f, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18, 1967 TH E MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE THREE hailand Tries To Overcome Guerilla Move .ment A EDITOR'S NTE: Thailand, one of the United States' staunchest allies in Southeast Asia, is fighting a Communist insurgent movement that some observers fear could em- broil the country in a Viet Namn- type conflict. Fred Hoffman, mili- tary affairs writer for the Associated Press, went to Thailand to survey the situation. This is the first of a four-part series. By FRED HOFFMAN BANGKOK, Thailand (R - After years of temporising, Thai- land is finally coming to grips with the growing threat of Com- munist terrorism in its north- east, U.S. officials believe. A majority of American offi- cials here agree that the guer- rilla movement, backed by Com- munist China and North Vietnam, can be contained without a major commitment of U.S. forces and without a minor insurgency de- Mao Forces Hail Victory In Shanghai Revolutionary Forces Spring Up in Sinkiang Along Soviet Border TOKYO (R)-While Mao Tse- tung's forces were hailing smash- ing victories in the cultural revo- lution, a report from Peking said yesterday opposition had cropped up in far-off Sinkiang Province on the Soviet border. The Peking correspondent of the newspaper Yomiuri said that since Mao's return to Peking to take personal direction of the purge the chaotic situation on the mainland seemed to have passed its peak. Radio Peking reported victory of Mao's forces in the big port of Shanghai. Wall Posters The newspaper Asahi in a Pe- king dispatch said wall posters told of opposition to Mao in Sin- kiang that had spread to the army. The posters reported that pro- Mao forces held demonstrations and sit-down strikes against "bourgeois reactionary forces" in Urumchi the provincial capital of what the Chinese call the Sinki- ang-Uighur autonomous region. The demonstrations came after Ting Sheng, deputy commander of the army corps in Urumcht, rejected demands of Red Guards and revolutionary students Dec. 18. The wall posters did not say what the demands were. In Sinkiang's Kashgar, a city near the Soviet border, supporters of President Liu Shao-chi, Mao's chief antagonist, encircled Red Guard headquarters Dec. 29 and there was a clash in which 20 were injured, the wall posters re- ported. Lin Piao There were also unconfirmed reports from Hong Kong, that Defense Minister Lin Piao, Mao's heir apparent, was in Manchuria soliciting army support against "rebellious army units" in east China and south China. The Czechoslovak news agency CTK said in a dispatch from Pe-, king the Chinese Communist par- ty Central Committee admitted "some economic demands" were made recently by workers and promised to work out a solution of the problem." The Czech news agency said radio and press reports claimed factories in several Chinese cities went on strike with workers de- manding higher wages and im- proved living conditions. The cities were not identified. Liu's supporters have been re- ported urging workers to demand higher wages in an effort to dis- rupt the economy. veloping into a wide open struggle like that -in Vietnam. But Thai and U.S. officials add that changes for success here hinge in a large measure on a satisfactory conclusion to the war in Vietnam. The main soft spot of Com- munist pressure lies in six prov- inces of the northeast, a huge bulge that embraces 15 of Thai- land's 71 provinces. The northeast in general has poor soil, is short of schools, health facilities and good roads. It has been left out of the pros- perity enjoyed by many of the 32 million Thais. The peasants and villagers of the northeast have had slight contact with the Thai govern- ment, except for an occasional policeman or tax collector. Often the policeman was a predator rather than a protector. "The Communist have basically been exploiting a vacuum," a U.S. diplomat eays. The Bangkok gov- ernment is trying to redress this, with the help of about $43 mil- lion a year in U.S. economic aid. About 85 per cent of the U.S. economic and technical aid is pointed toward counter insurgen- cy. So is much of the $60 million in military aid, which was in- creased this year at the urging of Ambassador Graham Martin. Attempts by Peking to foment a Communist takeover of Thai- land go back to early 1950 when a "Free Thai Movement'' was set up in China, using disgruntled Thai expatriates. Things took a serious turn in