NEWS
FROM FOREIGN AGENCIES & PRESS

no. 045

wednesday, february 14, 1973

asia

kissinger

tokyo, feb. 13 (ap) -- president nixon's national security adviser, dr. henry kissinger, left hanoi tuesday after talks with north vietnamese leaders.

hanoi's vietnam news agency--vna--monitored in tokyo, said he and his party departed at noon hanoi time.

vna said le duc tho, the north vietnamese delegate with whom kissinger worked out the paris peace agreement, and nguyen co thach, vice-minister of foreign affairs, saw him off.

kissinger-arrival

hong kong, feb. 13, reuter -- dr. henry kissinger, president nixon's national security adviser, arrived here today from hanoi after an unexpected delay in his departure from the north vietnamese capital.

dr. kissinger's presidential jet touched down at hong kong's kai tak international airport at 2:41 p.m. (0641 gmt), nearly three hours after the scheduled arrival time.

u.s. officials gave no explanation for the delay but it was thought dr. kissinger had extended his talks in

- 1 -

hanoi with north vietnamese leaders, including premier pham van dong and peace negotiator le duc tho.

dr. kissinger made no comments to reporters assembled on the tarmac and immediately drove to the luxurious mandarin hotel on hong kong island with the american consul-general, mr. david osborn.

he will not hold a news conference about his hanoi visit while in hong kong, a hong kong government spokesman said.

the american envoy appeared serious and did not wave or smile as he descended from the aircraft and quickly entered the waiting limousine.

while in hong kong, dr. kissinger and his team will remain at their hotel. the u.s. envoy was expected to be working on reports of his hanoi visit for president nixon and preparing for talks in peking with premier chou en-lai.

his only arrangement published here so far is dinner at government house tonight with governor sir murray maclehose, a former british ambassador to saigon.

### indochina-bunker

saigon, feb. 13, reuter -- u.s. ambassador ellsworth bunker paid a 25-minute call today on president nguyen van thieu for talks observers believed centred on the results of the visit to hanoi by dr. henry kissinger, president nixon's national security adviser.

### laos

vientiane, feb. 13 (upi) -- high-level government and communist pathet lao negotiators met today to discuss the gap between positions of the two sides on a cease-fire agreement.

interior minister pheng phongsavan met this afternoon for the second time in two days with the special pathet lao negotiator phoumi vongvichit. government and pathet lao spokesmen both said while there was agreement on some issues, others still remained to be resolved.

phoumi vongvichit later conferred with prime minister prince souvanna phouma for about 30 minutes. they were expected to meet again wednesday.

finance minister sisouk na champassack told newsmen

- 2 -

this afternoon that the major remaining obstacle to
a cease-fire was the continued pathet lao refusal to
divide military from political negotiating issues.

other cabinet sources close to the talks said there
was a broad general agreement for a cease-fire to be
followed by political negotiations. sources said one
of the major remaining stumbling blocks was pathet
lao opposition to the regime of prime minister souvanna
phouma being referred to as the government of laos
in a cease-fire agreement.

as negotiations continued in vientiane, it was
learned that u.s. ambassador george mcmurtrie godley
made a pre-dawn flight to the royal capital of luang
prabang monday to consult with souvanna who was there
to discuss developments towards a cease-fire with king
savang vatthana.

a u.s. embassy spokesman confirmed that godley
departed vientiane at 4:00 a.m. on the flight, but
declined any further comment. souvanna returned to
vientiane during the morning and other sources here
indicated the ambassador's trip was linked with white
house adviser henry kissinger's meetings with north
vietnamese leaders in hanoi.

deputy assistant secretary of state william h.
sullivan, who accompanied kissinger to hanoi, is
expected here thursday to meet with souvanna and u.s.
officials.

indochina - truce

vientiane, feb. 13 reuter -- pathet lao spokesman
soth phetrasy said he expected a cease-fire soon.

the pathet lao were ready to sign any time now but
were waiting for the government. he added that much
progress had been made at today's meeting.

sullivan

saigon, feb. 13 (afp) -- mr william sullivan,
united states assistant under-secretary of state for
far eastern affairs, flew in here today from hongkong
and had talks with u.s. ambassador ellsworth bunker
and other u.s. and south vietnamese figures, a u.s.
embassy spokesman said.

the spokesman said that mr sullivan, who had

accompanied u.s. presidential envoy henry kissinger to hanoi, would be here for one or two days, but it was not known whether he would be received by president nguyen van thieu.

## cease-fire

by george esper

saigon, feb. 13 (ap) -- hanoi said it will release 20 more american prisoners of war from north vietnam in a few days, and the four-party military peace-keeping commission here was summoned into session wednesday to make the arrangements.

at the same time, col. bui tin, chief spokesmen for the north vietnamese delegation to the commission, said the second group of american prisoners of war held in south vietnam will be released in 10 to 15 days, possibly near the same site where 27 u.s. prisoners were freed monday.

tin said he had no details on the impending release of the 20 prisoners in north vietnam.

## indochina-ceasefire

by jose katigbak

saigon, feb. 13 reuter -- another 150 north vietnamese and viet cong prisoners held by the saigon government were today flown to loc ninh, to be turned over to the communists, a high command spokesman said.

he said that if the communists accepted the new batch of prisoners the government hoped to release another 435 later in the day to bring the figure of those released at loc ninh to 735.

a total of 150 communists were freed in loc ninh in exchange for 140 south vietnamese and 27 americans in what was originally billed as the first mass exchange of war prisoners yesterday.

the spokesman said no new south vietnamese and american releases were planned for today. although saigon had received no word yet on when other government prisoners would be released by the communists, it would try to free 7,000 north vietnamese and viet cong guerrillas by saturday, depending on weather conditions, he added.

- 4 -

thieu-nixon

saigon, feb. 13 (ap). -- foreign minister tran van lam will accompany president nguyen van thieu to a summit meeting with president nixon at the western white house in san clemente, calif., this spring, the foreign ministry announced tuesday. no date has been set for the meeting.

campromise

phnom penh, feb 9 13 (upi) -- the lon not government is prepared to offer leaders of the cambodian rebel movement new legislative elections as part of a general negotiated settlement to end the war here, high-ranking government sources revealed today.

the decision reportedly was made at a late night cabinet meeting monday in the chamcar mon presidential palace.

western diplomats called lon not's reported agreement to hold new elections "the first sign of any willingness on the part of this government to compromise with the other side."

the disclosure came amidst world-wide speculation that president nixon's peace envoy, dr. henry kissinger, will try to mediate a cambodian cease-fire during his upcoming visit to peking.

cambodia

by sylvana foa

phnom penh, feb. 13 (upi) -- the cambodian government was warned phnom penh residents to prepare for a full-scale communist attack against the capital.

in a communique broadcast over government radio stations monday night, residents were urged to begin stockpiling water, kerosene and foodstuffs in preparation for an all out assault on phnom penh.

the warning was made after government military intelligence agents reported a massive buildup of khmer rouge forces just south of the capital.

officials at the headquarters of the phnom penh special military region said, however, that they had no evidence an attack was imminent and expressed surprise at the communique.

on cambodian battlefields fighting centered around

- 5 -

the mekong river naval base at neak luong and the factory town of dey eth, just 15 miles south of phnom penh on highway 1.

according to the high command government forces evacuated the military garrison at babong, 10 miles north of neak luong on embattled highway 15 during the night under heavy khmer rouge fire.

in the biggest and most violent nationwide offensive ever launched without the full support of their north vietnamese allies, khmer rouge forces have pushed to within one mile north of neak luong and are keeping the river station under continuous artillery fire.

the command gave no details on the fighting around dey eth, where communist units now hold a three mile stretch of highway 1, but the sounds of heavy combat from that area echoed across the capital throughout the night.

the high command also reported continuous khmer rouge harrassment and intensified ground probes against government positions on southern highway 2 but could provide no details.

### market

tokyo, feb. 13 (upi) -- japan will reopen its exchange market to float its yen, the government announced today.

the japanese move, a de facto yen revaluation followed immediately an announcement by washington that the united states would devalue the dollar by 10 per cent as a means to help ending current monetary crisis.

finance minister kiichi aichi in announcing the government's decision to float the yen wednesday said:

"the government has decided to take this step (yen floating) after receiving a notification from the united states that it would devalue the dollar...

