CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A013600040001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 28, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Central Intelligence Bulletin
Secret
5G
28 April ,969
State Dept. review completed
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No. 0101/69
28 April 1969
Central Intelligence Bulletin
CONTENTS
South Vietnam: Situation report. (Page 1)
France: De Gaulle's resignation opens a period of
intense political maneuvering. (Page 3)
Jordan: Stepped-up fedayeen pressure on King Husayn
increases the chances of a clash. (Page 5)
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Yugoslavia: Nationalist pressures and unemployment
hinder Belgrade's efforts to improve the lot of the
Albanian minority. (Page 9)
Bolivia: The armed forces have "guaranteed" consti-
tut al succession in the presidency. (Page 10)
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Chile: Two presidential hopefuls plan to visit the
USSR and Communist China. (Page 12)
USSR -- Eastern Europe: CEMA communique` (Page 13)
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CAMBOD A
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SOUTH VIETNAM
ic
MILES
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Vang Tara
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C South Vietnam: An upsurge of sharp fighting
over the weekend cost the Communists heavy casual-
ties.
Some 500 enemy troops were killed in a half
dozen stiff encounters in the western III Corps and
northern delta countryside. Two battles were trig-
gered by strong Communist night infantry assaults
against US field positions--one, located in Tay
Ninh Province about a mile from the Cambodian bor-
der, was first struck by an intensive mortar attack,
much of it from across the border.
There were also several unsuccessful sapper
attacks in Saigon, apparently aimed at the city's
electric power supply, and a number of terrorist
incidents as well. More such violence in the
capital city area is indicated by recently captured
prisoners, documents, and the discovery of a large
store of demolition equipment north of Saigon.
Meanwhile, a major fire at the Da Nang Air Base
on 27 April has crippled allied operations there at
least temporarily. According to preliminary esti-
mates, ammunition and fuel losses are extensive.
Air operations were suspended and personnel were
evacuated from several portions of the base. So
far, it does not appear that the fire was caused b
enemy action.
28 Apr 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Alain Poher, Interim President of France
Political Party: Democratic Center
Aorn
Elected. Vliyor of Albon-sur-Seine 1945
senator for Seine et-Oise 19 6 194 -19 0
retar/ of the Navy (Gaillard Cabinet)
to to utopean Parliament , ~, 1958
President of European Parliament 196 6
Ele ted r sident of Senate 0cto ier
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I France: De Gaulle's resignation opens a period
of intense political maneuvering and bargaining for
the office he has vacated after almost 11 years.
No formal candidacies have been announced, but
a Gaullist and a centrist are likely to be the prime
contenders for the presidency. Senate President
Alain Poher, who will serve as interim president
until new elections are held, is almost certain to
be a candidate. Centrists and some leftists were
already coalescing around his candidacy last week,
probably recognizing that his role as interim presi-
dent would put him in the spotlight during the
crucial campaign period. The other prime contender
doubtless will be former prime minister Georges
Pompidou, who is certain to be the choice of most
Gaullists. Other possible candidates are Indepen-
dent Republican leader Valery Giscard d'Estaing and
leftist leader Francois Mitterrand. The Communist
Party has no candidate at this point but its leaders
have already publicly declared that they are seeking
an alliance of all the parties of the left.
Elections must take place not sooner than 20
and not later than 35 days from today. During this
interim period, no basic domestic or foreign policy
changes are likely. Although Poher is an anti-Gaul-
list centrist, the administration remains in the
hands of the Gaullists. At this juncture neither
Prime Minister Couve de Murville nor any of his cab-
inet has resigned, and Poher does not have the power
under the constitution to remove them without their
consent. Moreover, Poher will probably focus most of
his attention on the campaign rather than on policy
decisions.
The public has reacted calmly to the defeat of
the referendum and De Gaulle's subsequent resigna-
tion. Although a few isolated outbreaks of violence
have occurred, neither government supporters nor op-
position forces have tried to provoke major civil
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disorders. In any event, government security forces
have elaborate contingency plans to control any out-
burst.
Slightly over 80 percent of the electorate
voted and, of these, almost 53 percent voted "no."
Returns are not yet in from the overseas territories
but Interior Minister Marcellin announced that these
votes could not affect the outcome. Of the 18 ref-
erenda and plebiscites which have been held in
France since 1793 onl one other failed to gain
a positive vote.
28 Apr 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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Jordan: Additional fedayeen pressures on King
HusaynTe increased the chances of a major clash
between the terrorists and the regime.
