CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1957/12/15

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Keywords: 2018 Sanitization
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02058870
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2019
• Document Release Date: December 20, 2019
• Publication Date: December 15, 1957

yry: Approved o000,000oordo for ?2,11,211 0
INTEL
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DATE
3.5(c)
8 7 91/3/71107/4,
15 December
1957
Copy No. ns
DC.CIA'.EI�IT NO
No;RANCIN CLASS
t) CLACSI117:0
CLASS CHANGED TO:
TS 46 117
NEXT REVIEW DATE:
EVIEV1
OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
TOPS
RET
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ismIN 400
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Sloe NIS
CONTENTS
1: SOVIET DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES REORGANIZED
(page 3)0
I T CENTRAL COMMITTEE MAY HAVE MET
(page 4).
do 3. BRITISH INTEREST IN EXCLUDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
FROM CENTRAL EUROPE (page 5).
THE SITUATION IN INDONESIA
(page 6).
go 5. ANTI-COMMUNISTS PLANNING RIOTS IN SYRIA
(page 7).
THE NEW IRAQI CABINET
h7. RETURN OF IFNI TO MOROCCO SEEN LIKELY
(page 9).
1498. EXTENSIVE RADIO NET IN SUPPORT OF ALGERIAN REBELS
IDENTIFIED (page 10).
(page 8).
14 9, HONG KONG CONCERNED OVER PEIPING'S CONTINUING
PRESSURE FOR OFFICIAL REPRESENTATION
(page 11).
15 Dec 57
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IS
1 SOVIET DEFENSE PRODUCTION
ACTIVITIES REORGANIZED
Comment on:
ii mitry Ustinov, 49-year-old former
Soviet minister of defense industry,
as promoted on 14 December to USSR
deputy premier. He will share top
responsibility for the administrative
direction of the Soviet government with Premier Bulganin
and three other deputy premiers--Anastas Mikoyan, Iosif
Kuzmin, and Aleksei Kosygin. Ustinov, known for his
ability to arrive at independent decisions, will probably
be responsible for all defense production activities.
The new state committees, which on
14 December replaced the ministries of Aircraft Industry,
Defense Industry, Radiotechnical Industry, and Shipbuilding,
central control and coordination�particularly
in developmental wor enterprises and plants-trans -
the abolished ministriesifo appropriate regioar7
councils of national economy (sovnarkhozy) for operational ("p-te,`
management.
The ministries affected were among the
eight industrial ministries not abolished in Khrushchey's re-
organization of industrial management last May. The remain-
ing four--Medium Machine Building (atomic energy), Power
Stations, Chemical Industry, and Transport Construction--are
apparently considered unsuitable at present for further inte-
gration into the sovnarkhoz system because of the broadly
interregional interdependence that characterizes their activ-
ities or because of security considerations.
Pyotr Dementyev, former minister of air-
craft industry, Aleksandr Domrachev, Ustinov's former first
deputy in the Ministry of Defense Industry, and Valery Kalmykov,
former minister of radiotechnical industry, were appointed
chairmen of the respective state committees. Chairmanship of
the State Committee for Shipbuilding went to the former deputy
minister, Boris Butoma. No assignment for the former minister,
Andrei Redkin, was mentioned. Redkin was last noted 6 Decem-
ber in connection with the launching of the atom-powered ice-
breaker,
15 Dec 57 Current Intelligence Bulletin
Page 3
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N%mial
2. SOVIET CENTRAL COMMITTEE MAY HAVE MET
Comment on:
The Soviet party central committee met
on 7 or 8 December
There is no
confirmation for this report.
the central committee would meet on 15 December.
A meeting of the central committee on
7 December would suggest a pressing problem in the top lead-
ership�possibly in connection with the budget or economic
plan for 1958 which are to be submitted to the Supreme Soviet
scheduled to convene on 19 December, or in connection with the
governmental changes announced on 14 December.