"the government hopes to return to the fixed exchange rate system as soon as possible by watching closely the developments of the international monetary situation."

but major newspapers here quoting government sources said the government wants to prolong the floatation until late march when the 20-nation finance ministers conference is held.

japan has repeatedly made it clear that it wants to revalue its yen only in a multinational consultation, according to japanese reports.

- 6 -

tokyo, the papers said, also demanded that any change
on the yen parity should be accompanied by a dollar
devaluation.

the latest american and japanese moves were expected
to please the european countries which have blamed the
current monetary unrest to an imbalance of trade between
the united states and japan.

currency--float

tokyo, feb. 13, reuter -- cabinet sources said economic
ministers would soon hold a meeting to save smaller
japanese industries from the impact of dollar devaluation
and yen floating.

the tokyo stock exchange began to decline steeply
following reports of the dollar devaluation.

a rush of selling started as investors and brokers
feared that the eventual revaluation of the yen would be
far larger than expected.

dollar-sasaki

tokyo, feb. 13 (afp) -- tadashi sasaki, governor
of the bank of japan, said tuesday that the bank of
japan will have to intervene to shore up the dollar
even after floatation of the yen. tadashi sasaki governor
of the bank of japan said today.

speaking to the press he emphasised the central
bank will step up such intervention at the tokyo foreign
exchange market reopening from wednesday.

mr sasaki said it would be difficult to predict how
long the yen would remain floated. "I personally do not
think the floatation would end in a very short period of
time," he told the press.

he explained the government has decided to float the
yen in connection with a 10-per cent devaluation of the
u.s. dollar and suggested that the yen's parity would
be raised virtually by more than 10 per cent.

informed sources said the central bank will step in
to buy the dollar at a rate of 272 to 275 yen to support
the american currency.

they also said the bank will try to prevent massive
dollar sales at the exchange market reopening wednesday
by easing exchange restrictions.

-7-

trade control

tokyo, feb. 13 (ap) -- japan's ministry of international trade and industry (miti) will restudy its export control program as a result of the devaluation of the u.s. dollar and the floatation of the yen, yasuhiro nakasone, minister, said tuesday.

his announcement came as a surprise because top ministry bureaucrats had frequently said over the past few months that the program would be terminated if the yen were floated or revalued.

the export control effort, the keystone of the ill-fated third yen defense plan announced by the tanaka cabinet last november, covers 20 of japan's fastest-growing categories of export goods. shipments abroad of these products are limited by dollar value during the 12-month period ending next aug. 31.

carrington

tokyo, feb. 13 (afp) -- visiting british defense secretary lord carrington called on prime minister kakuei tanaka today and handed him british prime minister edward heath's message inviting mr tanaka to visit britain this year.

mr tanaka told the british defense secretary that he would make a decision on his visit to britain after the current diet session, officials said.

lord carrington arrived in tokyo monday night for a four-day visit.

during the 20-minute meeting at the prime minister's official residence, lord carrington reportedly told mr tanaka that, after a tour of australia and new zealand, he felt two uncertain factors prevailed in the region.

Lord carrington said that the first was the monetary unrest and the second conferred u.s. withdrawal from asia, officials said.

mr tanaka told lord carrington that japan is now negotiating with countries concerned to seek a solution to the current monetary crisis.

mr tanaka also explained japan hopes to play a major role in the postwar reconstruction of vietnam, officials said.

Lord carrington later in the day called on foreign minister masayoshi ohira and exchanged views on south-east asian security problems and the postwar indochina rehabilitation.

- 8 -

the British visitor also said the debut of the new
Leftist governments in both Australia and New Zealand
would not spell any basic changes in their policies
toward the United States and Britain. He did not elate-
borate, according to official sources.

arms

rawalpindi, feb. 13 reuter -- president zulfikar ali
bhutto conferred today with Pakistan's four provincial
governors and other high officials on the situation in
the country following the weekend discovery of a foreign
arms cache at the iraq embassy.

earlier today the iraqi ambassador, mr. himat suleman,
left Karachi for Baghdad.

meanwhile, observers here expected some frank talking
would be done at the governors' conference because of
yesterday's detention of an undisclosed number of
prominent members of the opposition national awami party
(nap) in the punjab.

iraq-guards

karachi, feb. 13 (ap) -- heavy police guards were posted
outside Soviet offices in Karachi Tuesday amid growing
feeling over the arms find in the iraqi embassy.

police guarded the Soviet consulate, trade commission,
information office and the aeroflot airline office.

pakistani airlines have canceled their flights to
baghdad, the iraqi capital.

mideast & afrika

egypt-lebanon

cairo, feb. 13 (ap) -- Egypt will not hesitate to use
"all forms of struggle to liquidate Israeli aggression
and secure the Palestinian People's right for self-
determination," President Anwar Sadat told visiting
Lebanese President Suleiman Franjieh.

the mideast news agency said Sadat's pledge was made
during a banquet given in honor of Franjieh and his wife
Monday night.

-9-

sadat blamed "israeli ruling circles and the powers which support them for the prevailing grave tension in the middle east."

in reply, the lebanese president urged arabs to mass
their potential for "eliminating traces of Israeli
aggression and regaining usurped palestinian lands."

he called on arabs to coordinate their efforts and
share the burden of battle.

students

cipri, feb. 13 (afp) -- students and riot police
clashed here today for more than four hours at the gates
of cairo university in a hail of tear gas bombs and stones
that marked the third consecutive day of violence.

for the third day in a row, violence erupted after
students staged demonstrations in the centre of cairo.

police today drove students to the walls of the campus
and quiet returned at nightfall.

similar violence broke out earlier at ain shams
university here, with traffic stopped for a number of
hours as police and students met.

the government has not yet reacted to the wave of
disorder sweeping all three cairo universities as
student posters demanded public trials for more than 100
students arrested last month, abolition of press
censorship and reduction of what students term "excessive
powers" of the arab socialist union (asu), egypt's only
legal party.

some posters accused asu officials of stealing public
funds.

paki stan i

beirut, feb. 13 (ap) -- the pakistani ambassador in
baghdad and the second secretary at the embassy were
declared persona non grata by the iraqi government tuesday,
baghdad radio reported.

the iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement the
measure was in protest of measures taken by the pakistani
authorities against iraqis and iraqi properties in
pakistan.

-10-

europe

dollar german

bonn, feb. 13 (ap) -- the west german government welcomed tuesday the u.s. decision to devalue the dollar and said the result was possible "only through outstanding international cooperation."

government spokesman ruediger von wechamar said
bonn took note of the u.s. decision "with satisfaction."

chancellor willy brandt's government, he said, "sees
as confirmed its initiatives in the direction of an
international solution and welcomes the result.

"this has been possible only through outstanding
international cooperation," von wechmarc added, he
did not elaborate.

bonn's spokesman read the statement over the phone
at 0800gmt, almost four hours after the bombshell
washington announcement.

bonn, feb. 13 (afp) -- west Germany will not revalue
the mark following the 10 per cent dollar devaluation,
karl otto poehl, parliamentary state secretary at the
finance ministry announced this morning.

dollar

paris, feb. 12 (afp) -- the united states snap
decision to devalue the u.s. dollar by 10 per cent
and the japanese move to float the yen were greeted
with satisfaction and relief in major world centres
today.

in member countries of the nine-nation european
economic community, officials were clearly relieved
at the fact that this solution, ending a three-week
emergency on the foreign exchanges, did not upset the
pattern of parities inside the community.

but it was also emphasised that the long term problem
of world monetary reform had not been basically altered
by the decisions announced overnight in washington
and tokyo.

while cabinet meetings were hastily called in many
western european capitals to assess the new situation,

-11-

the british government announced in london that sterling
would remain on a floating exchange rate for the time
being.

at the same time, the italian government placed the
italian lira on a floating rate until further notice.

the move, announced by finance minister giovanni
malagodi in rome, was a precautionary step intended
to protect the lira, considered as the weakest eec
currency at present, against speculatory pressures.

experts in the italian capital said the devaluation
of the dollar would otherwise add to the difficulties
faced by the lira, which prompted the establishment
of a two-tier foreign exchange market in italy on jan.
22.

the italian decision prompted the postponement until
tomorrow of a special meeting of eec finance ministers
which was hastily called in brussels today. in stockholm,
ministers from the scandinavian countries were meeting
tonight for consultations on the latest developments.

danish, norwegian and swedish authorities indicated
they were withholding any moves concerning their own
currencies pending the outcome of inter-scandinavian
and eec consultations.

the governments of most countries not directly
involved in the crisis adopted a similar wait and see
attitude.

france

paris, feb. 13 (up1) -- finance minister valery
giscard d'estaing welcomed the devaluation on the dollar
today and said finance ministers of the nine european
common market nations will meet in brussels to study the
repercussions.

