NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP79T00975A030000010042-1
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RIPPUB
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T
Document Page Count: 
18
Document Creation Date: 
December 20, 2016
Document Release Date: 
May 25, 2006
Sequence Number: 
42
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Publication Date: 
April 25, 1977
Content Type: 
REPORT
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1 1 1 pprq IQG R elease : 2007102108 TO: NAME A D DDRESS DATE INITIALS 1 2 3 4 ACTION DIRECT REPLY PREPARE REPLY APPROVAL DISPATCH RECOMMENDATION COMMENT FILE RETURN CONCURRENCE INFORMATION SIGNATURE REMARKS: FROM: NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NO. DATE CIA-RDP79TOO975AO300QD01p0`4 2-1 17 ecret (Security Classification) 0 25X1 CONTROL NO. -[::::= 1"r Adw 'AW Adw AAW Adw Adw AT. Access to this document will be restricted to those approved for the following specific activities: Monday April 25, 1977 CG NIDC 77-95C State Dept. review completed w 1 1 0 0 Top Secret 25X1 0 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975A03DvvvU - AW Adw Adw AJ NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions 25X1 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Approved For R4 National Intelligence Daily Cable for Monday April 25, 1977. The NID Ca a is or the purpose o in orming senior US off' als. CONTENTS ETHIOPIA: Situation Report USSR-INDIA: Mission Reassurance USSR: Grain Crop Status Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 125X1 ARAB STATES: New Monetary Fund MOZAMBIQUE - SOUTH AFRICA: Ports IRAN - SAUDI ARABIA: Oil Pricing Dispute ALGERIA: Cabinet Shuffle SENEGAL: Franco-African Summit Page 7 Page 8 Page 10 Page 10 Page 11 PAKISTAN: Situation Report Page 15 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AOP0000010042-1 Approved For Ro ETHIOPIA: Situation Report Ethiopian military authorities in Asmara yesterday took control of the operational site of the US Kagnew communi- cations station after giving US personnel 10 minutes warning. As of late yesterday all Kagnew personnel were safe in eir residences or in the station's housing area. The acting US consul and the Kagnew commander were scheduled to meet this morning with an Ethiopian commission, comprised of top military and civilian officials, appointed to oversee the US withdrawal from facilities in Asmara. The consul has recommended that evac- uation plans for consulate and Kagnew personnel be suspended pending the outcome of the meeting. I I The American affairs officer in the Ethiopian Foreign finis ry had earlier told the US charge in Addis Ababa that there would be no undue pressure on the US to meet the four-day deadline originally set by the government for the evacuation of US personnel from the facilities ordered closed on Saturday. The Ethiopian official did not grant an extension of the dead- line, but said the government had adopted a policy favoring an orderly withdrawal without harassment of US citizens. He said the government would provide security for US citizens and in- stallations. The official also stated that the US would be allowed access to all affected installations. This remark indicates that the denial yesterday of access to the USIS building in Addis Ababa by Ethiopian army forces may have been carried out by an overzealous commander. The authorities in Asmara are less likely to have acted without instructions from Addis Ababa when they occupied Kagnew. The official's statement on the right of continued access, however, would appear to indicate that the US may have some leeway in negotiating the disposal of the remaining Kagnew equipment. The final decision will be made by strongman Mengistu, who may continue to deny the US access to Ka new despite the Foreign Ministry official's assurances. Approved For Re Approved Forl Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975P 030000010042-1 Foreign Minister Gromyko will arrive in New Delhi to- ay seeking reassurances that the new Indian government attaches the same priority its predecessor did to maintaining close re- lations with the USSR. I IMoscow long has regarded Indian Prime Minister Desai as one o the most pro-Western, right-leaning of India's polit- ical leaders, however, and India's reassurances probably will not be sufficient to dissuade the Soviets from their view that the Desai government will not be as friendly toward the USSR as the government of Prime Minister Gandhi had been. The Desai government, for its part, wants continued Soviet political:, economic, and military support but also is seeking to make Indian foreign policy more genuinely nonaligned. Indian Foreign Minister Vajpayee has been sensitive to Soviet concerns; he received the Soviet ambassador in New, Delhi before any other foreign envoy there and renewed India's six- month-old invitation to Gromyko to visit India. Gromyko accepted with alacrity because the Soviet leadership wants to meet per- sonally with India's new leaders and because the Indians appar- ently said nothing about rescheduling President Podgorny's trip, which had been canceled at India's request after the death of its president in late February. I I During the visit, Gromyko probably will focus on the inconsis ency in statements made by Desai and other members of his cabinet on relations with the USSR. Desai, for example, has spoken publicly of the importance India attaches to maintaining good relations with the USSR, but has also openly criticized the Soviet-Indian friendship treaty; Desai said that India no longer will have "special relations" with any one nation., Gromyko also will probe for signs of change in India's attitude toward the US and China. The Soviet embassy in New Delhi reportedly does not believe Gromyko will go into detail on economic problems--such as the ruble/rupee exchange r to-- that had been troubling Moscow's relations with the Gand:i gov- ernment. He probably will indicate a general Soviet readiness to resolve all problems at issue between the two governments. In their other dealings with the Indians since the elections, Mos- cow has been behaving on a business-as-usual basis. Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T009715AO30000010042-1 Approved For Rel The Soviet foreign minister probably will invite Prime Minister Desai to visit the USSR at his earl' possible con- venience. USSR: Grain Crop Status I I The outlook for 1977 Soviet winter grains continues to be favorable, with winter losses still likely to be below normal. Soil moisture reserves have been unusually high across much of the Soviet grain belt since planting last fall, bright- ening prospects for both winter grain production and in most of the spring grain region. While this increases the probabil- ity of a bumper crop this year, grains that begin the growing season with abnormally high levels of soil moisture are es- pecially vulnerable to mid-season droughts. Moscow announced on April 18 that spring grain sowing, excluding corn, had been completed on more than 16 million hec- tares, about one sixth of the spring grain area, and slightly ahead of the pace last year. A major shortfall in plowing last year due to poor weather conditions, however, has sharply de- layed spring sowing in areas just north of the Ukraine. Unless the lag can be made up this month, spring crop yields could be lower in the affected regions. Despite the generally good wintering conditions over most of European USSR, some parts of the Non-Chernozem Zone and the North Caucasus have suffered serious winter damage. According to Soviet officials, significant crop losses in both regions were caused by a cold snap last October. At that early stage of germination, and without protective snow cover, most of the fall-sown grains were not yet sufficiently hardy to withstand the low temperature. Winter grain sowing was expanded in the fall of 1976 to cover 38.5 million hectares, the largest area since 1968 and 1 million hectares greater than last year. Most of the in- creased acreage is reportedly in the Ukraine, which accounted for about 11 million hectares of the total winter grain plant- ings, primarily winter wheat. Because of this year's large area of surviving winter grains, spring barley--the normal re- placement crop for winterkilled grains--will not be planted as extensively as in 1976. Approved F 25X1 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Next 2 Page(s) In Document Exempt Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Approved For Re ARAB STATES: New Monetary Fund Finance ministers and central bankers from 20 Arab coup rtes and the PLO formally established an Arab Monetary Fund early Last week. The fund, the first regional version of the International Monetary Fund, will operate from Abu Dhabi. The agreement on the creation of the fund was reached a year ago, but only recently have a sufficient number of states ratified it. Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975A03Q000010042-1 Approved For I I The Arab fund is intended to complement the facili- ties of the IMF. It will help member states with balance-of- payments deficits, stabilize Arab exchange rates, facilitate development of Arab financial markets, and work toward the eventual unification of Arab currencies. The fund is initially capitalized at $900 million mostly in convertible currencies and, like the IMF, will offer short- and medium-term facilities at nominal interest or service charges. The heaviest claimants on the fund's resources are likely to be non-OPEC members that have balance-of-payments problems--Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, North Yemen, Oman, Somalia, South Yemen, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia. By adding the facilities of the Arab fund to those of the IMF, short- and medium-term funds available will nearly double. This excludes compensatory financing for export short- falls of basic raw materials. I I Credit offered to Arab countries by the Arab Monetary Fund is ikely to be made available with much less stringent domestic policy conditions than those demanded by the IMF'. Many Arab and other debtor countries have found IMF terms objectionable. I The seven OPEC countries that are members of the Arab un will, as a block, have voting control. Conservative states such as Saudi Arabia and radical states such as Libya may find it difficult to reach agreement on conditions for bor- rowing. I I The poorer Arab states have already received large amounts o long-term support or project assistance from the oil-rich Arab states. In 1976, Arab OPEC members transferred more than $2.5 billion in bilateral economic aid to non-OPEC Arab countries. Small amounts were administered by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, an Arab League multi- lateral aid agency. MOZAMBIQUE - SOUTH AFRICA: Ports Conditions in the Mozambican port of Maputo are de- erzora zng rapidly despite vigorous efforts to keep cargo Approved