CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1954/12/01

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03017664
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: August 20, 2019
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2019
• Publication Date: December 1, 1954

Copy No. 80
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO
NO CHANGE IN CLASS.
El DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S C
NEXT REVIEW DATE: ____201.0
AUTH: HR 70-2
DATE 7/././160.__ REVIEWER:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
for Release:
r1017,07/00Evecilial3 C030700,ETh
71,74
1 December 1954
3.3(h)(2)
3.5(c)
#11377,01,3: TOP C R E T W;(3,1,07/17A
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SUMMARY
GENERAL
1.
FAR EAST
2. South Korean government uses force to undermine US aid agree-
ment (page 3).
SOUTHEAST ASIA
3, Comment on joint Burmese-Viet Minh communiqu�page 4).
4. Hoa Hao spokesmen complain of interference by French and Viet-
namese authorities (page 5).
SOUTH ASIA
5. Nehru condemns Indian Communists (page 6).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
6. Egypt may release Israeli ship and crew seized in September
(page 6).
WESTERN EUROPE
7. De Gaulle seen taking moderate stand on Paris accords (page 7).
* * * *
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GENERAL
1.
FAR EAST
2, South Korean government uses force to undermine US aid agree-
ment:
South Korean national police, undoubt-
edly at the direction of President Ethee,
used intimidation and beatings at an
auction on 29 November to restrict free
bidding for American dollars as author-
ized under the United States-South Korean
aid agreement, Ambassador Briggs re-
ports. Accordingly, one half of the
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dollars offered were bid for at the old
official and highly unrealistic rate of
180 hwan to the dollar and the remain-
der at rates far less than recent market
quotations, wiucri nave ranged from 500 to 700 hwan to the dollar.
The United States has riected the bids
and has scheduled a new auction for 2 December.
Comment: South Korean officials had
previously indicated they wished to renegotiate the whole ques-
tion of the hwan-dollar exchange rate if the provisions written
into the aid agreement uroved unsatisfactory.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
3. Comment on joint Burmese-Viet Minh communiqu�
The joint communiqu�ssued by Burmese
premier Nu and Ho Chi Minh on 29 Novem-
ber enhances the initial propaganda vic-
tory gained by the Communists when Nu
decided to stop in Hanoi but not in Saigon en route to and from
Peiping.
The communiqu�ffirms the applicability
of Chou En-lai's five principles to relations between Burma and
Vietnam and is far more explicit than the Ho-Nehru statement
made at the time of the Indian premier's stopover in Hanoi. Its
wording differs little from that normally used by sovereign powers
which recognize each other, and its tone strongly suggests Burma's
tacit endorsement of the Viet Minh's claim to speak for all of Viet-
nam.
Despite the tone of the communiqu�nd
Nu's warm public remarks in Hanoi, it is unlikely Burma will
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formally recognize the Viet Minh in the near future. Prior
to Nu's departure for Hanoi, the Burmese government took the
position that recognition of either the Viet Minh or the Diem
government before the 1956 Vietnam elections would be prema-
ture.
4. Hoa Hao spokesmen complain of interference by French and
Vietnamese authorities:
the French are
stirring up Hoa Hao-Cao Dai friction in
order to weaken the Diem government.
a recent jurisdictional conflict between the forces of the two
sects resulted when a French colonel ordered Hoa Hao forces to
occupy a position at the same time that another French command-
er was ordering Cao Dai troops to occupy the same position�
/Diem is organizing Catholic "militants" into a per-
sonal army which he intends to use against the sect.
1,500 Tonkinese "militants" had already been settled
with their families in Hoa Hao areas.
Comment: The recent dismissal of
General Hinh removes the principal source of friction between
the government and the army. Abundant opportunities will remain,
however, for the incitement of strife between the government and
the various political groups of South Vietnam. Certain French
officials had attempted earlier to discourage a rapprochement be-
tween Diem and the sects, and they may reneW their efforts along
this line.
To the extent that Diem is able to bring
the army under his control, the sects will probably become in-
creasingly fearful of government efforts to deprive them of their
autonomy.
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SOUTH ASIA
5. Nehru condemns Indian Communists:
Prime Minister Nehru, in a speech on
28 November, made his strongest pub-
lic attack on the Communists since he
took office, according to the American
embassy in New Delhi. While Nehru's main attack was directed
against Indian Communists, he made it clear that he considers
both Soviet and Chinese Communism to be unsuitable for India.
Nehru said that in spite of India's un-
paralleled achievements, Indian Communists, who are profes-
sional troublemakers, have failed to see the progress in their own
land and look instead to the USSR and China.
The embassy believes the most plausi-
ble explanation for the timing of the speech is that it was the
opening gun in the election campaign in Andhra state, where the
Communists are strong.
Comment: This speech is consistent
with the position held by Nehru for some time. There are indi-
cations, however, that his anti-Communist feelings have been
intensified by his recent visit to China--as illustrated by his
linking of Communist China with the USSR as a source of inspi-
ration for Indian Communists.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
6. Egypt may release Israeli ship and crew seized in September:
Foreign Minister Fawzi has told
Ambassador Caffery that "in all proba-
bility" Egypt will announce within the
next few days the release of the ten-man
crew of the Israeli ship Bat Galim "for lack of evidence" to sup-
port the murder charge placed against them. The crew, accused
of killing two Egyptian fishermen as their ship approached Suez,
has been held since the ship was seized on 28 September when it
attempted to pass through the Suez Canal from the south.
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Fawzi added the ship would "probably"
also be released on condition that it does not pass through the
canal.
Comment: Egypt apparently hopes by
such action to forestall further UN Security Council considera-
tion of the Bat Galim case and the related question of freedom of
navigation through the Suez Canal. The council is expected to
resume hearings on the case on 3 December.
Israeli officials have clearly indicated
that Israel intends to force the issue of free passage of the canal.
It is thus unlikely that Israel would accept release of the ship
without recognition of its right to transit the canal.
WESTERN EUROPE
7. De Gaulle seen taking moderate stand on Paris accords:
Ambassador Dillon reports that a mem-
ber of General de Gaulle's staff doubts
the general will advise his supporters
in his 4 December speech to vote
against the Paris accords. Nevertheless, the general believes
the Soviet Union's "psychopathic fear of German rearmament"
makes any action on it dangerous without prior East-West talks.
He is convinced, according to his aide, that France should con-
tinue the search for an arrangement with the Soviet world through
"normal diplomatic channels or other means," in order to avert
"impulsive Russian action."
Comment: If De Gaulle does recom-
mend French-Soviet talks prior to ratification of the Paris
accords, some Gaullists, whose support Mendes-France is now
counting on for ratification, are expected to vote against the
accords. There are indications, however, that in such a case,
the Popular Republicans, who now oppose ratification for tacti-
cal party reasons, would then vote for it.
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