"we are meeting this afternoon in brussels to examine
the effects of the u.s. monetary decision," giscard
d'estaing told a news conference.

he said the meeting would be at 5 p.m. (1600 gmt).

earlier, giscard d'estaing welcomed the dollar
devaluation which he said "was the result of a profound
and persistent deficit in the u.s. balance of payments."

the minister said president nixon's decision to
devalue was taken after the european economic community
(eec) jointly recommended such a move.

he said, "we expect no change in european currency
rates."

- 12 -

the minister said u.s. undersecretary in the treasury paul a. volcker asked the europeans over the weekend to agree either to a joint float of their currencies or to consider a devaluation.

after intensive consultations, the europeans recommended nixon slash the parity of the dollar.

giscard d'estaing said "the dollar devaluation may help solve this current monetary crisis, but we continue to be preoccupied by the lack of speed with which our partners are moving toward a reform of the international payments system."

the minister said the european nations had shown throughout the crisis they could take a joint position on a difficult monetary issue.

"in spite of much skepticism, the monetary union of europe is being built," giscard d'estaing said.

he said the paris foreign exchange market would remain closed today but would reopen wednesday.

giscard d'estaing said france would retain unchanged its exchange controls which, he said, had successfully protected the country during the monetary crisis.

mbfr

by john lawton

vienna, feb. 13 (upi) -- romania has dropped its demand for full membership in talks on east-west troop cuts in central europe, romanian officials said tuesday.

but bucharest will still continue to press for force reductions europe-wide, the officials said.

"if the west is prepared only to talk about central europe, then we cannot insist on full membership," a spokesman for the balkan nation said.

"but we consider central europe only as a starting point for force reductions throughout the continent," he said.

"we will be able to state our views but not participate in agreements," a romanian official said.

he said romania wanted the troop cut talks extended to all of europe to prevent military units withdrawn from central europe being reassigned to greece and turkey.

"this would be more, not less, of a threat to our security," the official said.

laotian-british

London, feb. 13 (afp) -- the British government today

- 13 -

cautiously welcomed the prospects of an end to hostilities between the Laotian government forces and the pathet lao.

a foreign office spokesman said: "we welcome the news that progress has been made towards a ceasefire agreement in Laos."

meanwhile, the indochina situation was discussed today by thai ambassador to London konthi suphamongkhon xxx anthony royle, under-secretary of state at the foreign office with responsibility for asian affairs.

a British spokesman said mr royle explained britain's position with regard to the forthcoming international conference on vietnam in paris.

### indochina-binh

paris, feb. 13, reuter -- mme. nguyen thi binh, foreign minister in the viet cong-backed provisional revolutionary government, will pay an official visit to algeria from february 15 to 18 for talks with algerian leader houari boumedienne and members of his government, the viet cong delegation said here today.

## america

### currency-dollar
by michael prentice

washington, feb. 13, reuter -- the unitee states dollar was devalued today by a massive 10 per cent to reverse crippling u.s. losses in world trade.

a u.s. government announcement of the second dollar devaluation in 14 months followed wholesale selling of the u.s. currency abroad by speculators alarmed by the huge gap between u.s. imports and exports.

treasury secretary george shultz announced the devaluation and said it was taken in consultation with america's major trading partners.

"consultations with our leading trading partners in europe assure me that the proposed change in the par value of the dollar is acceptable to them and will therefore be effective immediately in exchange rates for the dollar in international markets," mr. shultz said.

- 14 -

while the values of the french and west german currencies remain unchanged, mr. shultz said the japanese yen will be allowed to float.

mr. shultz said the united states expected the yen would float upwards and so increase the advantage american traders will have with japan -- a major trade challenger to the u.s. -- by more than 10 per cent.

the bernard pound, the bernard dollar and the swiss franc are all expected to continue to float, finding their own level against the dollar, mr. shultz told a late night press conference.

the united states took its dramatic decision to devalue to correct a basic imbalance in its foreign trade. u.s. goods are being priced out of the overseas market by high u.s. wages and production costs.

japan, in particular, has been able to export huge amounts of cars, television sets and other electronic goods to the united states because of its relative lower production costs.

mr. shultz said president nixon would shortly send to congress proposals for comprehensive trade legislation to pave the way for international negotiations for lowering barriers to trade.

mr. shultz complained that progress in international negotiations on lasting monetary and trade reform had been too slow and should move with a greater sense of urgency.

"the time has come to give renewed impetus to our efforts on behalf of a stronger international economic order," he said.

"too often, we have been shut out by a web of administrative barriers and controls. moreover, the rules governing trading relationships have, in many instances, become obsolete and, like our international monetary rules, need extensive reform."

but mr. shultz said the united states recognised that in some areas it too has been guilty of restrictive trade measures.

"the best way to deal with these barriers is to remove them. we shall bargain hard to that end," he said.

although the dollar devaluation has to be ratified by congress, the fact that it has been announced by the administration means it comes into effect immediately and the dollar will now be worth 10 per cent less or

- 15 -

that the official value of gold is now 42.22 u. s.
dollars and ounce instead of 38 dollars.

the dollar devaluation, and its approval by american's
major trading partners, lifted the threat of an import
surcharge, which had been under consideration by the
nixon administration as a drastic means of reversing
the u. s. trade deficit.

president nixon unexpectedly cut short a holiday
in california to return to washington last night, to
explain to congress the devaluation move.

currency-dollar
by ralph harris

washington, feb. 13, reuter -- president nixon today
issued a tough warning to the world -- apparently
aimed principally at japan -- that he was ready to
raise trade barriers to protect american business and
jobs following last night's dramatic 10 per cent devaluation
of the dollar.

mr. nixon singled out japan, which is allowing its
yen to float, as the country which had created most
difficulties for the united states in international
trade.

he said he was not criticising "our japanese friends,"
but rising imports into the united states were driving
american business out of existence and costing workers
their jobs.

the president made the comments at a white house
meeting with treasury secretary george shultz, part
of which was opened to reporters.

despite the world currency reform in december,
1971, which made the yen about 17 per cent more expensive
in terms of the dollar, japan had an estimated 4,000
million dollar trade surplus with the united states
last year.

president nixon said the task of lowering u. s.
trade barriers in coming international negotiations
was only one side of the story.

"we must go up as well as down," he declared. "that
is the only way to get a fair deal and a fair shake
for american products abroad.

"we have gone into too many negotiations abroad
in which all we have done is to negotiate down, whereas
others have negotiated up. we are going to ask congress
for the right to go up or down.

- 16 -

"other nations must get away from their discriminatory policies and we must be in a position to bargain harder," he declared.

"devaluation of the dollar is at best only a temporary solution to the problem."

mr. nixon will ask congress for comprehensive trade legislation designed to give him broad negotiating authority in the round of world trade talks due to begin later this year.

dollar - react

undated, feb. 13 (afp) -- first reaction to the decision to devalue the u.s. dollar came from canada, shortly after the washington announcement, canadian minister for industry and commerce alastair gillespie said he expected the canadian dollar to be re-aligned on about the same level as the u.s. dollar.

canadian finance minister john turner said that u.s. secretary of the treasury george schultz had informed him of washington's decision 20 minutes before it was officially announced.

mr. turner said he would closely study the consequences for canada, but that meantime the canadian dollar would continue to float on the world monetary markets.

dollar-imf

washington, feb. 13 (ap) -- international monetary fund, informed by the united states of its action in devaluing the dollar, said tuesday the action "will make an effective contribution to a better balance in united states and world payments."

in a brief statement it added that the u.s. action "will improve confidence in the united states dollar, and thereby help to bring about the reform of the international monetary system."

devaluation-u.s. reaction

new york, feb. 13 (ap) -- american business leaders, members of the wall street community and economists had high praise tuesday for the nixon administration's decision to devalue the dollar.

