CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1957/01/16

Document Type: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
03161977
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
U
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
December 12, 2019
Document Release Date: 
December 20, 2019
Sequence Number: 
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
January 16, 1957
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Body: 
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN , ArWed farki.tleatattj3/04 C03167 z 3.5(c) 16 January 1957 131 TOP SECRET ZA Copy No. DOCUMENT NO. NC) CHANGE IN CLASS, I I DECLASSIFIID CLASS. CHANGED TO: IS S NEXT REV/EW DATE: AUTH: HR 71- DAV:11 In REVIEWER; OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Atik ,Aw Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 ow/ war CONTENTS 1. ISRAELIS TO WITHDRAW FROM SINAI BY 22 JANUARY I (page 3). 2. PROBABLE EXTENSION OF SOVIET GUIDED-MISSILE RANGE (page 4). 3. NEW SOVIET CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING REPORTED SCHEDULED (Top Secret Eider) (page 5). 4. BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE VIEWS ON YEMEN-ADEN SITU- ATION (page 6). 5. SITUATION IN INDONESIA 6. YUGOSLAVS SUPPORT KADAR REGIME (page 7). (page 8). 7. JAPAN PROPOSES FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA (Secret Noforn) (page 9). 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 2 TOP SECRET Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 f "OP SECRET 1. ISRAELIS TO WITHDRAW FROM SINAI BY 22 JANUARY Israeli forces are to be "entirely out of Sinai" except for Sharm al Shaikh by 22 January, Eban said Israel will not withdraw r�iShi�h�htintul there are "adequate assurances which protect genuine international interests!' Eban said the stationing of UN forces at Sharm al Shaikh pending a final settlement would make an Israeli withdrawal possible. Eban deferred any discussion of the future of the Gaza strip. Comment Eban's statements presumably result from the 13 January meeting of the Israeli cabinet. Israel is making a determined effort to obtain freedom of transit in the Gulf of Aqaba and has indi- cated it favors the maintenance of an Israeli police force in the Gaza strip under UN supervision. Egypt has maintained that no discussions toward a settlement can be held prior to the restoration of the status quo ante. Nasr has suggested that a "serious problem" might arise if Israel has not withdrawn before the Suez Canal is cleared. units othe motorized frontier corps are being deployed back into Sinai. 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 3 er.r.r) Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2719/12/04 C03161977 %or* 2. PROBABLE EXTENSION OF SOVIET GUIDED- MISSILE RANGE Comment on: A lengthening of the Kapustin Yar missile test range eastward to a dis- tance of 900 to 1,000 nautical miles hc hotart i ririi (*afar] The present most distant impact area is approximately 600 to 700 nautical miles east of the launching site. Aircraft flights between the Kapustin Yar area and the Akmolinsk/Karaganda region in mid-1956 may have been connected with the establishment of this station. Although the station has not been involved in any actual missile-firing operations, .t compares in both permanence and importance with the major administra- tive bases in the three known impact areas. On 13 January, following a 31-day period of operational inactivity, the range resumed opera- tions with a short-range (150 nautical miles) firing. How- ever, this period of inactivity could still reflect prepara- tions for the integration of a new impact area into range operations. 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 4 TOP SECRET Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 1,11 JLiL1L. I . NEW SOVIET CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING REPORTED SCHEDULED Another meeting of the Soviet party cen- tral committee will be held before the 5 February Supreme Soviet meeting, ng will deal with ideological problems and with hous- ing and other economic matters left unsettled in the decree of the December meeting, Ambassador Bohlen points out that any personnel shifts which the party presidium has in mind could be approved at such a meeting. He notes, however, that there has been no reflection in Moscow of the Warsaw rumor that Khrushchev won a "slim majority" over Malenkov in a vote at the December plenum. He doubts that such a vote could have taken place without becoming Moscow gossip. Comment The December plenum apparently did not come to grips with the problem of grow- ing ideological disorientation among intellectuals and student groups, and a stern warning on the issue from a party plenum is a good possibility. A new meeting of the central committee could decide on specific goals for housing and make a final review of the 1957 budget, which is to be approved at the Supreme Soviet meeting. The December meeting of the central committee apparently postponed decision on earlier plans for an immediate increase of priority for housing, which had already been approved by the State Economic Commission for Current Planning, The removal of M. Z. Saburov, who headed the planning commission at that time, may have been caused in disagreement over housing priorities. rnartiavi 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 5 rriel D rir^.1-1 r�T' Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 `4410, 19 4. BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE VIEWS ON YEMEN- ADEN SITUATION The British Foreign Office is disturbed over the extent of the Yemeni propaganda campaign alleging British aggression across the Aden border. Britain is "ur- n ytrying to start a