CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A003600080001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 15, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 10, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
10 March 1958
DAILY BRIEF
I. THE COMMUNIST BLOC
Moscow propaganda on SEATO meeting: The strong
TASS statement attacking the SEATO meeting in Manila
furthers Soviet propaganda efforts to discredit US motives
in Asia. By contrasting Soviet proposals for nuclear-free
zones and a "collective peace pact in Asia" with alleged US-
SEATO attempts to set up nuclear and rocket bases in Europe
and Asia., Moscow seeks to generate Asian support for a sum-
mit meeting. The 'USSR made similar attacks on the recent
NATO and Baghdad Pact meetings,
ment than it has recently made.
Soviet-Yugoslav relations: A stinging attack on Soviet
Mars Konev, accusing him--apparently with little justifi-
cation--of ignoring the Yugoslav contribution to victory in
World War I I, breaks the uneasy truce which has existed be-
tween Belgrade and Moscow since last fall's Communist con-
ference. The deliberate gesture may have been designed to
enhance Tito's waning prestige by defending his wartime role
and to induce Moscow to give him a more positive endorse-
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HIN
II. ASIA-AFRICA
Indonesia, The Indonesian Government apparently
quick knockout of the dissident movement in Central \\
1\
Sumatra. Army forces, said to number 300 men, have 1
ME
landed at Bengkalis in east Central Sumatra. The Indo-
nesian G-3 says a total of 4 battalions is available in the
Riau Islands area to stage an attack on Pakanbaru, 120
miles up the Siak River from Ben
kalis This ma
coincide .,
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~'- with an air and sea attack which previous reports indicated
A4. 4.U-
of the Indonesian Government, Stanvac and Caltex employees g
and dependents in Central Sumatra have been ordered tom
evacuate to Singapore or to designated safe havens. Mean-
"-,k 011
while, the Hatta-Sukarno talks have been indefinitely sus-
00
pended and Sukarno has started on a one-week tour of Java
and East Indonesia during which he can be expected to at-
tempt to mobilize public support for the antirlissident ram-
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III. THE WEST
Spanish West Africa: Prospects appear dim for an
early political settlement by Spain and Morocco of territorial
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issues in the western Sahara. The French Embassy in
Rabat is concernedparticularly in view of the French
military presence in Morocco, that the Spanish may take
a rash step that would bring them into conflict with the
1
Royal Moroccan Army. Morocco's continued agitation of the Ifni question may foreshadow an early political move
designed to bring international pressure on Madrid--possibly
in the UN--to negotiate on terms acceptable to Morocco.
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Cuba: President Batista has agreed to mediation by
the church-sponsored "Committee of National Harmony"
between his government and the opposition. Army lead-
ers, on whom Batista is ultimately dependent, may be tak-
ing an independent interest in the mediation efforts. Rebel
leaders, however, are skeptical of mediation talks. Sabo-
tage and terrorism continue, and a student strike in several
areas is gaining momentum.
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I. THE COMMUNIST BLOC
Soviet Initiatives in Southeast Asia
Moscow's vague call for a collective peace pact in
its attack on SEATO is probably an effort to propagate
this idea among Asians rather than a firm move toward
specific proposals. TASS describes the denuclearized
zone in Asia as "gaining increasing support," and warns
that the plans of the Western powers in SEATO are
fraught with the danger of Asian "involvement" in a dev-
astating war.. in.. Asia., Moscow is concurrently step-
ping up a drive to expand relations with pro-Western
Thailand and Malaya, while the Chinese Communists
are calling for a Korean settlement.
Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Firyubin is pushing
similar Soviet aims at the current ECAFE. conference in
Malaya. He compared the "greater progress" of neu-
tralist countries in Asia with that of the participants in
military blocs. He invited most ECAFE. countries to
visit the Soviet Central Asian republics and witness their
economic achievements. He specifically proposed crea-
tion of a staff of geological experts, supplied and financed
by the "advanced" nations, to provide an advisory prospect-
ing service in the area, and called for a declaration of the
principles of economic cooperation on the basis of the Ban-
dung conference,
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Iftow
Soviet-Yugoslav Relations
Yugoslavia's leading newspaper Borba accused Soviet
Marshal Konev on 6 March of ignoring the Yugoslav con-
tribution to victory in World War II4 It declared that this
"offensive attitude"' is "directly at odds with the proclaimed
policy of friendly Soviet cooperation with socialist Yugo-
slavia" and asked why Konev should revive a Stalinist prac-
tice which Khrushchev had "forcefully condemned:'
The slight occurred on 23 February in the Czech party
organ Rude Pravo commemorating the Red Army's 40th anni-
versay which reprinted the Konev article but omitted his
reference to Yugoslavia. Since other satellite papers men-
tioned Yugoslavia in their reprints of Konev's article, the
Rude Pravo omission probably derived from Czechoslovak
antipathy toward the Yugoslavs and was not necessarily done
with high-level Soviet knowledge.
Borba thus went out of its way to break the uneasy truce
which has existed between Belgrade and Moscow since last
fall, perhaps in an effort to provoke Moscow to clarify its
attitude toward Tito. The newspaper observed that the Yugo-
slavs have refrained from reacting to similar slights until
the Konev article which is the "most drastic of all in the be-
littlement and ignoring of Yugoslavia's contribution," Moscow
has in fact virtually ignored Yugoslav developments since
Tito refused to subscribe to the November Moscow declara-
tion
Having failed in recent efforts to increase his waning
prestige, Tito, on the eve of national elections and a party
congress, may be defending his role in World War I I in the
hope that the patriotic fervor this would engender on his be-
half would outweigh. the damage it would do to Belgrade-
Moscow relations.
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II. ASIA-AFRICA
Indonesian Government Moving Toward Military
Showdown With Dissidents
The Indonesian Army on 8 March landed some 300
troops on dissident held Bengkalis Island off the east
coast of Central Sumatra. This action is the first use
of ground forces against the dissidents and, according
to the Indonesian G-3, is the forerunner of a four-bat-
talion attack in the next few days on the oil center of
Pakanbaru some 120 miles up the Siak River, The G-3
also stated that this movement would coincide with a
heavy air and sea attack against Padang, the dissident
stronghold on the west coast. At the request of the gov-
ernment, Stanvac and. Caltex employees and their depend-
ents have been ordered to evacuate to Singapore or to des-
ignated safe havens.
There are indeed indications that Central Sumatra
will be invaded from both east and west in the near future,
6 March, 25X1DIA
L Irevea e the presence of a large trans-
port aria a iarge eet of small craft at Tandjung Pinang in
the Riau Islands, long reported as the main staging area
for operations against the Sumatran east coast, A 6,000-
ton vessel carrying small landing craft, army trucks, and
troops was sighted heading for Tandjung Pinang on 8 March.
25X1 C The next day, shipping was
beginning to concentrate around Bengkalis and discovered
"50 or more" small vessels concentrated some 200 miles
to the north.
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Several ships, including two LST?s carrying tanks and
the destroyer Gadja Mada loaded with troops, are reported
to have left Djakarta between 3 and 6 March. Since these
vessels have not been spotted on the east coast of Sumatra
they may have sailed through
the Sunda Straits and up the west coast. Americans in Padang
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have been ordered to evacuate the area, "but not by sea."
The air force has also dropped leaflets in the area9warn-
ing that an invasion would. take place in a "very short
time." The possibility of an airdrop on either the Padang
or Pakanbaru areas is suggested by the departure on
7 March of ten C-47 type aircraft from Djakarta after
having all doors removed.
Djakarta is hoping it will achieve a quick knockout.
Army headquarters apparently is convinced that many dis-
sident troops are not well trained and that there will be
large-scale defections once hostilities commence. Pre-
mier Djuanda has told the American ambassador that he
believed the entire matter will be resolved in a "week or
two."
The dissidents, who expect an attack, remain defiant
and have been strengthening their defenses. They concede
that the government forces probably can effect a landing,
but state their strong defenses at Padang and guerrilla op-
erations will take a "heavy toll:'
The Hatta-Sukarno talks have been indefinitely suspended
and Sukarno has left on a tour of Java and East Indonesia.