Prime Minister Rifai, in a meeting on 23 April
with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chair-
man Yasir Arafat, tentatively agreed to allow Egyp-
tian-based personnel of the Palestine Liberation
Army (PLA), the military arm of the PLO, to enter
Jordan. Rifai stated, however, that the transfer
must have the agreement of the King, who returned
from London yesterday.
The fedayeen in Jordan already constitute al-
most a state within a state, and the presence of
additional units of armed Palestinians would fur-
ther jeopardize the King's position. In view of
Husayn's long-time refusal to allow PLA units to
be stationed in Jordan, it is doubtful that he
would now agree. The King is also under pressure
to allow the transfer of the fedayeen's propaganda
office from Cairo to Amman and possibly even to al-
low their broadcasts from Amman.
Various fedayeen organizations have prepared
for an all-out confrontation with the. government
following a joint fedayeen communique on 15 April
repudiating Husayn's six-point peace plan. Within
Jordan, the Palestine National Liberation Movement,
Fatah, remains on alert status and there are some
signs that fedayeen supporters are approaching pub-
lic security and army personnel with the request
that they remain neutral in any future clash.
US officials in Amman estimate that the King
will attempt to enforce stronger controls over the
fedayeen, but will avoid an all-out clash. Any
efforts to limit fedayeen operations, however, will
almost certainly meet with resistance.
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YUGOSLAVIA
Albanian minority group
Republic boundary
Autonomous province boundary
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Yugoslavia: Continuing nationalist pressures
and widesprea_unemployment in the Yugoslav auton-
omous province of Kosovo plague Belgrade in its ef-
forts to respond effectively to the demands of the
Albanian minority there.
Riots erupted in Kosovo and in parts of Mace-
donia in late 1968, reflecting the seriousness of
the Albanians' grievances. Since then, Serb-Alban-
ian rivalry for political control of the province
continues to undermine efforts to solve the area's
problems. Belgrade nevertheless appears determined
to make good its promise to improve conditions, and
Tito himself reiterated his support for this goal
at the ninth party congress last month.
The exodus of Serbian professional experts and
skilled laborers has particularly hampered Belgrade.
Kosovo, with Yugoslavia's highest unemployment rate
and widespread illiteracy, can ill Afford to lose
the few capable personnel it has.
In weeding out those responsible for last year's
riots, Belgrade itself has added to the unrest.
Numerous intellectuals and workers have been brought
to trial, and scores of Albanians have been sen-
tenced to jail for terms ranging from a few months
to seven years. Numerous other students, workers,
and teachers have been expelled from the party and
have lost their jobs.
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C Bolivia: President Rene Barrientos was killed
yester act y in a helicopter crash; there is no evi-
dence of sabotage.
Vice President Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas has
been sworn in as president and the constitutional
succession has been "guaranteed" by the armed forces.
The armed forces remain the key to political
power in Bolivia. They probably will back Siles
for the moment but could oust him should he attempt
to assert his independence. Armed Forces Commander
in Chief Alfredo Ovando is on his way to Bolivia
from the US. Ovando had been considered the prob-
able winner in the presidential election scheduled
for July 1970? He ma now decide, however, to m
before the election.
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Chile: Two prospective presidential candidates
for the election, next year plan to travel to the
Soviet Union and to Communist China; one plans to
go on to North Korea and North Vietnam.
Pro-Castro Socialist Senator Salvador Allende
leaves soon for Moscow, Peking, North Korea, and
North Vietnam. Allende,, who is president of the
Senate, wants to get "first-hand" knowledge of the
Vietnam situation. Allende has in the past run
strongly for president with the support of the Com-
munist and Socialist parties. He would again be a
formidable candidate if he could add other leftist
support next year.
Radomiro Tomic, former ambassador to the US
and presidential hopeful in President Frei's Chris-
tian Democratic Party, also hopes to visit the So-
viet Union and Communist China early next month
during a planned trip to Europe. Tomic may believe
that by so doing he can increase his appeal to
leftists outside the Christian Democratic Party,
whose support he has said is a necessity for his
presidential campaign.
28 Apr 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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USSR - Eastern Europe: The communique issued
at the end o the four-day CEMA summit on 26 April
indicates that a few unspecified decisions were
made, and that major disagreement on the subject
of economic unity continues. The eight member
countries agreed, however, on the need to establish
an investment bank and to seek to improve the op-
eration of the existing Bank for Economic Coopera-
tion as a means of bolstering trade and financial
relations among CEMA members. The communique ad-
mitted, nevertheless, that "the session raised
many problems concerning deepening relations be-
tween the national economies," indicating that di-
vergent views among members on the desirability
of economic integration still persist.
28 Apr 69 Central Intelligence Bulletin
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