the first detailed
presentation of the regime's views on the recent developments.
They emphasized the "differences" between conditions in East
Germany and in Poland and Hungary, implying that workers in
East Germany really have no grounds for discontent. Grotewohl
categorically rejected any "liberalization" in East Germany on
the grounds that it would mean a return to capitalism.
Obviously referring to widespread de-
mands for Ulbricht's ouster, Grotewohl said, "We are not go-
ing to change the government'because it is the fashionable thing
to do." Realizing that concessions on a few issues would in-
evitably lead to demands for further concessions, the regime
appears determined to hold the line.
31 Oct 56
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5. SOVIET DECLARATION ON RELATIONS WITH
THE SATELLITES
The Soviet government's declaration of
30 October on relations with the Satellites
is an attempt to regain a position from
which the USSR can begin to exert control
over the too-rapid development of Satellite
independence without compromising its self-initiated "liberal-
ization" program. The declaration attempts to cancel out the
serious loss of prestige and leadership which the USSR has
suffered, both within and outside the bloc, because of events
in Hungary aqd Poland.
In a key paragraph, the declaration em-
phasizes that Soviet units are stationed in Hungary and Rumania
under the authority of the Warsaw pact, and carefully establishes
that Soviet troops in Poland are there on the basis of the Pots-
dam four-power agreement as well. East Germany and the
Soviet forces there are pointedly omitted from the statement,
a tacit reaffirmation of the Soviet position that withdrawal of
any of these troops is dependent on withdrawal of Western
forces from Germany, US fOrces from Europe, and a change
in the orientation of West Germany.
While the declaration holds out the promise
to the Satellites of greater internal independence in economic
affairs and withdrawal of Soviet advisers, it also places great
emphasis on the Warsaw pact as a unifying system necessary
to protect and maintain Communist control. In stating that it
"is ready to examine with other socialist countries" the sta-
tioning of Soviet troops on their territory, the declaration as-
serts that this should take place only with the agreement of the
state concerned as well as agreement between participants in
the pact. In its specific references to the Hungarian situation,
the statement also implies that withdrawal of Soviet troops is
subject to negotiations with "other participants of the Warsaw
treaty" as well as the local government.
31 Oct 56 Current Intelligence Bulletin
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6 TITO URGES HUNGARIANS TO SUPPORT NAGY
Tito, in a letter of 29 October addressed
to the Hungarian Communist Party, calls
for the Hungarians to stop further blood-
shed. He says that the recent measures
taken by the Hungarian leadership show
that the policy of the Hungarian party and government and
the "genuine socialist aspirations of the Hungarian working
people have been merged into one!'
Tito regrets the "wrong and harmful policy"
pursued by the past Hungarian regime which produced the
present crisis, but calls on the Hungarian workers to avoid
- "undermining the faith of workingmen in socialism and the
essential development of socialist democracy!'
The letter says the Yugoslav leadership
does not wish to interfere in the internal affairs of Hungary,
but out of a feeling of solidarity with the "progressive social-
ist aspirations" of the Hungarian people, appeals to the people
to make every effort to end the struggle, "which could have
unforeseeable consequences not only for Hungary but for the
international labor movement."
Comment Tito's remarks closely parallel the line
now being pushed by the Nagy regime it-
self as well as a Polish statement to the Hungarians sent by
Gomulka and Cyrankiewicz.
The Yugoslays are apparently worried lest
a continuation of the present Hungarian rebellion lead to either
a non-Communist government in Hungary or to Soviet imposi-
tion of a Stalinist-type regime.
31 Oct 56 Current Intelligence Bulletin
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7. WESTERN EUROPEAN COMMUNIST REACTION TO
HUNGARIAN REVOLT
Communist reaction in major Western
European countries to the Hungarian
revolt ranges from rigid support of
Moscow by the French to an increas-
ingly anti-Soviet position in Italy.
The American embassy in Paris reports
that on 29 October the French Commu-
nist press surpassed itself in defending
the Soviet Union and gloating over the
"defeat" of the insurgents.
The London Daily Worker, on the other
hand, has walked a tight rope in both ab-
horring the "necessity" for the intervention of Soviet troops
against the counterrevolutionaries and in speaking of the
Hungarian workers' "just demands."