Khrushchev has not been identified in the
Soviet press since 7 December and has not participated in of-
ficial talks or entertainment of the Syrian government delega-
tion now in MDSCOW. There has been no official explanation of
his unusually long absence from the public eye.
15 Dec 57
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� Cot CP.1 .1. .L.A.Jr .X-41.1. V AL-XJ.4
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Nied
3. BRITISH INTEREST IN EXCLUDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
FROM CENTRAL EUROPE
Comment on:
high British Foreign Office official has
old the American embassy in London that
proposal to forbid stationing or manu.fac-
ure of nuclear weapons in Germany, Poland,
and Czechoslovakia might provide a basis for negotiations with
the Soviet Union. The West German government has opposed
any special European arms limitation zone, but the official be-
lieved that indications in West Germany of unwillingness to ac-
cept IRBM's now might provide an opening to propose such a
specific ban.
The Foreign Office has also shown interest
recently in other proposals for special arms limitations in
Europe, such as the London Times' suggestion' that both East
and West Germany renounce intermediate range missiles.
Continuing Foreign Office interest in such proposals, along
with agreement among leading newspapers that the way must
be left open for negotiations with the Soviet Union regarding
Central Europe, suggests that members of the Macmillan gov-
ernment may hold similar views, despite their public warn-
ings against any measures that might restrict NATO's military
posture.
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4. THE SITUATION IN INDONESIA
Non-Communist political elements in
Indonesia apparently are making new
efforts to establish a basis for coopera-
tion in order to regain the initiative from
the army and re-establish government by
a parliamentary-based cabinet.
Preparations are being made to win ap-
proval from National party chief Suwirjo
and obtain'the backing of military and police forces.
Prospects for the success of such a plan
appear improved by Foreign Minister Subandrio's statement
that Sukarno now is willing to see a new cabinet formed with-
out Communist participation. However, the President is said
to insist that the Djuanda cabinet remain in office until he re-
turns from his "rest" trip abroad, which according to Suban-
drio will begin in January with a visit to India and possibly one
or two other countries.
American businessmen in Java now are
taking a more serious view of the deteriorating economic sit-
uation there, according to Ambassador Allison. Stanvac's
manager in Djakarta states that if normal shipping to all Indo-
nesian ports is not re-established "immediately," serious food
shortages will result within 20 or 30 days. Although he has not
yet ordered Sta.nvac's American dependents in Java to leave, al-
most all have done so, and all Dutch dependents will be evacuated
by 19 December, Ambassador Allison reports that information
available to the embassy tends to confirm the Stanvac official's
assessment.
A Dutch naval source in Singapore believes
that although the Indonesian army wishes to remove Communist-
controlled workers from seized Dutch firms, it has delayed this
step because it fears civil war might ensue. He feels the army
is rapidly running out of time and must take early action against
these workers if it is to restore economic order on Java.
15 Dec 57
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'Nkiweti 'utter,
5. ANTI-COMMUNISTS PLANNING RIOTS IN SYRIA
Comment on:
3yrian Prime Minister Asali, President
Quwatli and Baathist leader Akram Hawrani,
increasingly concerned over the pro-Soviet
policy of Defense Minister Khalid al-Azra and
the growing-strerigth of Syrian Communists, are planning to
provoke riots in Damascus within the next week. The objective
of these riots, which are to be started by students, is to exploit
splits within the ranks of the military and to bring about an open
clash of the contending groups. A strike by Syrian university
students now in progress over the issue of improving the mad-
ical school, could serve as the spark.
Syrian students traditionally have been used
by politicians to influence government policy. Demonstrations
and riots engineered by Akram Hawrani and other politicians
were instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Shishakli re-
gime in 1954. Hawranits influence among students is very strong
and he could probably precipitate demonstrations at this time.
There is some question, however, whether Quwatli and Asali
would have the courage to challenge the present pro-Soviet trend
in such an overt fashion.
15 Dec 57
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*kw" 'rad
6. THE NEW IRAQI CABINET
Comment on.
