THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 7 APRIL 1970

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005977389
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 7, 1970

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The President's Daily Brief
7 April 1970
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
7 April 1970
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The situation in Cambodia is discussed on Page 1.
There is independent evidence to support Moscow's
official statement that several Soviet leaders are
ill. (Page 3)
Peking is answering Moscow's propaganda attacks by
criticizing Soviet leadership, while muting polemics
on sensitive bilateral Sino-Soviet issues. (Page 5)
There are signs that opposition parties in the Domin-
ican Republic are weakening in their resolve to boy-
cott next month's elections. (Page 6)
(Page 7)
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Cambodia: Current Situation
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CAMBODIA
The new government in Phnom Penh is still
moving to erode Sihanouk's popular base
and to build one of its own. The godhead
image of the former ruler is strong, how-
ever, especially in the countryside. If
Phnom Penh pushes too fast, it may only
complicate the security problem in the
eastern provinces, where the Vietnamese
Communists are maintaining pressure. Cur-
rently the main trouble spot is the border
province of Svay Rieng.
Sihanouk's calls to "Liberate" Cambodia,
while perhaps not falling on deaf ears,
have yet to produce any concrete results.
Hanoi's support of his Liberation state-
ment finally has been echoed by Peking.
government leaders appar-
ently are determined to move toward abolishing the
monarchy. They have solicited the "advice" of the
country on the issue, and the official press agency
is reporting the receipt of petitions signed by stu-
dents, professors, and civil servants, all in favor
of a republic.
On the military side, the government is having
its troubles in Svay Rieng Province. An intercepted
army message states that on 5 April "many hundreds"
of Viet Cong near Chipou had dug up the main high-
way in order to halt traffic. Phnom Penh is send-
ing additional reinforcements to Svay Rieng. Far-
ther to the northeast of this activity, South Viet-
namese troops on 5 April made a raid against Commu-
nist bases just across the Cambodian border.
(continued)
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In the meantime, Sihanouk picked up some impor-
tant Communist backing when Chou En-lai announced
on 5 April that Peking firmly supports Sihanouk's
call for a "liberation" movement in Cambodia. It is
not yet clear what prompted Peking to abandon its
previously cautious approach, or whether the Chinese,
like the Vietnamese, will pull their diplomats out
of Phnom Penh.
The idea of taking the Cambodian problem to the
UN Security Council has met with an almost uniformly
negative reaction. A number of the Council members
believe such a session would bog down in acrimonious
debate on Southeast Asian issues, including Vietnam,
and would involve a credentials fight, in view of
Sihanouk's continued claim to legitimacy. The So-
viets meanwhile have gone along with Hanoi's position
against Cambodia's request to reactivate the ICC.
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USSR
There is some independent evidence to support
a Soviet Foreign Ministry statement that four lead-
ing Soviet officials are sidelined by illness. The
four--President Podgorny, Premier Kosygin, and pol-
itburo members Suslov and Shelepin--have recently
been absent from official functions, Podgorny can-
celed a scheduled trip to Japan on short notice;
Japanese officials were informed on 3 April that he
would not be able to make ?the visit because of a
cold.
Kosygin was publicly active through 30 March,
but he was not on hand to see General Secretary
Brezhnev off to Hungary on 1 April. \
Shelepin probably has been ill since late Feb-
ruary, when he canceled a trip to Sudan at the last
moment.
Another politburo member, First Deputy Premier
Polyansky, has also been out of sight for several
weeks, possibly for reasons of health. He last ap-
peared in public on 24 March and has missed several
important affairs.
(continued)
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COMMUNIST CHINA - USSR
Peking pointedly denounced the currentagri-
cultural program of the Brezhnev leadership in a
broadcast on 4 April, charging that its "Hitler-
like" policy of guns instead of butter had worsened
an already serious food crisis. In particular, it
scored what it claimed was Moscow's imitation of
the discredited agricultural policies of the Khrush-
chev regime. In a similar vein, Peking last week
attacked the "Brezhnev renegade clique" for selling
out hard-fought Soviet interests in Siberia--a ref-
erence to the granting of an air route across. the
USSR--in order to gain favor with the Japanese. Gov-
ernment.
Peking no doubt believes that recent re-
ports of dissatisfaction in the USSR with
a number of the regime's current programs
have made Moscow vulnerable to this type
of attack. The Chinese probably are re-
sponding to the recent sharp increase in
Soviet propaganda against China's stone-
walling in the border talks and "provoca-
tive" activity along the Sino-Soviet
frontier. While damning the Soviet lead-
ership in general terms, China has in con-
trast been muting polemics on these sen-
sitive bilateral Sino-Soviet problems.
Presumably it hopes to portray itself as
the more reasonable party in the dispute
and to avoid giving Moscow a convenient
excuse to break off or downgrade the dis-
cussions in Peking.
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Opposition parties are weakening in their an-
nounced intention to boycott elections on 16 May
(see The President'sDaily Brief of 3 April). Faced
with President Balaguer s refusal to resign and run
like any other candidate, the opposition bloc has
asked Foreign Minister Amiama Tio to serve as an
intermediary in discussions with the President.
President Balaguer 'has said publicly he will
talk to the opposition at any time, either directly
or through intermediaries. Balaguer has also created
a commission with power to investigate the fairness
of the elections, presumably in an attempt to make
it easier for the opposition to come around.
Nevertheless, the trend toward compromise
could easily be reversed. There are, for
example, continuing rumors of a general
strike, and there could be major outbreaks
of violence for a variety of other reasons.
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NOTE
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Top Secret
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