Forl Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975k030000010042-1 Approved For moving by South Africa, which still depends on Maputo for hand- Zing a portion of its foreign trade. Shipping lines are threaten- ing to stop calling at the port, which provides a major source of foreign exchange for Mozambique. I IConditions at Maputo, one of Africa's largest ports, are so a that shipping agents predict that no shipping com- panies will use the port by the end of 1977. The port still earns an estimated $40 million annually in foreign exchange for Mozambique; loss of these revenues would be a severe setback to the already deteriorating economy. Equipment in the port works only sporadically, par- ticularly in the important ore-handling area. Rail facilities are broken down and, as a result, ore-loading operations are haphazard. Ships scheduled to carry chrome ore are leaving the port empty; others are loading at general cargo docks. Harass- ment has made foreigners reluctant to work in Maputo and some freight forwarders have closed their offices there. South African authorities are disturbed. Although South African goods transiting the port are now less than half the level in 1975, it is the closest and best port to serve South Africa's industrial heartland. It is particularly impor- tant for the export of chrome ore from the nearby mines of the Eastern Transvaal. South African ports, now the main gateway for Rhodesian traffic and an important outlet for exports of Zairian copper, would be hard pressed to handle the additional volume that would result from a closure of Maputo. South African Railways, in attempting to keep the port operational, has supplied technicians and engineers for maintaining the traffic flow between Maputo and the South African border. South Africa has agreed to repair 19 damaged locomotives, virtually Mozambique's entire locomotive park, and provide four additional ones. I I The rapid improvement and growth of South Africa's own aci ities ensure a gradual reduction in its dependence on Maputo. Ore-loading equipment rivaling that in Maputo has been installed in Durban, and some 400,000 tons of chrome ore re- portedly is being diverted to the South African port. Approved Fo4 Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975Ap30000010042-1 Approved Fo m-- container facilities will begin operation after July at Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town. Richards Bay, the area's biggest p development project, will provide another alternative. IRAN - SAUDI ARABIA: Oil Pricing Dispute -1114= V L L .J %. - .+- - - -- r- - - - crude, a benchmark for the oil produced by the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is $12.09 per barrel, f.o.b.--5 percent above the government sales price last year. The official price of Arabian medium crude is $11.69--3.6 percent higher than in 1976. Most of these crudes are lifted by Aramco and are utilized within the parent company systems. 25X1 ALGERIA: Cabinet Shuffle Algerian President Boumediene's cabinet shakeup last week, the first major reshuffle since 1970, broke up key economic responsibilities and further limited the powers of some of his immediate subordinates. Boumediene will continue to exercise strong control and to serve as defense minister. Approved For Pelease 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975A03000p010042-1 Approved For Ahmed Ghozali, president of Algeria's state oil com- I I most significant change was the demotion of Be ai desselam, who as minister of industry and energy had dominated Algeria's economic development effort. He reportedly opposed Boumediene's uncompromising stance on Western Sahara. This opposition, and Belaid Abdesselam's poor health, probably accounts for his assignment to the less important post of head of light industry. pany, wad appointed minister of energy and petrochemicals. Ghozali has had good working relations with officers of US companies. Two senior members of the council of the revolution were also demoted in an apparent effort to deprive them of their power base. Ahmed Draia, former chief of national police, was given the transport portfolio and Ahmed Bencherif, former gendarmerie commander, was put into the unlikely post of min- ister of environment and water resources. Draia's loyalty has seldom been questioned, but Bencherif had become one of Boumediene's sharpest critics during the past year. I I More cabinet changes seem likely. The present min- ister o tourism has been nominated to be ambassador to Wash- ington; his replacement was not announced. The head of Agriculture Ministry is another candidate for removal. SENEGAL: Franco-African Summit The conflict in Zaire overshadowed the proceedings at 2s week's 20-nation Franco-African summit in Senegal, scheduled months ago to address nonpolitical matters. Repre- sentatives of moderate African states, fearful of growing So- viet influence on the continent, apparently emerged from the summit hopeful that France and other European states would help protect them. Although the formal sessions at Dakar hewed to a non- controversial agenda of economic and developmental topics, Af- rican leaders' concerns over events in Zaire--and to a lesser extent the Horn and southern Africa--permeated corridor dis- cussions. 