Documents / FOIA release
The CIA's Directorate of Intelligence issued this Weekly Summary, No. 0369/70, on 8 May 1970. It covers events through noon on 7 May. The Far East section deals with the allied operations into Cambodia, Hanoi's cautious response and the government in exile Sihanouk formed in Peking. Other items cover Soviet military aid, the Sino-Soviet talks, Jordan, Dahomey, Guatemala and Brazil, and a special report looks at Cuban support for subversion in Latin America. Many pages are withheld, and the summary contains no UFO material.
(b)(1 b) (3) Approved for Release: 2023/03/28 C03154550 yiolence and Pessimism Increase in Saigon The government moved strongly this week to head off renewed dis- turbances by student and Buddhist groups, and its actions will prob- ably engender new charges of re- pression. Following an emergency cabinet meeting, at which officials expressed concern that Communist agents might be able to exploit po- litical unrest in Saigon, the gov- ernment ordered all schools and uni- versities in the Saigon area closed indefinitely. There had been indi- cations that militant student lead- ers in Saigon were gaining control of the antigovernment protests and were organizing further demonstra- tions. Another serious situation may develop out of a clash between two antagonistic Buddhist factions for control of a key pagoda in Saigon. The government is already being ac- cused by the militant An Quang sect of having intervened on behalf of its rival. The possibility of further violence between the Bud- dhists represents a new and poten- tially explosive problem for Thieu government, which has indicated that it is prepared to use force if neces- sary to maintain control. A mood of discouragement now appears to be developing in some gov- ernment circles over President Thieu‘s inability to deal effectively with growing popular discontent. K::::::j (b) (3) (b)(1) ‘corruption lS widespread among high—ranking South Vietnamese military officers, but since Thieu must retain their sup- port to remain in office, his hands are somewhat tied in trying to cope with public dissatisfaction over their activities. (bx ,$8 @(b)( > President Thieu also appears to be somewhat discouraged about the prospects for his regime. He has recently registered strong disap- pointment in the performance of some key ministries, and there ap- parently has been a loss of mutual confidence between the President and some of his key lieutenants. (bxs Page 5 WEEKLY SUMMARY 8 May 70 Approved for Release: 2023/03/28 C03154550
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 78 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.