EASTERN EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79B00864A000800010093-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 17, 2010
• Sequence Number: 93
• Publication Date: March 1, 1968
• Content Type: REPORT

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49 EASTERN EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCER
Poles Want Competitive US Bid in Uranium
A Foreign Trade Ministry official told a US Embassy
officer in Warsaw in early February that the major
reason :his government has asked for a quotation from
US sources for enriched uranium was to use the bid to
lower the Soviet price when the time comes to purchase
the material. He said the Poles were "almost obliged"
to buy uranium from the Soviets but that a good US price
would be a powerful argument which could be used effec-
tively by his ministry during negotiations with Moscow.
COMMENT: This is the first known Polish approach,
tactical or otherwise, to a Western country as a source
of nuclear material. It is not known what response the
Polish query brought from the US.
Foreign Minister Peter Encourages Further Dutch-Hungarian
D scuss ions
During his talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Luns
earlier this month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter
gave the impression that Hungary would be receptive
to bilateral discussions with The Netherlands on some
European problems. Luns has told the NATO political
advisors that he proposed a "group of ten" approach
to a European security conference and a potential
"arrangement" between the European Economic Community
and Eastern Europe and that Peter indicated an interest.
Peter failed to give any encouragement on the German
problem except to state that Hungary was attentive to
recent developments. Peter and Luns also agreed to main-
tain communications on the Vietnamese situation, but
Peter warned that this should be done privately to
avoid encouraging false hopes.
COMMENT: The EEC "arrangement" is of particular
interest to the Hungarians whose long range economic
development is dependent on expanding its hard currency
trade. Premier Fock's recent statement that,"It would
not be abandoning our principles if, in the interest
GROUP I
EXCLUDED FROM AUTOMATIC DOWN-
GRADING AND DECLASSIFICATION
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of our 'trade relations, we should turn to one of the
EEC organizations in Brussels. This should be done if
it is in the interests of Hungary;' is an indication of
the importance Hungary places on its trade prospects.
East German Party Congratulates Fred Oelssner On His
Birtth day
Fred Oelssner, once the East German party's chief
ideologue who was purged in 1958 for "factional activities'
was honored by the SED on the occasion of his 65th birth-
day. Oelssner was similarly honored on his 60th birth-
day. The SED Central Committee sent him a letter, signed
by Walter Ulbricht, which noted his long-time partici-
pation in the struggle "against imperialism and fascism
and for socialism," thanked him for his "tireless work"
in carrying out party-assigned tasks, and wished him well
for the future.
COMMENT: Oelssner, Karl Schirdewan, the then-heir
presumptive to Ulbricht, and Ernst Woliweber, Minister
of State Security, were purged in 1958 because they
opposed Ulbricht's desire to increase the pace of social-
ization, apparently because they thought this would impede
the chances for German reunification. In 1959, however,
Oelssner and Schirdewan publicly recanted and pledged
their loyalty to Ulbricht. Since then, Oelssner has
worked in the GDR Academy of Sciences, and is now a
member of the Academy's presidium and director of its
Institute for Economic Sciences.
By honoring Oelssner, the SED demonstrated once 25X1
again its relatively-civilized approach to handling
dissenters; remove them from seats of power. and
pretend that nothing ever happened.
Rumania Walks Out of Budapest Preparatory Meeting
On 29 February the Rumanian delegation acting
under orders from its Central Committee in Bucharest
walked out of the Budapest Preparatory Meeting in pro-
test against the course the meeting was taking. Earlier
the Rumanians had demanded a resolution from the floor
which would foreswear further attacks on the Chinese
and on Rumania itself. After considerable haggling,
aFinnish CP compromise measure was passed but the
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compromise did not satisfy the Rumanians who walked
out of the meeting and returned to Bucharest. A UPI
account of the walkout alleges that the Finnish dele-
gation head accompanied the Rumanians as far as the
door of the meeting hall before turning back at the
last minute.
The official communist view of the walkout in
yesterday's communique places full responsibility
for the walkout on the Rumanians' intransigence in the
face of the "deeply democratic atmosphere" of the debate
on the Rumanian demands. The communique states that
the Meeting will continue its work to prepare the
International Communist Conference and to unite the
communist movement.
WFTU Sets Vietnam Solidarity Day
On 23 February the World Federation of Trade
Unions, headquartered in Prague, appealed to trade
unions throughout the wor d to make 1 May a day of
solidarity with Vietnam.
Bulgarian Mass Organization Disbands
Bulgaria's Voluntary Organization for Cooperation
in Defense (DOSO) has been disbanded, effective 1 March.
Its educational and sports responsibilities will be
absorbed by the Komsomol.
COMMENT: This action is in line with government
and party boss Todor Zhivkov's December theses which
advocated the centralization of all activities related
to youth under the Komsomol.
Polish Plenum Forms Congress Commission
The two-day 11th plenum of the Polish Communist
party ended on 29 February with the adoption of a
resolution to hold a congress in the "fourth quarter
of 1968" and created a special congress commission.
The commission includes the entire Politburo and
Secretariat.
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The Embassy concluded that the diverse character
of the commission is a reflection of "continuing
political strength." The 88 members include such
strange bedfellows as Kociolek, Schaff, and Trampczynski
on one hand and Naszkowski, Ruminski and Witaszewski
on the other. All but nine of the commission members
are on the Central Committee.
The broad time zone for scheduling the congress--
three months--probably is related to uncertainty about
the date for the proposed international Communist con-
ference which oviets have suezested for r
or December.
Absence of Albanian Officials
According to our records, no leading Albanian
party or government officials have appeared in public
for the last 12 days. There is a confirmed report
of a low level ur a now in progress in one district
of Albania however, no
reason has as yet been given for this unexplained
and prolonged absence of key party/state dignitaries.
NOTE: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ABOVE REPRESENT
ONLY THE ANALYSIS OF THE EE DIVISION
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Yugoslavia
Undated Rumania Premier Maurer and Foreign Min-
ister Manescu to make an official
visit to Sweden in early March F_
Yugoslavia
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS FOR MARCH 1968
Federal Executive Council Presi-
dent Spiljak and Foreign Minister
Nikezic to Turkey 25X1
Foreign Minister Nikezic to Warsaw
3-.12 East Germany Leipzig Spring Fair
Yugoslavia-
Bulgaria
The 90th anniversary of the
4-8 Berlin
Treaty of San Stefano
mittee meetings
Belgrade
Dutch Foreign Minister Luns to 25X1
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Czechoslovakia Central Committee plenum
20-26 Bulgaria
Hungary
Party and government leader Zhivkov
to Turkey
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