November 1964, when Radio Hanoi announced formation of a "Thailand Independence Move- ment." A clandestine radio station calling itself "the Voice of the Thai people" raised the intensity of its propaganda onslaught. The broadcasts originated o u t s i d e Thailand, probably in China. In 1965, Communist China told the world the "Thai Patriotic Front" was in business. The front later absorbed the year-old in- dependence movement. The first clash between Thai security patrols and an armed Communist band in Thailand was recorded in the fall of 1965. - This was followed by more than 100 skirmishes in the ensuing year. Most were quite small, but a couple of bigger firefights last winter jolted the Bangkok gov- ernment some 350 miles away. There are no confident esti- mates of the Communist armed strength in the northeast. A top U.S. military officer said his guess would be about 1,000- "give or taken 25 per cent." This officer has access to the most complete intelligence information available, but he concedes: "Our intelligence net has great gaps." Added to this, some 500 to 700 Communists, mostly Malayan- Chinese stock, have been roaming provinces of the far south near Malaysia. They are pictured as wanting to avoid trouble with the Thais. The estimate of about 1,000 in- surgents puts Communist rebel strength in Thailand well below what it was in South Vietnam in December 1960, when the Nation- al Liberation Front was founded. According to statistics collected in Saigon, there were about 35,000 Viet Cong members in late 1960. This doubled within year. Some U.S. Peace Corps field workers suggest that the Thai insurgency "really is small po- tatoes," as one of them put it. They claim there is an in- clination to blame any kind of banditry or murder in the north- east on the Communists. Some U.S. officials agree. The Peace Corps has 140 vol- unteers in the northeast, about one-third of the entire corps in Thailand. None of the volunteers ported to Bangkok head that they have been botl the Communists, althot Communist "Voice of t people" has attacked t spies. This was the pattern munist activity in Tha one recent week: Terrorist bands surroun villages in Nongkai, Phanom and Sakol Nako inces. They mustered lagers, denounced the gov and demanded food. In another place, a c Tai army-police unit rou seven members of a play" group which had from village to village ac Communist propaganda has re- guise of the popular form of open Iquarters air entertainment. hered by Other guerilla activities in- ugh the cluded the destruction of a he Thai bridge, two engagements with po- hem as lice and militia, and the raiding of a villlage. of Com- Most U.S. sources, military and iland in: civilian alike, say assassinations of minor Thai officials and vil- lage leaders by the Communists ded four in the northeast occurred at the Npkrv-rate of about 10 a month in irn prov- 1966. the vil- This works out to about 120 Jemnentassassinations for 1966 - com- pared with an estimated 1.300 ombined such killings in Viet Nam in 1961, nded up the year the United States began "shadow to get deeply committed there. traveled By best available estimates ting out there were about 1,000 such kill- in the ings in South Vietnam last year. Johnson Tax AIR RAIDS CONTINUE: Plans Clear Restrictions Remain in Effect -Associated Press HOFFA HAS NEW EVIDENCE Teamsters Union President James Hoffa announced in Washington yesterday that he will present new evidence to clear him of his jury-tampering charges and pave the way for a reversal of his recent Supreme Court conviction. Hoffa also announced Teamsters' new demands for a 75c an hour increase for some 450,000 workers. UP $3 BILLION: Johnson Requests Congress To Increase Defense Budget First Hurdle House Vote Addsr Pro-Tax Democrat To Crucial Committeej By EDMOND LEBRETON I WASHINGTON ()-A 115-113 vote of House Democrats yester- day veered President Johnson's tax program away from possible serious trouble in the Ways and Means Committee. The hairbreadth vote named Rep. Jacob H. Gilbert of New York to the sole Democratic va- cancy on the committee, which also initiates all Social Security legislation. The loser was Rep. Omar Burleson of Texas, a staunch fiscal conservative who would have been expected to vote with Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats. If such a situation had de- veloped, the conservative combine could have controlled the com- mittee, 13-12. The actual outcome