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CIA-RDP78-02771R000400290042-8
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RIPPUB
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S
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9
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November 17, 2016
Document Release Date: 
March 30, 1998
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42
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Publication Date: 
June 11, 1958
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TDCS
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25X6A8g Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Rase 2000/08/27C~IA R DP78-O1jFOQ~4,~Q~~OAt;fRS June 11, 1958 After such a vivid demo ssratiozy, everything is clear. Soustelle's friends appear as the intrepid desfenders of the fraternity of people, of democracy, and of the republic. Regarding the linguistic excesses of a number of these people, like Leon Delbecaue,,who spoke about setting off for the political conquest of Metropolitan. France, they are simply the results of mental strain. You can believe it, since Soustelle says it. Leon Delbecque has worked so much for'democracy and the republic that his speech strays and he calls, go to divide (Fendre), instead of go to defend (Defendre). However, have some doubts as to whether Soustelle's ideological tricks and his. (word indistinct) cards will convince the French, for it does not appear that his political philosophy, which proceeds by a simple reversal of,'reality, is very widespread in Descartes' country. FAJON PROTESTS SEIZURE OF L'HUMANITE Moscow, TASS, in Lnglish Hellschreiber to Europe, June 9, 1958, 18oo GMT--L (Text) Paris--Etienne Fajon, member of the politburo of the central committee of the French Communist Party, has sent a letter to Minister of Information A. Malraux, calling his attention to the recurrent instances of seizure of L'HUMANITE issues in Corsica, where power has been captured by a so-called Committee of Public; Safety. Faion strongly .protests these arbitrary actions and asks the minister what steps he proposes to take to insure the distribution of L'HUMANITE in Corsica as elsewhere "in accordance with the laws which guarantee the freedom of the press in France." The leadership of the Corsican federation of the French Communist Party has issued a statement saying: "Corsica will never be a fascist base for struggle against the republic and the French people. The Corsicans, who are in a, state of legal defense, will use every means to prevent fascist rule from entrenching itself on our territory." Party Plenum Moscow, Soviet Home Service, June 10, 1958, 1600 GMT--E (Text) Paris--The plenum of the French Communist Party's central committee continued its work today. L'HUMANITE reported that at the morning session of June 9, held under the presidency of Etienne Fajon, Waldeck-Rochet reported on the present political situation and the great tasks facing the party, the working class, and all the French people. This was followed by debates, presided over by Leon Mauvais, whic-z1 nnxif,.i_fp~~=3 I -eii,rh thn cd c rn.oon session. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : WA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Rp,2000/08/27 CIA-RDP78-02771R000400290042-8 - BB 30 - US5'R 1NTE ATIONAL AFP IRS June- 11, 1958 DE GAULLE TRREATENS FRENCH DEMOCRACY Moscow, Soviet Home Service; June 10, 1958, 1135 GMT--L (Interview of Jacques Duclos by. r?epresent.ativ.s of the fraternal parties, published in PRAVDA: "Toward a New.Upsure of the Struggle of the Working Ci.as.s and Democratic Forces of France in Defense of the Republic) (Text) Berlin--NEUES DEUTSCHT yND published the following text of the interview of the secretary. of the French Communist Party central committee, Jacques Duclos: On June 1 General.. de Gaulle was granted the powers of premier by the National Assembly as a result of events on wh-'yh I would like to dwell briefly. On May 13 Pflimlin, who was entrusted by the President of the Republic with the formation of a new govern,.ien-c, requested the National Assembly to grant him the powers of premier. On the same day the extremist colonizers in Algiers, with. the sui.port of the army, staged an insurrection. They took control of the Ministry for Algerian Affairs and announced their opposition to the formation of a Pf limlin government, simultaneously putting forward a demand for the formation of a government in Paris according to their discretion. They announced unequivocally that they demanded the formation of a government headed by General de Gaulle. At the moment when the insurrection began in Algiers, the rebelliously inclined military and civilians began preparations for an insurrection in Paris, with the support of certain military formations, on whom they could rely. all the more, because cells had been formed in the army under the guidance of the notorious De Gaullist, former Minister of National Defense Chaban Delmas. In connection with the situation that had arisen, the government of the republic should have shown determination, relying on the working class and the popular masses. However, the Pfliml3.n government which was formed on May 13 chose another way. The 'r-nch Communist Party, having cooperated in the formation of this gotiernmex`-, desired to put an end to the government crisis, on which the insurgents were banking in an attempt to Justify the spreading of a military insurrection from Algiers to Paris. The Pflimiin government had the necessary means at its disposal for taking the situation in hand, but showed weakness, capitulating