"it's the economic equivalent of nixon's peking

- 17 -

trip," said william wolman, economist with argus research
corp. "it's an effective and spectacular piece of eco-
nomic diplomacy."

the move will help stem the country's massive foreign trade deficit by making american goods cheaper and thus more competitive abroad, but will also boost the pri-ces of popular foreign imports here such as japanese television sets. it also was expected to trigger a surge of foreign investment in the stock market.

wolman and other economists said the main benefi-
ciaries of the devaluation will be the automotive, steel,
textiles and chemicals industries, which has been hard
pressed to meet the competition of lower-priced foreign
products.

dollar - state

washington, feb. 13 (afp) -- the u.s. department today
linked american economic problems with the u.s. military
presence in europe and the enlarged common market.

a spokesman said, "it should be clear that the resto-
ration of the u.s. balance of payments, the elimination
of its deficits and other countries' surpluses, cannot
be isolated from the american presence and role in the
world".

the spokesman noted american troops deployed throughout
the world, particularly in europe, and said the u.s. had
tried through gatt (general agreement on tariffs and
trade) to win compensation for what the enlarged eec cost
it.

"we hope the response will be more positive in the
coming weeks than in the last weeks", he said.

while admitting that the u.s. has had, until this
year, a trade surplus against europe, the spokesman
stressed that american farm exports to europe were in-
creasing less than those to other parts of the world.

"this reflects the barrier imposed by the community,"
he said.

the state department spokesman noted that the u.s.
had recently tried to get european nations to contribute
more to common defence costs, and in particular to get
west Germany to bear part of the cost of american troops
stationed on its territory.

the spokesman said other countries should not expect
the u.s. to reduce its trade deficit if it had to face
insurmountable barriers to exports.

- 18 -

he said multilateral negotiations should be undertaken
aimed at solving tariff and non-tariff problems, other-
wise there would be strong domestic pressure for america
to turn inward on itself.

"the cost of retreating inward would not be borne
alone, or even in a large part, by the united states",
the spokesman warned.

in congress today meanwhile, senator william proximre,
chairman of the joint economic committee, suggested that
the u.s. halve american troops in nato forces.

devaluation

by claude moisy

washington, feb. 13 (afp) -- following the devaluation
of the dollar, president richard nixon will become an
even more demanding partner for the europeans and japanese
in negotiations on reform of the international monetary
and commercial system, it was understood here today.

the satisfaction shown in europe and japan to the
unexpected solution to the monetary crises must be
tempered by the very clear threat of commercial re-
prisals which was brandished in washington at the same
time that the 10 per cent devaluation of the dollar
was announced.

in keeping with the "dramatic" technique which he
has used for four years in international affairs, presi-
dent nixon has given a new proof of pragmatism in
deciding on a major devaluation of american
money without demanding, as he did in december, 1971,
a revaluation of the stronger foreign currencies.

but in doing this he has taken a certain political
risk before public opinion which he will try to com-
pensate for by wringing concessions from trading partners
which they have refused up to now.

president nixon and his advisors knew that they have
to show proof of realism in a new world in which the
united states can no longer impose its will on allies
which have become rivals.

but the american people, who have been brought
up on the myth that the dollar was "as good as gold", can
only feel this new devaluation as a humiliation.

the democratic opposition will not fail to emphasize
that since president nixon came to power, the dollar
has lost 20 per cent of its value in regard to gold
and that the traditional surplus which the u.s. has
had in world trade has become a deficit of more than
6,000 million dollars.

- 19 -

economists know that the devaluation of the dollar
is theoretically a way to improve the competitive
position of american products on world markets but
the man in the street only knows that the sacrosanct
dollar has become a thing of the past.

## nixon-cuba

washington, feb. 13 (ap) -- president nixon indicated tuesday an agreement has been reached with cuba on hijacking.

the indication came in off-the-cuff presidential
remarks to newsmen at the white house when he said he had
just talked to secretary of state william p. rogers and
discussed "the hijacking agreement with cuba."

the president added that rogers "will be able to fill
you in at the appropriate time."

an agreement on hijacking would be a major break-
through toward improving u.s. -cuban relations.

## hijacking

washington, feb. 13, reuter -- the united states and
cuba have reached agreement on a treaty to curb aircraft
hijackings to cuba, the state department announced
today.

some procedural details remain to be cleared
up, the announcement stated.

department spokesman charles bray said it was hoped
that agreement on all aspects of the long-sought pact
to help prevent air piracy could be reached by the end of
the week.

mr. bray said that final agreement--excluding
procedural details -- came in a note from cuba delivered
to the state department last saturday by swiss diplomats,
who look after u.s. interests in havana.

the message was the seventh in a series between the
two countries which began with a note from cuba last
november 25 indicating it was ready to negotiate a
bilateral pact.

## headquarters

washington, feb. 12 (afp) -- u.s. air force headquarters for southeast asia will be transferred from saigon to thailand after the total withdrawal of u.s.

- 20 -

no. 046

thursday, february 15, 1973

asia

kissinger

hongkong, feb. 14 (afp) -- dr henry kissinger, u.s.
presidential advisor, has been using his two-day "rest
and recreation" here getting intensive briefings from
american china-watchers apparently in preparation for
his visit to peking tomorrow.

he would hold his second briefing session with china
experts of the american consulate-general this afternoon,
the first having taken place shortly after his arrival
from hanoi yesterday afternoon.

his three-hour delay in arrival yesterday has been
explained by the american consulate. dr kissinger had
accepted a last minute invitation to breakfast with his
hanoi counterpart, mr le duc tho, yesterday morning.

this morning he met his own staff at the mandarin hotel
before going on a cruise around the hongkong waters with
american consul general david osborn and other officials
aboard hongkong governor's launch, the lady maurine.

the hard-working top diplomat, enjoying his first
break from five consecutive days of talks in bangkok,
vientiane and hanoi, took time off last night for a dinner
with the american consul general and other consular
officials at the peak restaurant, 1,500 feet above the
sea-level, commanding a breathtaking view of the
beautifully lit-up evening in hongkong.

-1-

dr kissinger will attend a cocktail party given by the governor, sir murray maclehose, in his honour at the government house this evening.

the "glamour diplomat" became the center of attraction wherever he went.

dressed in a dark blue suit, light blue shirt and a maroon tie, he looked pale and drawn on close-up, showing the stress and strain he had gone through in the past few days.

dr kissinger and his party of 16 will leave for china by a u.s. air force plane at 10.15 a.m. local time tomorrow, a spokesman for the american consulate general told afp today, adding that there will be no other functions tomorrow.

vietnam cease-fire
by george esper

saigon, feb. 14 (ap) -- senior military representatives of the united states, north and south vietnam, and the viet cong met wednesday to prepare plans for the release of 20 more american prisoners of war from north vietnam within the next few days.

bui tin, chief spokesman for the north vietnamese delegation, said the four-party joint military commission met for several hours in the morning, then adjourned for lunch and resumed its session in the afternoon.

he said no decision had been made yet on a firm date for the release of the 20 pows from north vietnam but one was expected soon.

tin said the release is being made to show the goodwill of hanoi, a reciprocation for the four-day goodwill visit of u.s. presidential adviser henry a. kissinger.

tin said much of the morning session of the meeting of the chiefs of the four-party delegations was taken up by charges of cease-fire violations.

he reported that the viet cong's senior representative, lt. gen. tran van tra, put before the commission several charges of cease-fire violations by the saigon government.

tin said one "extremely serious case" which tra brought up at the meeting was a saigon government operation in phong an village, phong dien district, midway between hue and quang tri in the far northern sector of south vietnam.

"on the night of jan. 31," tin said, "airborne troops

- 2 -

threw hundreds of grenades into the homes of civilians, killing hundreds. what was worse, they violated (raped) four women, then killed three of them, dumping their bodies in the river. the other woman was taken to hue along with 18 prisoners."

tin said the saigon representative responded to the charges "with empty words."