25X1 25X1 Approved For RO Approved For Pelease 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T0097541030000010042-1 I I Pro-Western leaders such as Ivory Coast President Houphouet-Boigny and Senegalese President Senghor went to the summit concerned over what they see as Soviet expansionism in Africa, with the Katangan thrust into Zaire as the latest ex- ample. Their worry about their inability to resist Soviet in- roads has been mounting since the Angolan war, which they saw as a Soviet victory over the West. The pro-Western states were heartened by the French decision to provide direct assistance to Zaire, seeing it as welcome evidence that they, too, could count on France if di- rectly threatened. The moderate Africans were probably further heartened by French President Giscard's statements in Dakar that: --Every African country has a right to security within its frontiers, no matter what its political choice. --Defense agreements between France and certain moderate African countries would apply fully if the security of the African states were threatened. --France would back any African initiative aimed at con- tinental arms limitation, an apparent reference to French concern over an arms race between moderate and radical francophone states. Giscard also indicated that he will raise the ques- tion of African security and development at international meet- ings, beginning with the May economic summit of seven indus- trial powers in London. After the summit ended on Thursday, there appeared to be an increased feeling among the moderates who attended that France, and to a lesser extent other European countries, could be counted on to shield them from external domination. I I The moderates did not openly discuss their perception of a Soviet threat at the general sessions because of the pres- ence of such "progressives" as Benin, which have ties to the Soviets and which view the Zairian conflict as an internal prob- lem. Approved Fpr Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T0097AA030000010042-1 Approved For R Senghor publicly mentioned an old proposal for a de- tense agreement among members of the francophone economic group- ing in West Africa--Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mauritania, Upper Volta, Niger, and Mali. The idea will be discussed at a meeting of the six countries in June but is unlikely to result in an ef- fective security pact. Mali is heavily obligated to the Soviets and is therefore suspect by the others; pro-West nations such as Togo are not members of the economic group. I uIn the end, the moderate states may be able to rely only on their own security agreements with France--and perhaps some assistance from like-minded African neighbors--in case of a direct military threat. I I France is still hopeful that the Africans themselves will evo re more effective coordination in the security field, leaving Paris free to maintain fruitful relations with both the moderate and radical francophone states. Approved Fo 25X1 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Approved For Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 Approved For N PAKISTAN: Situation Report Prime Minister Bhutto has imposed censorship, arrested more opposition leaders, and extended the curfew--but not mar- tial law--to a few more cities. Earlier government restrictions and arrests have had little effect on the opposition's campaign Approved For R41ease 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975p030000010042-1 Approved For R to bring Bhutto down. The Prime Minister stiZZ depends on the continued willingness of the military to obey his orders; there has not yet been a significant test of the army's loyalty. Over the weekend, the government arrested most of the oppose ion leaders who were still free. Similar arrests in the past have only meant the emergence of new leaders who are just as determined to oust Bhutto. The new leaders selected after the arrests this weekend have called for a major demonstration on April 30 that will end at the Prime Minister's residence. The opposition also intends to continue the general strike in- definitely, despite orders from the military to return to work. I I The censorship of any news dealing even indirectly wi a opposition could be more damaging than the arrests. The opposition has used press coverage to keep its supporters informed of its plans. Senior military officers may be supporting martial law in part because it has prevented serious violence--espe- cially in Lahore--and consequently delayed the need for polit- ical decisions that the generals are reluctant to make. Their view could change, however, if there were a serious attempt to test the army's resolve in Lahore, or if martial law were ex- tended to other parts of the Punjab, thereby greatly increasing the chance of a confrontation between the army and the populace. Opposition leaders in the Sind reportedly believe they MUSE 'C the army's willingness to enforce martial law. There have already been several incidents, but the troops are still obeying orders, including those to shoot demonstrators and cur- few violators. There have been a few minor incidents in Lahore, which is politically far more important than the Sind cities under martial law, but so far there has been no significant test of the predominately Punjabi army's willingness to act against fellow Punjabis. Approved ForiRelease 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AOP0000010042-1 AAW AOW AdW AdW AdW AMW AMV AdW AdW Adr Top 'gcreed For Release 2007/02/08: CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 (Security Classification) 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 Top Secret (Security CIRPO UPfor Release 2007/02/08 : CIA-RDP79T00975AO30000010042-1 J