increases still more the influence of the committee chairman, Rep. Wilbur D. Mills (D-Ark.). Mills usually supports administration proposals, but insists on a strong voice in shaping the version that finally goes to the House. He has spoken out frequently for a hold down on government spending. The present outlook is that. Mills on occasion will have the deciding vote in a committee di- vided otherwise between 12 lib- eral-leaning Democrats, 10 Re- publicans and 2 conservative Southern Democrats. Gilbert, who has a liberal voting record, warded off news- men's questions about President Johnson's tax increase proposals and other issues. But he did say, as he was leaving the caucus that elected him, "I have always been for Social Security and for medi- care and I will be for increases in medicare and Social Security." The danger that the Demo- cratic leadership might lose con- trol of the committee developed after the Republicans gained an increase of 47 seats in the House, WASHINGTON (P) - Informed sources said yesterday that de- spite the recent bombing raids near Hanoi the Johnson administration has not lifted its restrictions on targets a few miles from the city's center. The administration ordered that a truck depot and railroad marsh- aling yard a few miles from Hanoi be temporarily removed from the approved target lists shortly after the Dec. 13 and 14 raids that prompted controversy over civilian bombings. Reliable sources said the restric- tions are still in effect. Other informants emphasized that the restrictions are tempor- ary and noted that the truck de- pot and rail yard had been hit four times within two weeks early last month. U.S. fighter-bombers struck an oil depot at Ha Gia, 142 miles from Hanoi Monday in what was widely described as the nearest raids to the capital since the con- troversy. U.S. planes attacked within 40 miles of the capital yes- terday. Defense officials pointed out, however, that U.S. bombers have staged at least four attacks with- in 35 miles of Hanoi since the bombing dispute, including a raid )ec. 19 at the Ha Gia oil depot. "We've been within 30 to 40 miles of the place all the time," one source said. Other sources indicated they were pleased that permission for the new attack on Ha Gia was granted by the administration. It has been reported that U.S. air- craft are not permitted to bomb within 30 miles of Hanoi without special permission of the Penta- gon, State Department and White House. The strike against the oil depot was the first attack within 30 SGE I''! for a ll miles of Hanoi since dispatches by Asst. Managing Editor Harrison E. Salisbury began appearing in the New York Times on Dec. 24. Some military sources have said they believe the cutback in bomb- ing was a result of the controversy created by Communist charges that more than 100 civilians were killed or injured during the raids over Hanoi last month. In the aid war yesterday, U.S. fighter-bombers slashed at a rail- road yard 40 miles north of Ha- noi and B-52 Stratofortresses twice dropped explosives in the border demilitarized zone. Good weather permitted the air war to quicken. In South Viet Nam guerrillas shot down a U.S. Army helicopter 23 miles northwest of Saigon and a spokesman said all eight men aboard, four crewmen and four passengers, were killed. The chemical warfare issue arose again with an announcement by the U.S. command that a detach- ment of about 20 Viet Cong used "what appeared to be riot control gas' against some men of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in a clash Monday 37 miles north-northwest of Saigon. I I Sukarno Asked To Resign As President of Indonesia For Bomb Sites Near Hanoi By T. JEFF WILLIAMS JAKARTA, Indonesia, (A) - Foreign Minister Adam Malik asked President Sukarno yester- day to resign or face the alter- native of being brought down in. dishonor. Sukarno's reaction was unknown. Disclosing to newsmen his meeting with Sukarno, Malik im- plied the president would have to give an accounting of his responsibility in the Communist coup attempt of Oct. 1, 1965. Ap- parently this was what Malik; meant by dishonor. There was a growing feeling in Jakarta that Sukarno, now little more than a figurehead, was under heavy pressure from Gen. Suharto's government and from Congress. Suharto took over most of Sukarno's powers last March. Malik said he asked Sukarno to divest himself of everything connected with the presidency "in the interest of the nation" during a meeting at the presi- dential palace. Speaking to Sukarno "as a comrade in arms for tens of years," Malik said the president must help to maintain peace in Indonesia. This may have been a reference to the fact that Su- karno still commands the allegi- ance of millions of Indonesians. The government has moved cautiously against Sukarno, fear- ing any drastic action would touch off civil war. Possibly to soften the tough speech, Malik said that if Su- karno stepped down "in the fu- ture maybe we can save you and maybe we still can support you in a peaceful way." 