THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 26 MARCH 1966

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1961-1969
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005968225
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: September 16, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2015
• Publication Date: March 26, 1966

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE PRESIDENT'S
DAILY BRIEF
26 MARCH 1966
23
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
DAILY BRIEF
26 MARCH 1966
1. South Vietnam
2. Communist China
Buddhist and student agitation
goes on despite the concessions offered
by the ruling Directorate yesterday.
There was a brief rally and march
in Saigon today on the theme of ending
military rule and restoring civilian
government. "Struggle groups" in the
northern city of Hue seized on an in-
cident in which a US Marine tore down
an anti-American poster to keep matters
heated up.
Today's agitation may not repre-
sent a final Buddhist response to the
olive branch proffered by Ky. That
could come tomorrow after Buddhist
leaders meet in Saigon.
The attitude of the Catholics and
other groups to all this is not clear,
although one Catholic leader did today
publicly demand .a return to civilian
rule.
The Chinese are making their annual
spring grain-buying tours and are facing
hard times. Two of their major Free
World suppliers, Argentina and Australia,
lack large exportable surpluses this
year. Again in need of at least six
million tons, the Chinese will have to
buy more from Canada and from marginal
suppliers such as Mexico and France.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
50X1
50X1
50X1
L
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
ouX1
3. North Vietnam
4. Rhodesia
5, Cyprus
A careful review of world shipping
in February shows that only 12 ships
flying the flags of non-Communist coun-
tries visited North Vietnamese ports,
as against 18 in January and a 1965
monthly average of 21. All but one of
the 12 were Hong Kong - owned, British-
flag ships.
The decline probably resulted from
a series of US approaches on the matter.
As a result, seaborne imports in Febru-
ary were the lowest in volume since
last September.
The number of Communist-flag vessels
putting in at North Vietnamese ports was
slightly above last year's monthly aver-
age. (III
There is good reason for optimism
in Salisbury over the prospects for mar-
keting Rhodesia's vital tobacco crop this
spring. A market survey in South Africa
shows that country's intention to increase
tobacco purchases from Rhodesia almost
threefold over last year.
Although tobacco auctioning will be
in secret this year in Rhodesia, there
is already good evidence of high demand
in the world market for the country's
quality product.
The semiannual rotation of the Turk-
ish contingent on Cyprus is due next
week and, as usual on these occasions,
the Turks are alert for trouble. The US
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
- Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6 50x1
6. Ecuador The inept military junta is crack-
ing down hard, and yesterday's violence
is sure to provoke more trouble.
Two students are reported to have
been killed, and many were injured re-
sisting the army takeover of the univer-
sity in Quito last night. Student groups,
for their own purposes, have been sup-
porting a businessmen's strike in the
port city of Guayaquil, protesting the
government's needed increases in import
duties.
7. Dominican Republic Bosch's political party opens its
convention in two weeks, and it is still
anyone's guess whether it will name
Bosch or someone else as its presidential
candidate. Bosch will himself make the
decision and will probably leave the
door open for an electoral boycott should
he later decide this tactic is to his
advantage.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
50X1
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6
TOP SECRET
TOP SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2015/07/24 : CIA-RDP79T00936A004400110001-6