joint inspection of the Yemen-Aden frontier area which has been under discussion with Yemeni representatives in London since early December, accord- ing to the American embassy there. Foreign Office officials minimize the extent of the actual fighting in progress. The Foreign Office is also considering asking for a UN fact-finding or boundary demarcation mis- sion. London fears, however, that submitting the question to the UN might benefit only the Asian-African bloc or lead to unworkable procedures for adjudicating the border dispite. Comment Under present tensions, the prospects ap- pear very slim for reaching a settlement of the border dispute either by direct negotiation or under UN auspices. The British evidently consider they must make some public gesture toward such negotiations, however, in order to offset the effect of Yemeni, Egyptian, and Soviet propaganda. Meanwhile, there are indications that British military opera- tions in the disturbed area are more extensive than London's guarded statements reveal. 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 6 CONFIDENTIAL Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 1771/71Triti71117 Ask 4111k 5. SITUATION IN INDONESIA The withdrawal from the Indonesian cabinet of the small Moslem party PERTI on 15 January may provide the impetus for further defections from a regime which now has lost three of its eight participants. Other minor mem- bers which are considering withdrawal are one Moslem and two Christian par- t. President Sukarno, presumably antici- pating further defections, is said to be planning the forma- tion soon of a "revolutionary council" under his leadership to which the cabinet would be responsible. This council would implement his proposal of a "guided democracy" and permit him almost unlimited control over the government. The Communist Party, which now has about 16 percent of the seats in parliament, has demanded proportional representation in any new cabinet. Sukarno would be likely to press for leftist or Communist participa- tion in the cabinet in order to realize "national unity!' He may also insist on Communist participation in his "revolu- tionary council!' Meanwhile, in the Celebes, preparations are reportedly being made to proclaim the central Celebes area an "autonomous province:' Efforts by the Djakarta government to resume normal relations with the three Sumatran provinces continue to be ineffective. 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 7 ItATUTTIT7lTrrT T Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 %el vgaii 6. YUGOSLAVS SUPPORT KADAR REGIME Comment on: Several recent actions by the Yugoslav government indicate that it intends to support the Kadar regime in Hungary for the present. On 11 January, a Yugo- slav spokesman announced that a $2,000,000 credit and "cer- tain facilities in mutual trade exchange" had been granted at the recent request of the Hungarian government. He said Hungarian-Yugoslav relations were "normal" and implied that Belgrade was no longer pressing the issue of the Soviet abduction of ex-premier Nagy last November. A new Yugoslav ambassador is about to depart for Budapest, a post vacant since shortly after the �Nagy kidnapitig,_ and Hungary has named a new man for its post in Belgrade, vacant since late October. The Belgrade press gave tentative acceptance to the program outlined by Premier Kadar on 6 January, despite its heralding of im- pending harsh policies and close allegiance to Moscow. Most Yugoslav Communist leaders prob- ably recognize that only a harsh program by Kadar will maintain Communism in Hungary at present, even though this view conflicts with Vice President Kardelj's speech on 7 December, with its implied condemnation of the Kadar re- gime and its extolling of the workers' councils as the only true socialist force in Hungary. The Yugoslays may feel that eventually a more liberal regime can evolve in Hungary. Belgrade's attitude toward Hungary may also be in part designed to counter the Soviet bloc ideologi- cal criticisms of the Yugoslays as "revisionists:' 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin Page 8 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977 JE,L1 r ONA debt 7. JAPAN PROPOSES FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH Japanese foreign minister 1Cishi proposed to South Korean minister Kim in Tokyo on 10 January that formal negotiations be o- pened for an over-all settlement and the rmal relations between their two countries, jsaid Tokyo was prepared to withdraw or disavow the "offensive" remarks of a former Japanese negotiator, to drop claims to former Japanese property in Korea, and to agree to a mutual release of detainees with the promise that no additional Koreans would be interned by Japan pending a final settlement. He said "difficulties" would arise if an un- derstanding were not reached before the Japanese Diet recon- vened on 20 January. Kim said he had recommended to Presi- dent Rhee that he accept the offer as the best obtainable and because it satisfies the major conditions which the Koreans have set for a settlement. He fears, however, that Rhee will offer by insisting that Japan recognize the Rhee line. Comment A settlement with South Korea is a primary objective of Japan's new Ishibashi govern- ment, and release of more than 800 Japanese fishermen has top priority. Japanese officials feel the fishermen are being held as hostages to force Japanese acceptance of Korean terms and have stated that Japan will be compelled to alter drastically its conciliatory attitude unless progress toward a settlement is made soon. 16 Jan 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin, Page 9 Approved for Release: 2019/12/04 C03161977