"the republic of vietnam," tin said, "with the complicity of the united states, has mounted thousands and thousands of campaigns, search and police operations throughout the country. they have also used violence against the press."

he termed the military and police operations "a national disgrace."

earlier, the viet cong delegation issued a statement charging the south vietnamese side with using the orange symbol of the four-party joint military commission "as a shield" to encroach into areas controlled by the provisional revolutionary government, then attacking.

"the military delegation of the provisional revolutionary government has vehemently protested against this misuse by the republic of vietnam of the common sign of the joint military commission to launch land grabbing operations aimed at expanding its area of control in violation of the agreement concerning the cease-fire in south vietnam," the statement said.

## vietnam-quadripartite

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- the quadripartite military commission may make a new appeal to forces in south vietnam for a total halt to all fighting, delegation sources said today.

at the meeting the chiefs of the four military delegations accepted in principle a suggestion from provisional revolutionary government (prg) representative general tran van tra that the commission make such an appeal.

this appeal will be drafted by the north vietnamese delegates and will be studied tomorrow at the meeting of deputy delegation chiefs. the delegation chiefs are to meet again on friday and will also study the appeal.

general tran van tra today also protested against what he called the multiple violations daily by the saigon forces and read detailed reports on the subject to his colleagues, sources said.

- 3 -

letter

saigon, feb. 14 (upi) -- the united states has urged
the viet cong to complete deployment of its truce force
teams in order to help create a stable cease-fire,
diplomatic sources said today.

they said maj. gen. gilbert h. woodward, chief
u.s. delegate to the joint military commission (jmc),
has written to viet cong chief delegate lt. gen. tran
van tra urging the communists to get their jmc teams
into regional positions "as soon as possible to assist
the parties in stabilizing a true cease-fire."

gen. woodward's letter noted that "some field
locations are still austere because of wartime conditions
and remote locations," he also noted that security
was the responsibility of the south vietnamese and
not the americans.

sullivan

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- u.s. assistant secretary
of state william sullivan today unexpectedly visited
the prg and north vietnamese delegations chiefs on
the four sided military commission at their tan son
nhut airbase headquarters, it was announced.

the announcement was made in separate statements
issued by the prg delegation and the american embassy
in saigon.

a grp communique said that in talks with north viet-
namese delegation head, lt. general le quang hoa and
chief prg delegate tran van tra, mr sullivan had
agreed that immediate measures should be taken to
ensure the stability of the ceasefire.

"this was a problem that the saigon (republic
of vietnam) side has so far refused to discussed at
meetings of the military subcommission as well as the
meetings of the four delegation heads", the prg charged.

the communique said mr sullivan "realised" that the
arrangements for the prg offices at tan son nhut
were inadequate and must be improved in accordance
with the spirit of the paris accords and protocols.

"it should be kept in mind that under the terms of
the protocols on the ceasefire and the creation of a
four-sided commission the offices of the four delegations
are to be set up in saigon proper and not at tan son

-4-

nhut as the case is now", the prg communique added.

a short u.s. embassy communique reported mr sullivan's
visit and his talks with the two delegation heads.

it said mr sullivan discussed the importance which
the united states attaches to compliance with the paris
agreements and related protocols.

ambassador sullivan had noted the comments made on
camp davies -- the barracks housing the two communist
delegations at tan son hut -- by general tran van tra,
the communique said.

saigon, feb. 14 (ap) -- ambassador william h. sullivan,
deputy assistant secretary of state for east asia
affairs, met with president nguyen van thieu and foreign
minister tran van lam on the south vietnamese side,
and with lt. gen. tran van tra, of the viet cong, and
maj. gen. le quang hoa, of north vietnam, on the
communist side.

sullivan

saigon, feb. 14 (ap) -- south vietnamese foreign
minister tran van lam said wednesday he had "a very good
exchange of views" with william h. sullivan, deputy
assistant u.s. secretary of state for east asia affairs,
on henry a. kissinger's trip to hanoi and the upcoming
12-nation peace guarantee conference in paris.

lam met with sullivan and u.s. ambassador ellsworth
bunker for one hour and 25 minutes.

emerging from the meeting at the foreign ministry,
lam said: "we had a very good exchange of views on his
trip and our view on the international conference we are
going to have in paris but i cannot reveal to you the
contents of the discussion."

vietnam-control

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- the four-country international
commission for control and supervision (iccs) of the
vietnam ceasefire met briefly here today.

delegation sources said the missions chiefs, from
canada, hungary, indonesia and poland, had discussed
principally administrative matters.

- 5 -

asked whether the iccs had discussed the current
exchanges of prisoners, which it is observing, sources
said they were still awaiting reports from field teams.

the only team to report back so far is the one which
went to hanoi to observe the release of american fliers
last monday.

vietnamese cease-fire

saigon, feb. 14 (ap) -- the four-party joint military
peacekeeping mission met wednesday morning to make
arrangements for the release of 20 more american
prisoners which hanoi said it would free in north vietnam
in a few days, u.s. spokesmen announced.

the chiefs delegations of the united states, north
and south vietnam, and the viet cong held their first
meeting since monday when the senior u.s. representative,
maj. gen. gilbert h. woodward, walked out to protest an
11-hour delay by the viet cong in releasing 27 americans
from south vietnam. woodward returned to the talks
wednesday.

three subcommissions, including one on prisoners, also
met at the same time.

hanoi-pows

tokyo, feb. 14 (ap) -- north vietnam reported wednesday
that its government had decided "to return ahead of
schedule" another 20 u.s. military men it holds as
prisoners of war.

the vietnam news agency, in a broadcast monitored here,
said the decision was made "during dr. henry kissinger's
sojourn in hanoi" and added:

"this is an act of goodwill and another indication of
the seriousness on the part of the d.r.v.n. government
in the implementation of the signed agreement."

it gave no other details.

prisoners

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- the provisional revolu-
tionary government's delegation to the four-party
military cease-fire commission announced last night
that 507 prisoners of war held by the south vietnamese
government had been freed tuesday.

- 6 -

the exchange was supervised by teams from the inter-
national control and supervisory commission and the four-
party military control panel, the delegation said in
telephone calls to press services.

it said that in exchange, the south vietnamese
government had returned 470 prisoners to the prg,
adding that five south vietnamese soldiers of the 507
who were freed had "decided to remain in liberated zones".

their decision was made in the presence of the
commissions' observers, the delegation said.

but the south vietnamese military spokesman announced
that it had released 375 prisoners instead of 470 and
had received 491 instead of 507.

meanwhile, the prg's representatives said that
the south vietnamese army had fired 4,000 artillery
rounds upon the site chosen to exchange prisoners in
quang tri province tuesday, causing a new delay.

he was replying to south vietnamese official
charges that the communists had refused to accept 100
crippled prisoners of war from saigon officials at quang
tri.

the prg representative said that their release
was now scheduled for today.

he also protested against the absence yesterday of
the south vietnamese representative at the meeting of
the military affairs subcommission.

"this absence", he said, "was a manoeuvre to delay
the work of the subcommission", notably to implement
concrete measures to insure application of the cease-
fire.

prisoners

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- south vietnam today
began releasing north vietnamese prisoners across
the thanh han river in quang tri province, the saigon
command announced.

it said a first batch of 175 prisoners had been
taken to the release site on the east bank of the
river which marks the dividing line between saigon and
communist-controled territory in the province.

the first batch included 100 north vietnamese
soldiers who were to have been released last monday
but whose liberation was delayed after a dispute
concerning transportation.