again and again, It went as far as retracting the accusations put forward at the beginning in than National Assembly against the persons responsible for the events -n Algiers and did not even dare to condemn the military in revolt. Approved Fo`r' Release-200W O /if 'ssCIA~-RDP78-027718000400290042-8 Approved For Relefe 2000/08/27-:Eg1 IR,DP78-02T7-4 m tl42 =-~ Junt; 11, 1958 General de Gaulle announced on May 15 to f these events I th , e coarse o n press :representatives that he was ready to assume all power in the republic, which was nothing else but a reply to the demands of the insurgents in Algiers. This announcement alarmed republican circles, who regarded it as a proclamation, a military coup d'etat. Question: A characteristic feature of the proclamation is the army's opposition to the existing order. What consequences did the insurrection in Algiers have in France and Yoww did the masses react? Answer: The calling of the army to power in Algiers was reflected in the actions of certain military and civilian insurgents in France, including General Chassin, who made similar demands. Insofar as the military way is a risky one, General de Gaulle preferred to come to power under a legal guise, relying on the threat of a,military-insurrection. In this case 11 it was not a matter of the forced expulsion of i3eputies, as happened during the Louis Bonaparte coup de'etat on Dec. 2, 1551, but of compelling the majority of deputies to call De Gaulle to power, by exerting strong pressure on them and banking on their anticommunist prejudices. However, these actions could not lead to success without a certain amount of help, for example the help of GuyMollet. who gave General de Gaulle the desired 10. - motive for his press conference on May 19, which was given a somewhat s soothing tone in order to weaken the republican opposition. While General de Gaulle's agents began to demoralize the republican deputies, the French Communist Party made every effort to prevent this demoralization, to encourage the weak, and in the first place, to unite all the forces of the working class and the republicans for joint action. The day that General de Gaulle made his statement at the press conference tens of thousands of partisians went on strike and demonstrated their will to defend the republic. At the time when, on one hand, the separatist pressure was increasing and, on the other hand, the actions of the working class and the republican-minded forces were gaining momentum, the govern- ment retreated, and on the night of May 26-27 Pflimlin, during secret talks with General de Gaulle, announced his readiness to appoint him to the post of premier. This capitulation came at a moment when the will of the popular masses to defend the republic turned into a powerful demonstration. This was proved by-:ti great strike movement launched on May 27, both in Paris and arid Frenchwomen of Paris held a great demonstration and marched from the Place de la Nation to the Place de la Republique. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Release 2000/08/27 BBCl -RDP78-0Q PAIRS r. June ii, 1958 Communists, Socialists, Radical-Socialists, Catholics, and other democrats took part in this demonstration, The movement of tii broad masses had become stronger; while the :Adherents of a personal dictatorship found themselves in-ever-increasing difficulties, On the eve of the grandiose demonstration General de Gaulle stated that he followed the lawful yiay toward forming a republic;.n government, while on the night of May 27-28 Pflirnlin resigned, despite the support of, the majority of deputies in the National Assembly. Question:' Was the fatal activity of those who contributed to splitting the working class and t1 workers masses, decisive for the turn of events? Answer.,. After the capitulation of the Pflimlin government the road was free for the individual from Co~gnb.ey-les-deux-Eglises, General de Gaullets country h2tise. But resistance inside the country, as well as the .resistance of parliament, as to be expected. it was especially necessary to achieve a split in the socialist parliamentary g.oup, which had expressed itself against Do Gaulle by an overwhelming majori.t;r. For this purpose, General-de Gaulle had to be presented as a reppublicrn who respects democratic freedom. This was the job of Guy icollet and of the formerPresident of the Republic Vincent Auriol who o some extent, cleared the way for the candidate for dictatorship. In this way the National Assembly, by 329 votes to 224, invested the general with the ncwers of premier: among Socialists, 42 deputies voted in favor of and 2;9 against De Gaulle. The activity of those who banked on splitting the working class and derDeratie forces -;.hus effected a breach at a particularly vulnerable spot--in parliament. :t rough this breach, De Gaulle could come to power while keepi.i.,.g up a show of legality. Scandalous pressure als worked in his favor, c.nd t`i.e President of the Republic was the first to give the example -Li this, The separatists and their myrmidons waged a true war of nerves in order to prepare the condi- tions of capitalation, which was opposed by the Communist Party, a stead- fast champion of republican freedoms. It is clear from all the foregoing that the formation of the De Gaulle government occurred only under an appearance if legality. In actual fact it is the fruit of the mutinies in Algeria and in Aj3ccio, the main town in Corsica, and, at the same time, it is the r,~;sult of the dishonorable capitulation of the Pfl'mlin government and the treachery of the General Secretary of the Socialist Party, Guy Mollet, who agreed to become a tool of personal dictatorship. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Releaft, 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-0277000400290042-8 - BB 3 - USSR 1:!114,it; '~ ? ~.F'' June 1.0, l9 Q~estion: What are the first lessons that can be drawn from these events? Answer: In the first place, workers and democrats can note that anti- communist feelings played into the hand of the mutineers not only in the course of events,but also long before them. The roots of the present s tuation undoubtedly ought to be sought in the policy which for the past 1 years has been pursued by a majority that frequently extended from Guy Mollet to Pinay, both of whom have joined the new government. On the basis of this majority, united by anticommunist feelings, governments were set up under whose rule the nation ecperienced many humiliations; for instance, nonresistance to serious attempts at our independence, the c r,^_nuation of destructive wars, and the refusal. to carry out the legiti- m to demands of the working class and the toiling masses in town and c untry. Workers and democrats can see where treachery was committed, and in the light of facts they can appreciate the (boldness?) and the scale of the struggle of the Communist Party against personal dictatorship. As a re- 3 it of this, the Communist Party's prestige has grown considerably and, a the same time, great successes have been achieved along the road of t e Lnity of action of democratic forces and of the working class. All o ti,is fanned the antirepublican plans of the leaders, and one must admit t at their main aim--to bring a De Gaulle government to power--has been a hieved. This means that a new stage in the struggle for the defense o the republic has now begun for the working class and the French people. F Dr this reason it would be dangerous not to treat seriously the situation which has arisen as a result of the De Gaulle government coming to power. Question: What is your estimate of the present course of events in France? Answer: The general-become-premier possesses not only the usual powers o the usual government, but also executive and legislative power. De G ulle, surrounded by subservient ministers, is all the more dangerous t republican institutions since he has legislative power and will himself w rk out the draft of a constitution so as to consolidate his personal dictatorship with its aid. Since General de Gaulle invested with an official c aracter the so-called committees of public safety in Algeria on the very, day that a committee with a similar name published in Lyons a blatantly fascist appeal directed against the workers and all republicans, he t ereby acquitted all the acts of violence thanks to which he came to l3 wer, and he justified in advance all similar action in the future. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For R se 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 q~p jw - BB 34 - USSR INTLENATIONAL AFFAIRS June 11, 195#3 The so-called committees of public safety which came into being during the insurrection must, in Le.Gaulje's view, in the first place, replace the legitimate institutions of the republic, and, in the second, a fascist movement must be created with their aid. This movement;, by its onslaught on political and trade union freedoms must play a role more or less recalling that of the Falange in Franco Spain. Since there exists no mass De Gaullist movement in France, the general-premier intends to create one. This aim is served by the,so-ca? led committees of public safety which, following the example of Mussolini's fascist organizations, intend to place De Gauile's agents in inhabitated localities and at enterprises. For this reason it 41-S absolutely necessary for all workers, for all republicans, to join together to expose all attempts to set up such committees, in order to mobilize popular masses to struggle against this by showing the true face of the organizers of these committees--spies, agents-provocateurs, and fascists. The working class and the people's masses must render them harmless. Furthermore, De Gaulle, as follows from.. his Algiers speech, leans on colonialist extremists and militarists. This seriously hinders the peaceful settlement of the Algerian problem, which results in the Continuation of war in Algeria. Thus, the new government appears in its true light, as tine embodiment of the forces of the blackest reaction and of the ultracolonialism of big capital, Which demands the continuation of war in Algeria. This runs counter to the true interests of France and is fraught with the serious danger of war spreading to the whole of North Africa. The words repeated by De Gaulle in Algiers, about the 10 million Frenchmen who form one entity, will not destroy the Algerian people's striving; for independence. The liberal solutions, recently mooted in the entourage of the general- premier, in reality boil down to support for the plans of colonialism which have for long been nurtured by the paid agent of the colonialists in Aler.ia, Sousteile. Furthermore, the continuation of war in Algeria cannot.fail to have serious repercussions on the position. of workers and of the toiling masses, which is equivalent to the new government having first of all to come up against:gnore~acute social problems. One must be prepared for General de Gaulle trying to suppress by force all resistance to his policy of war and poverty, doing it with all the support of the military personnel who strive to achieve a leading role in politics. The military want to exclude all representatives of the system--as the De Gaullists call it--in order to establish in France a kind of military dictatorship over the population. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8 Approved For Releas 000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 8@00400290042-8 - BB 35 USSR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS June 11, 1958 It is the cruel irony of history that as a consequence of colonialism France has lost her freedom--as a consequence of colonialism which she stubbornly wants to foist upon peoples resolutely striving to realize their right to independence. It is clear from these facts that the words of Marx and Engels that "a people oppressing others cannot be free" are applicable to the present political situation in France. Once again the French people oppose officers who specialized in colonial war as, for instance, it opposed General Saint-Arnaud during the coup d'etat of Dec. 2, 1851. L?uestion: How will the struggle of the masses develop in your view? Answer: The French workers and the French people are faced with hard struggle not only in order to reestablish peace in Algeria but also to defend their freedom and the conditions of their existence. There are social and political forces in France capable of barring the road to fascism, and defeating personal dictatorship. It should be noted in this connection that events are not developing quite the way the mutineers had intended.. They wanted to set up a dictatorship through an unexpected maneuver before the workers and the democrats could recover. he French Communist Party, fully conscious of the responsibility that falls upon it, was able to give timely warning to the working class and the country and thereby create conditions which allow the people to mobilize in defense of the republic. Thanks to the efforts of the French ommunist Party, the resistance which had encompassed the whole of the country also spread to the National Assembly, where deputies of various arties, including many Socialists and Radicals, together with the Communists, opposed the mutineers and refused to support De Gaulle. he main thing, however, as the politburo of our party's central committee tresses, consists in the fact that French men and women of the most varied onvictions in the country--Communists, Socialists, Radicals, Catholics, s well as workers, peasants, students, and the most prominent epresentatives of the intelligentsia--have joined in the defense of civil ights. It is true that the mighty demonstrations in Paris and the provinces , he strikes and action of all kind, whose number has recently increased any times over, could not prevent the setting up of personal dictatorship. evertheless, these manifestations greatly contributed to the unification he struggle of the working class and of democratic forces. he Communists, who have played a primary role in rallying the forces of the people against fascism, acted as the invincible van of the republican asses, Thp piest,-ign c,f t.11 ra.?.n,7~ I,;ef Party ]qn-s grown in this struggle. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 :CIA-RDP78-0277180004002900 42-8 Approved For R Lease 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-0718000400290042-8 - BB 36, - USSR INTERME TI0NAL AFFAIRS June 11, 1958 After the first stage of the struggle, the Communist Party has become even stronger and more closely rallied to.g.,ether. It is fully resolved to intensify its struggle for the unification of republican masses and especially for -the maintenance of the unity of all the forces defending the republic, The Communist Party is doing everyth :ng to expand and consolidate the movement for the unification of antifascist forces. At enterprises, in French tovrn.s and villages, thousands of democratically elected action committees for the defense of the republic are being set up; they express the will of the masses tb struggle, and bear witness to their resistance to all splitting maneuvers. The politburo of the central committee of the French Communist Party has appealed to all Frenchmen to whom the country's interests are dear and who are truly faithful to the people's cause, to conduct resolute struggle for peace in Algeria, for the demands of the toiling masses, for the relaxation of international tension, thereby showing the way which must be followed in order to prevent the fascists from establishing their shameful domination in France, This road is the road of unity and struggle. Victory, beyond doubt, lies at its end, after the obstacles and the difficulties have been overcome. PAVLENKO PRAISES AUSTRIAN FCWER SYSTEM Moscow, TASS, Radiote_letype in Russian to Europe, June 7, 1958, 1614 GIRT--L (Text) Vienna--At a press conference today in the Soviet Embassy in Austria the USSR Minister of Power Stations, A.S. Pavlenko, described. the results of his visit to Austria. In 10 days he became acquainted with .Austria's power system, visiting large hydroelectric stations and various industrial plants. Pavlenko noted that Austrian engineers and technicians have every right to be proud of their power installations, and he expressed the hope that reciprocal visits of Soviet and Austrian power spedialists will serve to strengthen the friendly relations between Austria and the Soviet Union even further. The USSR Ambassador in Austria, S.G. Lapin, gave a reception yesterday to mark Pavlenko's visit to Austria. Among the guests were Austrian Federal Chancellor Raab, Vice Chancellor Pittermann;Ministers Figl, Waldbrunner, and Tschadek; and other officials. Pavlenko paid a visit to Chancellor fleas yesterday. Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-02771 R000400290042-8