The official Italian Communist Party paper
Unita has abandoned its earlier support of the Soviet line blam-
ing counterrevolutionaries for the violence. On 29 October
party leader Togliatti criticized Hungary for its failure to de-
velop its Communism on an adequate national base and to make
reforms quickly enough. The leadership of the Communist-
dominated labor organization and the fellow-traveling Ii Paese
have condemned Soviet intervention in Hungary
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8. JAPANESE TO RAISE EUROPEAN SATELLITE ISSUE AT
ASIAN SOCIALIST CONFERENCE
Japanese delegates to the Asian Socialist
Conference to be held in Bombay from 1 to
10 November have decided to raise the is-
sue of the Soviet Satellites and to call for
self-determination of all peoples oppressed by colonialism,
The draft of
the formal resolution will be determined alter the attitude of
other delegates to the conference is known.
The Asian Socialist Conference is corn-
posed of Socialist parties representing Burma, India, Indo-
nesia, Japan, Israel, Pakistan and Lebanon. South Vietnam
and Nepal have ob6erver status. The present chairman is
Burmese premier Ba Swe, but he will probably be replaced
by either an Indian or Indonesian at the forthcoming meeting.
The Japanese proposal is likely to strike
a responsive chord at the conference since the organization
took an unequivocal anti-Communist stand when it was formed
in 1953. The Praja Socialist Party of India already has de-
clared that the use of Soviet forces in Hungary and the threat
to use them in Poland was "most reprehensible."
Although the Japanese proposal is critical
of Soviet policy toward the Satellites, the Japan Socialist Party
does not appear to favor restricting relations with the Commu-
nist bloc. The party reportedly intends to submit a report on
trade with the bloc at the conference which will stress the ur-
gent need for such trade for the well-being of all Asian nations,
particularly Japan.
31 Oct 56
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9. GOVERNMENT PRESSES ITS ADVANTAGE IN SINGAPORE
Rioting in Singapore has ceased and the
curfew and other emergency restric-
tions are being lifted. The government
is in complete command of the situation
and the police and army are on the alert to meet any new
outbreak.
Documents captured during raids on pro-
Communist labor union headquarters conducted during the
riots contain evidence of a Communist conspiracy to over-
throw the Singapore government. Political and union lead-
ers who have been arrested will be held at least until the
screening of these documents has been completed. In addi-
tion, legal technicalities are being exploitetito continue the
detention of Lim Chin Siong, a member of the Legislative
Assembly and probably the colony's leading Communist.
The government is pressing its advan-
tage, despite protests from some highly influential Chinese.
The Council of Ministers has rejected a so-called compro-
mise proposal by Tan Lark-sye, a Peiping-oriented business-
man who speaks for some elements of the Chinese community
which have opposed the government's action. Chief Minister
Lim has delivered a strong radio address blaming the pro-
Communists for the disturbances and appealing to all Chinese
to support his "indigenous" government.
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Nor NO
IA SECRETARY GENERAL OF NORTH VIETNAM'S
COMMUNIST PARTY OUSTED
Truong Chinh, secretary general of the
Lao Dong Party (Communist) and its
predecessors since 1941, and heretofore
regarded as probably second man in the
Viet Minh hierarchy, has resigned after
criticizing himself for the "mistakes committed in land re-
form," Peasant discontent over the land reform program,
heightened by famine conditions resulting from poor crops
since 1954, culminated recently in open violence, according
to Radio Hanoi.
Chinh has been replaced by Ho Chi Minh,
who retains his post as party chairman. Although Chinh has
been made the scapegoat for land reform failures, he remains
a member of the politburo and the secretariat and is appar-
ently not marked for discard.
Ho Chi Minh's assumption of the post of
secretary general suggests an effort to use his great popu-
larity to gain wider peasant support for the land reform
program. To conciliate the peasants, the change may also
lead to a slowing down and modification of the program.
31 Oct 56
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THE ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION
(Information as of 02009 31 October)
The Iraqi chief of staff has stated that Iraq
will not move its troops from their present positions until it is
absolutely essential; and that they will not take part in any opera-
tion where they would be under either Egyptian or Jordanian com-
mand. Iraq is willing, however, to fulfill its obligations toward
Jordan if its forces are given a proper sector and a logical sys-
� tern of co-ordination. According to the American army attach�
in Baghdad, the chief of staff appeared to be not unhappy over the
possibility that Egypt might be trounced.
As of 30 Qc_fcle.) r, the American attaches in
Tel Aviv estimated that Israeli mobilization was 90-95 percent
complete. They reported a substantial dislocation of normal
services and distribution facilities, especially in the cities. A
complete countrywide blackout had been ordered to begin that
night.
Twenty Mystere jet fighters with what ap-
peared to be French markings have been observed parked at Lod
airfield in Israel. Eighteen French let pilots arrived at Lod via
oit
(For another article bearing on the Arab-
Israeli situation, see item 1, p. 3.)
31 Oct 56
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