-7-

the spokesman said that a second group of prisoners
had been loaded on to a c-130 transport plane at
bien hoa, 30 kms northeast of saigon to be carried to
camp evans, the nearest large army camp to the release
site.

these, however, had been unloaded again and would
not be flown up north until confirmation was received
that the first group of 175 had all been freed.

vietnam-delegation

saigon, feb. 14 (afp) -- the south vietnamese govern-
ment is to send a 17-man delegation to the 12-nation
peace conference which opens in paris on feb. 26 under
the chairmanship of united nations secretary-general
kurt waldheim, foreign ministry sources said here
today.

the delegation will be headed by south vietnamese
foreign ministry tran van lam.

the delegation will also include mr. pham dang lam,
who headed the saigon delegation at the recent paris
cease-fire talks, the delegation's deputy chief,
nguyen xuan phong, and the south vietnamese ambassador
in london, vuong van bac.

general ngo dzu, who formerly headed the south
vietnamese government delegation at the four-party mixed
military commission in saigon will be among the paris
group's advisers and experts among these will be several
well-known south vietnamese jurists, including a woman,
mrs nguyen thi vui.

part of the delegation is to leave saigon for the
french capital on saturday february 17.

tanaka

tokyo, feb. 14 (ap) -- japan hopes the u.s. will
restore convertibility between the dollar and gold as
soon as possible, kakuei tanaka, prime minister, said
wednesday.

he made the remark in the lower house of the diet
(parliament) following demands from opposition party
leaders that the government stop allowing japan to be
pushed around by u.s. economic policies.

a leader of the japan communist party called for a
cessation of u.s.-japan economic cooperation, which he

-8-

said is aimed at continual revaluations of the yen. the
government has been making concession after concession
in the face of "brazen demands" by the nixon adminis-
tration, he charged.

the socialist party said the current situation is worth
the resignation of the tanaka cabinet. a spokesman
asked why japan had to revalue when the hourly wages of
japanese workers are only one third the level of workers
in the u.s. and just over half the level of workers in
west germany.

other opposition leaders claimed that if the government
doesn't carry out drastic and radical changes in japanese
economic policies, the yen will have to be revalued yet
another time.

in reply, tanaka, who in times past said he would have
to suffer some political responsibility if the value of
the yen were changed, emphasized efforts the government
had been making since last fall to correct japan's trade
imbalance.

he cited a 20 pc tariff cut, controls on exports and a
high level of government spending. the prime minister
claimed that the decision to float the yen didn't stem
from japanese economic considerations, but rather was a
necessary consequence of the u.s. decision to devalue the
dollar.

other cabinet ministers said the government would take
measures to assure that the upward movement of the yen
doesn't have a deflationary impact on the japanese
economy.

the communist party charged that as a result of the
recent monetary developments, japanese farmers would be
hurt by imports of u.s. agricultural products. the
decision to float the yen was taken at the expense of
the working man and the small businessman, the party
charged.

the government replied that the dollar devaluation
and yen float wouldn't have much impact on japan's
agricultural sector. it also promised aid for small
business.

aichi

tokyo, feb. 14 (ap) -- the tanaka administration doesn't
intend to recompile its budget for japan's 1973 fiscal
year, beginning april 1, which is currently pending in

-9-

the legislature, kiichi aichi, finance minister, said
wednesday.

speaking at a plenary session of the lower house of
japan's diet (parliament), aichi told legislators that
with the yen having just begun to float, it is too early
to measure the likely impact of this development on the
japanese economy as a whole and on government revenue
and national income projections.

aichi called for the passage of the government's
budget as soon as possible, saying that the tanaka
administration would, if necessary, compile a
supplementary budget later.

he said the government would take steps to aid small
and medium-sized businesses, which are expected to be
hit the hardest by the upward movement of japan's currency.
these measures are expected to include government help
in securing forward cover in the foreign exchange market
to protect import and export transactions from foreign
exchange losses, and financial aid in cases of extreme
distress.

aichi also said the japanese government would continue
to participate actively in the reform of the international
monetary system, centering on a more important role for
special drawing rights (sdrs) as a primary reserve asset
instead of the u.s. dollar.

aichi said that japan will attempt to find an
appropriate new rate for the yen during the period
of floatation. at the present time, the government can't
say how long the float will last or what the new rate
will be, he said.

currency-market

tokyo, feb. 14, reuter -- frantic selling of dollars
started on the tokyo foreign exchange market today
forcing the bank of japan to buy heavily at an effective
13.6 per cent revaluation of the yen.

the yen for overnight delivery opened at 273.10 yen
but soon declined to 271.10 yen with exchange banks
selling heavily in anticipation of a further drop in
the value.

during the morning session the bank of japan was
reported to have bought about 170 million dollars,
which is considered a large amount for a tightly
controlled market.

- 10 -

exchange banks were hastily disposing of dollars
accumulated during the three-day closure of the market,
while traders were also stepping up the sales of their
export bills.

waldheim

tokyo, feb. 14 (ap) -- prime minister kakuei tanaka
wednesday told u.n. secretary general kurt waldheim that
japan is willing to provide necessary facilities for an
international confrence on a u.n. rehabilitation program
for indochina.

the u.n. secretary general met tanaka for about 30
minutes after holding a longer session with foreign
minister masayoshi ohira.

chief cabinet secretary susumu nikaido briefed the
press after the meetings. he said waldheim told the
japanese leaders the united nations is considering an
independent relief and assistance program for indochina,
including south and north vietnam.

nikaido quoted the secretary general as saying south
vietnam has already indicated its acceptance of the
program and hanoi has shown strong interest.

nikaido said the prime minister promised waldheim
japan's "active cooperation" on the program and added
that, "if requested" by the united nations japan would
willingly provide facilities for an international
conference on the matter.

waldheim, accompanied by his wife, arrived here from
hongkong tuesday for a five-day visit.

in the evening waldheim appeared in a television
interview program and said the east-west confrontation
is over and the more important issue in the united nations
now is the so-called south-north issue.

the secretary general said the hall of the general
assembly has been quiet lately since there have been no
troubles between the two big powers.

but, the secretary general said, the question to fill
the gap between developed nations and developing countries
is the most important issue the united nations has to
solve in the future.

on the post-vietnam issue, waldheim said, the united
nations has major tasks to tackle--one is the paris
peace talk to which he himself will attend and the other
is the reconstruction of north and south vietnam.

-11-

if north and south vietnam ask for assistances from
the united nations, the world organization will help
them based on the principle of equality, he added.

waldheim

tokyo, feb. 14 (up1) -- visiting united nations
secretary general kurt waldheim today was told that
japan wants a permanent seat in the security council.

foreign minister masayoshi ohira told waldheim, "there
will be no change in japan's policy of cooperation with
the united nations based on peace diplomacy.

"we hope that (the united nations) would give sufficient consideration to (japan's) hope to become a permanent member in the security council."

ohira was quoted by the japanese press which said
waldheim replied that the permanent seat issue "is a
very difficult problem because it involves a revision
of the u.n. charter, although japan's hope is under-
standable."

the one-and-half-hour meeting held at the foreign
ministry followed an earlier courtesy call by waldheim
to prime minister kakuei tanaka at the premier's office.

on indochina postwar reconstruction, waldheim
reportedly told ohira that "the united nations itself
is considering an aid plan (to make the u.n.) ready (to
move) when parties concerned requested."

waldheim also asked japan during the meeting to
contribute 10 million u.s. dollars to help the united
nations eliminate its 80 million dollar deficit.

in return ohira pledged "japan's posstive
cooperation" to help u.n. "strengthen its finance
situation."

touching the admission of south and north korea to
the united nations, waldheim hinted both seoul and
pyongyang will remain outside of the world organization
again this year.

"in view of the shelving of the korean issue last
year, it would be better (for the un.) to carry on quiet
diplomacy for sometime," waldheim was quoted as telling
ohira.

siberian agreement

tokyo, feb. 15 (afp) -- an agreement was reached in
moscow on starting official negotiations for a 1,000

- 12 -

["million-dollar japanese bank loan to the ussr for the\ndevelopment of tyumen oilfields in west siberia, it was\nlearned here today.", "the japanese negotiators led by mr hiroki imazato,\nchairman of the soviet-japanese petroleum committee,\nand their soviet counterparts headed by first vice\nminister of foreign trade a. semichastnov during their\npreliminary talks in moscow between feb. 6 and 13\nagreed to confer in april in moscow on:", "-- conclusion of a 25-year general agreement on\ntyumen oilfields development and", "-- granting of a 1,000 million-dollar bank loan for\ncarrying out the development project.", "the soviet government, according to the negotiators,\nis urging the japanese government to make a formal cabinet\ndecision on the bank loan.", "the development project is aimed at obtaining 750 - 770\nmillion tons of low sulfur-content crude oil over a\nperiod 20 years starting in 1973 from the west siberian\noilfields.", "mideast & afrika", "zayyat", "

students

cairo, feb. 14, reuter -- riot police and stone-throwing student demonstrators clashed in streets near Cairo University today for the fourth day.

hundreds of students managed to reach the approaches of a bridge across the Nile in today's fighting before they were pushed back and dispersed by a powerful force of police.

the clashes broke out before noon but by late afternoon the area in front of Cairo University campus was clear apart from small groups of students.