�d al-Wahhab Mirjan, president of the
Iraqi parliament, has formed a fifteen-
man cabinet, including seven members
of the outgoing Ali Jawdat cabinet. In
addition to the premiership, he has as-
sumed the Defense Ministry portfolio. Mirjan, a member of
the minority Shia Muslim sect and long a right-hand man to
former prime minister Nun i Said, was minister of public works
and communications in the outgoing cabinet.
Mirjan, while paying lip service to Arab
unity and the Arab League, can be expected to carry out a
more forceful pro-Western foreign policy�including support
for the Baghdad pact�than Ali Jawdat, who followed a soft
line toward Syria and Egypt and who de-emphasized the Baghdad
pact. Ali Jawdat recently urged Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah to
dissolve the present parliament, handpicked by Nun i in 1954,
and call new elections. This met with refusal, and the prime
minister's resignation followed, an indication that the crown
prince and Nun i were dissatisfied with Ali Jawdat's policies,
15 Dec 57
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%owl 'FARS
7. RETURN OF IFNI TO MOROCCO SEEN LIKELY
Comment on:
The ultimate return of the Ifni en-
clave to Morocco appears likely,
this
objective of the Moroccan irregulars,
who have been fighting Spanish troops
in the area since 23 November, will
be accomplished either through actual
occupation of the entire area or through
negotiations, the present
Spanish position as untenable and believe
Spain cannot win a clear-cut military de-
cision over the insurgents even if an all-
out Spanish effort should succeed tempo-
rarily in recapturing the enclave.
Bad weather in the Ifni area virtually
halted all military operations on 12 and 13 December and
also interfered with Spanish efforts to land additional troops
and supplies, a
general Spanish counteroffensive had been scheduled to be-
gin on 13 December., However, a Spanish staff officer has
stated that the Spanish army will maintain its present posi-
tions pending the outcome of negotiations, which Spain ap-
parently expects to open soon with Moroccan King Mohamed V.
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8. EXTENSIVE I0 NET IN SUPPORT OF ALGE
REBELS IDENTIFIED
Comment on:
An extensive North African radio net-
work servicing the principal adminis-
trative centers and subordinate posts
of the Algerian rebel National Libera-
tion Front has recently been identified.
The establishment of such a network sug-
gests that the rebels have created a more complex organiza-
tion and possess greater technical capabilities, at least with
respect to radio communication, than they have generally been
credited with.
Egyptian assistance has presumably
supplemented skills acquired in this field by North Africans
in the course of earlier service with the French military
forces.
14 STATIONS IN
FRONTIER ZONE
ALGER LA
ALGERIAN REBEL RADIO NETWORK
wiz, APPROXIMATE STATION LOCATION
- - FIRST NET -CONTROL NORTHERN EGYPT
- SECOND NET - CONTROL WEST OF ORAN
THIRD NET CONTROL WEST OF ORAN
15 Dec 57
LIBYA
MILES
71213 3
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Nitsgri
9. HONG KONG CONCERNED OVER PEIPING'S CONTINU-
ING PRESSURE FOR OFFICIAL REPRESENTATION
Comment on
The Hong Kong government and the
British Foreign Office have been ex-
changing views on the advisability of
letting Communist China station an
official representative in the colony,
according to information passed by a high Hong Kong of-
ficial to the US consul general.
Hong Kong authorities apparently hope
that the US will urge London to refuse admission of an of-
ficial Chinese Communist representative. According to
the political adviser of the Hong Kong government, Chinese
Communist representation would undermine the stability
and prosperity of the colony.
Chou En-lai, who originally asked for
permission to station a Chinese Communist "commissioner"
in Hong Kong in February 1956, renewed the request to a
British Board of Trade mission which concluded a visit to
Peiping last month. Peiping may hold out the prospect of
increased trade in return for permission to station its rep-
resentative in Hong Kong.
London, despite Hong Kong's apparent
apprehension, is unlikely to grant the Chinese request but
may try to drag the issue out rather than risk antagonizing
Peiping by a clear rebuff.
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