'He suggested if necessary Sukarno could ap- point his successor until general elections in 1968. WASHINGTON (MP) - PresidentE Johnson said yesterday next year's defense budget would top $73 bil- lion-an increase of about $5 bil- lion over the current level.; Johnson, meeting with newsmen in his office, also disclosed that military outlays in the current fis- cal year, which ends June 30, would be increased bq $9.4 billion under a supplemental appropria- tions request he will soon send to; Congress. The President previously had said the spending impact of the supplemental request in the cur- rent year would range between $91 billion and $10 billion. Hold Down Deficit Johnson summoned reporters to his office to brief them on ad- ministration efforts to hold down the budget deficit by postponing, deferring or stretching out pro- grams authorized by Congress. He said he hoped to pare actual spending in the current year by $3 billion by holding up outlays for a broad range of projects in- olving an eventual total of $5.3 billion. The chief executive, who had just conferred with Budget Direc- tor Charles L. Schultze, said he al- so was considering postponing $400 million additional in highway proj- ects. He had announced earlier that there would be a stretch-out in spending $1.1 billion of road money. Johnson also disclosed that the administration already was plan- ning a variety of programs aimed at least partly at minimizing the economic impact should the war in Viet Nam end abruptly. Defense Facilities For example, he. said, he will ask Congress to authorize about $1 billion for defense facilities. Johnson added that he would not actually ask for appropriations to finance such work except in case of need or should the troops re- turn from Viet Nam and larger unemployment result. He said he wanted to plan for providing future jobs "so we won't have to do it overnight." Johnson announced he also would dsend his new budget to Congress Jan. 24 and would sub- mit his annual economic reportl Jan. 26 "unless we have some- thing unforeseen develop." In his state of the union mes- sage last week, Johnson promis- ed Congress a special report on Viet Nam. Asked when this report would be submitted - and if it would include the request for sup- plemental defense appropriations -the President said he had no schedule for submission of special messages of this kind. - __ - - - t NERAL MEETING 60 0 students interested Room Union World News Roundup By The Associated Press ( younger man to preserve the mood SANTIAGO, Chile - President of youth, change and excitement Eduardo Frei's cabinet resigned that helped bring the Liberals yesterday after the Senate refus- back from the political depths. ed to grant him permission to * * * visit the United States in Febru- JERUSALEM - Israel 'viewed ary. with constraint yesterday Syria's Communists, Socialists, Radicals agreement to an emergency meet- and Rightists joined forces to de- ing with Israel over the explosive liver a vote of 23 to 15 to deny border situation. Frei the congressional approval "It's still too early to be optimis- needed by Chilean presidents to tic or pessimistic," said a Foreign leave the country. Ministry source. Israel earlier had " * * told the United Nations that it LONDON--Jo Grimond quit last would agree to meet with Syria night as leadef of the.Liberal par- under UN chairmanship. ty that he rescued from near ob- UN Secretary-General U Thant livion and rebuilt into a political had appealed to both countries for force in Britain. an extraordinary session on an Although only 53, friends said agenda with a view to reaching Grimond felt the time has come agreement on "cultivation prob- to hand over leadership to a lems in our areas." I the day rt; _.._}>: G9lPlUOTSB 7 . .................. CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL '67 III IiM IJ A P DK ILINd V1LLCIMV 1