Some of them gathered outside the faculty of engineering to read large posters put up on the main gates by some of the demonstrators, who are protesting against the arrests of fellow-students in previous clashes as well as the detention of colleagues accused of anti-state activities.

the posters called on fellow students not to return to their studies until their colleagues arrested in the earlier clashes were released.

the posters also referred to many student injuries in the fighting, but no figure was given.

oil-dollar

by dennis neeld

beirut, feb. 14 (ap) -- middle east oil producing nations will get an automatic increase in revenue to offset the latest devaluation of the dollar, but there are early signs that they are not happy with the existing formula by which it should be calculated.

iran is said to want a new round of talks between the organization of oil exporting countries (opec) and western oil companies to discuss the effects of the 10 per cent devaluation.

according to arab press reports, libya, iraq and saudi arabia also will put forward fresh demands.

opec has scheduled an extraordinary conference at its Vienna headquarters March 16 to discuss what it calls the threat of a "catastrophic" world energy shortage.

the Vienna conference could provide the 11 member nations an opportunity to take up the devaluation question. iraq's Baghdad radio, however, wednesday quoted government sources as saying they expected opec

- 14 -

to hold a separate special meeting to discuss the devaluation issue.

after an 11-day meeting in geneva with oil company representatives, the producer countries eventually settled for an 8.49 per cent price hike.

Libya, under militant strongman Muammar Kaddafi, conducted its own negotiations with the companies, initially demanding a massive 15 per cent price hike. It finally settled for the same as the other oil exporters.

the agreement is estimated to have brought the six Persian Gulf oil states -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, Abu Dhabi and Qatar -- an increase in revenue in the first year of 800 million dollars.

Included in the agreement was a formula by which oil prices would be automatically adjusted in the event of future dollar fluctuations.

Kuwait's finance and oil minister, Abdul Rahman Al Tiki, was able Tuesday to tell his parliament that the country's oil revenues would not be adversely affected by the devaluation.

As with Kuwait, so with other Middle East oil producers, who account for most of Japan's and Western Europe's oil supplies. A very small percentage of U.S. oil imports come from the Middle East although this almost certainly will increase considerably in the next few years.

Japan's oil imports may now wind up costing less in real terms. European countries whose currencies do not fall in value in the wake of dollar devaluation will not be greatly affected if the existing formula is maintained.

Germany is expected to benefit.

but for countries, such as Britain, whose currency floats downward towards the dollar level, it means oil imports are going to cost more.

The devaluation also means that the massive accumulation of dollar balances by the Middle East oil states will be even further accelerated.

- 15 -

europe

talks

by gerard loughran

paris, feb. 14 (upi) -- the viet cong put before south vietnam today new proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock in their preliminary political negotiations.

delegates from the two south vietnamese parities agreed to meet again friday -- a fifth meeting designed to lay ground rules for a full-scale political conference.

din ba thi, for the viet cong, told newsmen after a two and half hour session "today we have made very concrete proposals" on the status and conditions of the high-level political talks.

thi said he and saigon's delegate, nguyen phuong thiep, will meet again at 3 p.m. (1400 gmt) friday to carry on the preliminary talks. he did not spell out what his proposals were.

thiep confirmed he will meet thi friday.

today's meeting started with both parities accusing each other of violating the cease-fire but pledging to respect the paris agreement.

"at today's meeting we went over the points of procedure on which we have already agreed," thi said.

"we will continue our discussions on remaining issues and we have agreed to meet again at 3 p.m. (1400 gmt) feb. 16.

"in our desire to see an early opening of the political consultations we made today concrete proposals in that respect. we have assured the saigon delegation that (viet cong) provisional revolutionary government will scrupulously respect the status and conditions of the future political conference."

thi said delay in completion of the preliminary talks "is not a matter of our own responsibility."

the saigon official said only "the discussions are going on on the procedural points. we agreed to meet again friday."

the two sides went into the 10:30 a.m. (0930 gmt) conference accusing each other of violation of the paris peace accord.

viet cong delegate dinh ba thi accused saigon of

- 16 -

violating the agreement daily and said the united states
must be blamed as the power behind the saigon regime.

thi said "our delegation at today's fourth meeting
will continue its efforts to settle all pending questions.

"we want to open as soon as possible the political
consultations foreseen in the peace accord, but this
is entirely dependent on the saigon administration.
it is regrettable that the saigon administration each
day violates multiple aspects of the paris agreement
and is raising obstacles hampering the work of the mixed
cease-fire commissions."

thi said "this has created a tense situation
in various areas of south vietnam, the saigon administration
must bear full responsibility for this situation, the
united states, for its part, cannot escape its own
responsibility."

south vietnamese negotiator neuyen phuong thiep said
"we will continue our discussions aimed at settling
remaining procedural points, we hope to solve them
rapidly so as to open the political consultations called
for by the paris agreement.

"in spite of what is happening in the field, and for
which the other side must bear full responsibility, we
are determined to abide scrupulously by the provisions
of the paris accords."

dollar-heath

london, feb. 14 (afp) -- british prime minister
edward heath said today that the reform of the
international monetary system should not be long delayed.

speaking to the american chamber of commerce, mr.
heath said that until stability had been re-established
in the system of international payments not much progress
could be made in multilateral trade negotiations.

"i do not believe that any one country can now
carry the risks and the burdens of having its currency
used as a major international reserve asset", he said.

mr heath added that any reform should encourage
freer international trade, provide flexibility, and
equal rights and duties for all participating countries,
effectively regulate the supply of international
liquidity, and deal with problems of the reserve
currencies and of the existing dollar and sterling
balances.

he also said that a reform "must avoid the problems

- 17 -

created for individual countries, often quite un-
related to their underlying balance of payments position,
by immense swings of liquid money of the kind
we saw at the end of last week" and that "it must not
inhibit domestic policies to promote growth and to
stabilise prices."

mr heath said he believed that "the politicat will
now exists" to carry out this monetary reform and that
the nine member countries of the common market should
settle on a common monetary position as they are doing
on the question of trade.

concerning trade, he said that although japanese
tariffs compared favourably with other tariffs there
were "other impediments to increasing trade with
japan -- and particularly into japan".

he added: "it was clear from my talks with mr
(premier kakuei) tanaka last september that the japanese
government is aware of these problems. their recent
decision to allow the yen to float, coupled with the
devaluation of the dollar, will greatly ease the
immediate stress on the world community."

mr heath said he was sure, however, that the
japanese would prefer to see imports into japan increase
rather than a reduction in japanese exports and that
it was "up to us all" once the door was opened to take
advantage of it.

he said those who had got into the japanese market
"are finding it a very good, and a fast growing market
to do business in".

mr heath also said, "i do not doubt that subject
to the safeguarding of the common agricultural policy,
the community will be ready to include agriculture in
the next round of trade negotiations."

recalling the reproaches which europeans made to
americans on agriculture and trade, mr heath called for
a "partnership of the free nations, and above all of
the united states, the european community and japan."

## heath-dollar

London, feb, 14 (ap) -- prime minister edward heath
warned american businessmen monday that the u.s.
dollar is no longer as good as gold or able to finance
world trade adequately as a reserve currency.

heath told an american chamber of commerce meeting
here: "i do not believe that any one country can now

- 18 -

carry the risks and burdens of having its currency used
as a major international reserve asset."

the breton woods system which has defined world
monetary and trade relations since world war ii
"predicated a dollar which was as good as gold",
heath said.

today, he went on, "the strength of the american
economy, though still very great, is no longer willing
to hold dollars without question and in unlimited amounts.
some may regret that this is so, but it is useless
to pine for the past."

heath said the dollar devaluation monday underscored
the urgency for reforming the whole international
monetary system.

currency - finish

brussels, feb. 14, reuter -- the common market
finance ministers tonight called for a speed up of
economic and monetary union in the european community.

the minister ended a special session called to con-
sider the aftermath of the currency crisis by issuing
a five point declaration.

the main points of the declaration are the following:

1. the community estimates that the dollar devaluation and the japanese decision to float the yen contribute to a better equilibrium in the international payments system.

