VIEWS EXPRESSED BY BARON PATRICK SURCOUF

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP82-00457R000200160003-3
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
C
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
November 9, 2016
Document Release Date: 
January 21, 1999
Sequence Number: 
3
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
December 17, 1946
Content Type: 
IR
File: 
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PDF icon CIA-RDP82-00457R000200160003-3.pdf218.25 KB
Body: 
. r,,;sIFI:pproved For eleaee 1999109108 kagwki 78000200160003-3 Wilt "M _1 9 p? eenr~esr INTELLIGENCE GROUP C U1% ' Siam - French Indo China 25X1A2g DATE: 25X1A6a INFO. SUBJECT Views expressed by Baron Patrick Surcouf D1ST. 17 December 1946 ORIGIN PAGES 2 SUPPLEMENT 1. Baron Surcouf asserted the United States must back up France on. her policy In Indo China, because if France should ever lose her foothold there, it will not only be the and of the white race in ksia but all Southeast Asia will become Communistic. The Viet Nam is now just a tool of the Russians; the Russians are considered (by the VIetna ians ?) as yellow, not white. 2 The entire Viet Nam movement was started by the .Japanese; in fact all ;heViet Nam troops were trained and armed by the Japanese. At present there are many Japanese fighting with the Vietnamians, and there is a large Japanese camp near Hanoi. In reply to -a query as to why the French did not clear out this Japanese camp if such existed, Baron Surcouf stated the French would not under- take such an operation during the period of the modus vivendi s and that they had not done anything before the modus vivendi came into effect because the camp was too strong to attack. 3. Surcouf stated it was very wrong of the Vletnamlans to use Japanese troops against the French, but that this was a very different problem from the question of the French using German troops in the French Foreign Legion against the Vietnamians. He said the Foreign Legion had contained Germans ever since its inception; they were mercenaries and their use had no political implications, whereas the Japanese influenced the Viet Nam troops Ao EC. oved cLAsSUrICAT ON CO Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R000200160003-3 CEJ TRtiL Ir'T LLIG:,.:Ci; CRC-LP 25X1A2g politically. 4. Before the war, according to Karon Surcouf, the ttnnamites were very content under French domination. because of French medical old the population had increased several millions; wonderful schools, highways, Qtr.. had been built for then, and the corntry had been prosperous. fe declared it was extremely ungrateful of them to fail to appreciate all the effort of the French. Then it was suggested the 4n.narnites had never as%ed for French domina- tion in the first place and therefore there was no real reason. for them to be grateful, baron Surcouf said he suprosed this was true. when During the period/he was hesident of Soi thorn LLai s, Baron Surcouf stated he had done everything he could to help the Laos because he was fond of them as a race. The tsnne-mites had been a great problem; whenever a Croup came into an area the laos would move away. To protect the Laos, he would not allow the Lnnamites to come in unless; there was a specified piece of ground for them to occupy without displacing the Laos. 6. He sated the Laos were such a gentle and poetic race that they would be lost without French protection end would become the prey of the Chinese or the t;nnamites. Lie, said the race would probably vanish if allowed to become independent and stand on their own feet. baron Surcouf asserted he did not known why the Laos were so vehement about elite ring their freedom, Then the French promised two years ago to make them an autonomous state. Ise was surprised to learn the Laos hod never been informed of this, but said they should have had sense enoi~g-h to wait before acting hastily and fighting the French. In regard to the 4nnarrmit:es, Baron Surcouf sth ted they : were re, lly dangerous, because they thoug?ht nothing of murdering women and children and had massacred hur_dredsof Frenchmen. He said he used to be very fond of the Siamese, but since they had attacked Indo China when France was down and out, he did not feel so kindly toward them; in addition, they had been tools of the Japanese during that period. "::hen it was suggested the French had done a little land snatching, beginning in 1c60 when Siam vas not a powerful nation, Baron Surcouf stt.ted the situation was entirely different and that a long time before that the Siamese had grabbed Cambodian territories and now the French were only attempting to t et these territories back for the Cambodians by peaceful means. He declared the Free Cambodians were not members of a liberation movement, but were merely bandits. lie said Cambodia had her king and had held her own elections and there was no reason for such a..movement. The Siem .ieap ircident (7-8 c.ut ust 1,46) was, according to Baron Surcouf, pure maliciousness and banditry', he stated the bandits, which he.referred to as Siamese, had attacked a hospital full of women, children and invalid troops. It was suggested the hospital was in reality a hotel which, as late as t'pril at least, had been full of robust French officers, soldiers and a few women; the object of the Free. Cambodians had been to capture the French arsenal at Siem Reap and to do so they had to attack all French installations in the area. baron Surcouf stated he had never heard that version of the incident. Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R000200160003-3