His primary objective is probably to build public support for
the military campaign against the dissidents. His trip will
be climaxed on 16 March when he. is scheduled to address a
mass meeting in Bandung,
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III. THE WEST
Saharan Territorial Dispute Worsening Spanish-
Moroccan Relations
It is becoming increasingly unlikely that the Spanish
and Moroccan governments will be able to negotiate an
early settlement of their territorial dispute in the west-
ern Sahara. According to Ambassador Lodge in Madrid,
Morocco's declared territorial aspirations have made
negotiations almost impossible. He reports that tempers
in Madrid are wearing thin and that in both the Ifni area and
the former northern zone of Morocco, incidents could at any
time release pent-up feelings to create an explosive situa-
tion.
The French Embassy in Rabat fears that Madrid's "un-
reasonable and emotional attitude" toward. difficulties over
Morocco's southern border might cause the Spanish to lose
their heads and take steps that would bring on, clashes with
the Royal Moroccan Army. The embassy feels that in such
an event, France would be bound by its commitment to aid
Morocco if attacked.,
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry warned. Ambassador
Cannon in Rabat on 4 March that a continuance of Spanish
military action in Ifni and a spread of such action into
Morocco would lead to a war with Spain. The ambassador
believes Rabat may be preparing a political move--possi-
bly in the United Nations--in an effort to bring outside pres-
sure on Spain tone rotiate on terms acceptable to Morocco.
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Cuban President Accepts Church's Mediation Proposal
Cuban President Batista has accepted a proposal of
members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy that they es-
tablish a committee to mediate between the government
and the opposition. A four-man "Committee of National
Harmony," composed of a representative of the church,
two former vice presidents, and a leading banker, will
strive to end revolutionary activity, obtain an amnesty
law, and postpone the general elections, now set for 1
June, to allow for a "cooling off" period. Fidel Castro's
rebel group will be asked to support the committee but will
not be offered representation.
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A groupL of Cuban army generals has decided to sup-
port the church's mediation efforts, according to a fairly
reliable source of the American Embassy. If such a mil-
itary group should gain the support of junior officers, it
could exert decisive pressure on Batista during the media-
tion talks. Batista has long drawn his strength from con-
trol over the military.
The youthful revolutionary leaders, however, have
told newspaper reportiers..that..they regard, rnediationefforts
with skepticism. A student strike is gaining momentum,
and rebel sabotage and terrorism are continuing. I
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1%01" 1W
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
10 March 1958
DAILY BRIEF
I. THE COMMUNIST BLOC
Moscow propaganda on SEATO meeting: The strong
TASS statement attacking the SEATO meeting in Manila
furthers Soviet propaganda efforts to discredit US motives
in Asia. By contrasting Soviet proposals for nuclear-free
zones and a "collective peace pact in Asia" with alleged US-
SEATO attempts to set up nuclear and rocket bases in Europe
and Asia, Moscow seeks to generate Asian support for a sum-
mit meeting. The USSR made similar attacks on the recent
NATO and Baghdad Pact meetings.
Soviet-Yugoslav relations: A stinging attack on Soviet
Marsha Konev, accusing him--apparently with little justifi-
cation--of ignoring the Yugoslav contribution to victory in
World War I I, breaks the uneasy truce which has existed be-
tween Belgrade and. Moscow since last fall's Communist con-
ference. The deliberate gesture may have been designed to
enhance Tito's waning prestige by defending his wartime role
and to induce Moscow to give him a more positive endorse-
ment than it has recently made.
Cuba: President Batista has agreed to mediation by
the ch ru ch-sponsored "Committee of National Harmony"
between his government and the opposition. Army lead-
ers, on whom Batista is ultimately dependent, may be tak-
ing an independent interest inthe mediation efforts. Rebel
leaders h
8~ c Q~ bv~~ d~ 9?e-V_8+Y0*gAA1%P8Arial
areas is gaining momentum.