2. the community reaffirms its determination to pursue its aim of economic and monetary union which implies the participation of all eec currencies in the eec monetary system. sterling, the irish pound and the italian lira are currently floating.

3. the council of ministers calls on the process of economic and monetary integration to be speeded up.

4. in line with this acceleration, the date for two reports on pooling reserves and increasing short term financial support will be advanced to june 30 this year.

5. the community must try to reach a joint position on monetary reform as soon as possible.

ambassadors

paris, feb. 14 (afp) -- the indian, canadian and
indonesian ambassadors met french government officials
for talks here today.

- 19 -

Indian ambassador Dwarka Nath Chatterjee was received by foreign minister Maurice Schumann, while the Ottawa and Jakarta representatives, respectively Leo Cadieux and R.H. Askari, met Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel, Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

thuy

Vatican City, Feb. 14 (UP1) -- Chief North Vietnamese peace negotiator Xuan Thuy met with Pope Paul VI today to discuss the church's role in helping to end the Vietnam War, the Vatican announced.

Thuy spent 45 minutes with the pope in his private library and afterwards "expressed the pleasure of the government on North Vietnam over efforts by the pope to help end the Vietnam War and re-establish peace there," Vatican press spokesman Federico Alessandrini said.

It was the first official visit to the Vatican by a North Vietnamese diplomat and Vatican sources called it the result of a quiet but intense papal effort over the years to launch a diplomatic initiative in Vietnam.

Thuy, accompanied by an interpreter and Paris talks delegate Trinh Ngoc Thai, emerged from the private audience smiling, Vatican witnesses said.

The pope went from the meeting with Thuy to his weekly mid-day audience where he was greeted by applause when he said.

"We have just now finished a meeting with a singular visitor -- the representative of North Vietnam.

"He wanted himself to ask for this audience to assure us that his people and his government truly desire peace. Thanks to God," the pope said.

soviet-german

Moscow, Feb. 14 (AP) -- Premier Alexei Kosygin proposed to West Germany's finance minister Wednesday that the two nations negotiate a 10-year program of economic and technical cooperation.

Kosygin made the proposal after Finance Minister Hans Friderichs told the premier that Germany wants increased Soviet exports which would do more than just pay for German exports to the Soviet Union.

At their two-hour meeting at the Kremlin, Friderichs also relayed a personal message from Chancellor Willy

- 20 -

brandt emphasizing west Germany'S desire to expand its
economic ties with Moscow.

Friderichs reportedly had already received the
proposal for economic and technical cooperation during
the second session of the soviet-west german economic
commission which concluded here wednesday. the finance
minister heads the german delegation.

kim

bonn, feb. 14 (afp) -- south korean foreign
minister kim yong-shik had a first round of talks with
secretary of state paul frank on problems special to
divided nations and security shortly after his arrival
here today on a four day official visit.

mr frank is standing in for foreign minister
walter scheel recuperating from a kidney operation.

mr kim will also have talks with minister of state,
egon bahr, the man who led negotiations with the soviet
union, poland and east germany; mr erhard eppler,
the minister for economic cooperation, and mr egon
franke the minister of state for inter-german affairs.

official sources said the west german government
was keenly interested in the development of the inter-
korean dialogue which started last year.

and south korea is known to have a deep interest
in the history of the rapprochement between the two
germanies.

german officials reportedly plan to hear mr kim's
views on the defence set up in east asia following
america's disengagement from vietnam.

and mr kim has indicated that he would like to be
briefed on west german views on west european security
and a balanced reduction of forces in europe.

america

indochina-kissinger

washington, feb. 14, reuter -- the united states
and north vietnam today agreed to strive for a new
post-war relationship based on mutual respect, which,

- 21 -

they said, would contribute to the cause of peace
throughout southeast asia.

their agreement was recorded in a joint communique
following four days of talks in hanoi between presidential
adviser dr. henry kissinger and prime minister pham
van dong and other north vietnamese officials.

the communique said the two countries would establish
a joint commission to develop economic relations
between them.

it stated that dr. kissinger, who left hanoi yesterday,
and the north vietnamese leaders had held "frank,
serious, and constructive exchanges" on carrying out
the paris agreement to end the war and restore peace
in vietnam.

the two sides said full and scrupulous implementation
of their accord would contribute to the cause of peace
in southeast asia on the basis of strict respect for
the independence and neutrality of the countries in
the region.

they agreed that problems between the indochinese
countries should be settled by them on the basis of
respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and non-interference in each country's
internal affairs.

the communique said the united states and north
vietnam welcomed negotiations between the laotian
government and the pathet lao -- which are expected
to lead to a ceasefire within a few days.

they also welcomed discussions between the south
vietnamese government and the viet cong's provisional
revolutionary government on self-determination in the
south, as called for by the paris peace accord.

the agreement to establish a joint economic
commission, the communique said, was reached during a
discussion of the manner in which the united states
would contribute to healing the wounds of war and to
post-war economic reconstruction in north vietnam.

white house press secretary ronald ziegler said the
united states would name its members within two weeks
and the commission should be fully organised in about
a month's time.

the communique said the two sides exchanged views
on the international conference on vietnam, opening
in paris on february 26.

it said they would continue their consultations

- 22 -

with all the participants so as to prepare the ground for a successful meeting.

mr. ziegler said invitations were now being sent out to the proposed participants and north vietnam and the united states exchanged views on the topics to be discussed. he gave no details of the conference agenda.

discussing the reference in the communiqué to Laos, mr. ziegler said the united states considered an early laotian ceasefire to be a matter of great urgency and it expected one to be in effect in a matter of days.

mr. ziegler reported that significant progress was made to resolve problems arising from the implementation of the paris peace accord.

these problems included the creation of a system to search for americans missing in action in indochina, and the organisation of points of entry in south vietnam for military supplies, which can be brought in for saigon and viet cong forces on an item-by-item basis to replace destroyed or worn out weapons.

the 600-word joint communique concluded by saying that dr. kissinger and his party expressed warm appreciation for the hospitality extended to them during their stay in hanoi.

"both sides hope that this visit will mark the beginning of new bilateral relations," it declared.

the communique was drawn up after 19 hours of talks between the north vietnamese and dr. kissinger.

mr. ziegler, who spoke to dr. kissinger in hong kong by telephone today, said the presidential adviser visited hanoi's museum of history and archeology and the museum of art.

mr. ziegler did not know if dr. kissinger had seen any damage caused by the december bombing of the north vietnamese capital.

## observers

ottawa, feb. 14 (afp) -- the Laos and the united states have asked canada to increase the number of its observers on the three-country "international control commission for Laos" which has been in operation since 1962, a foreign relations ministry spokesman announced here today.

the increase would be made after a ceasefire agreement which is expected to take place soon in Laos.

- 23 -

the spokesman said that the Canadian government would
have to study the text of any agreement between the
royal Laotian government and communist forces before
making a decision.

Canada would demand guarantees of the usefulness
of an increase in its memberships as it did in regard
to the international control commission in Vietnam.

one of canada's conditions would be an assurance
from the other two members -- poland and india -- that
the commission not be paralyzed again by interpretation
of procedure.

the Canadian government would want a ceasefire agreement
to cover withdrawal of troops, freedom of movement
for the commission and acceptance of the agreement
by all parties to the conflict.

it is not known how many Canadian observers would
be wanted but Laotian premier prince souvanna phouma
has spoken of 500 men. the Canadian mission now in Laos
has two men.

kissinger-japan

Washington, feb, 14 (ap) -- Henry A. Kissinger is
extending his Asian tour and will confer in Tokyo
with Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka next week,
the White House announced Wednesday.

Kissinger, who is president Nixon's national security
affairs adviser, had been scheduled to return directly
to Washington from Peking after earlier stops in China
and Hong Kong.

Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler said Kissinger
added Japan to his itinerary and will arrive there
Monday for an overnight stay so he and Tanaka can
discuss "the current situation in Asia, developments
in Southeast Asia," and other unspecified matters of
mutual interest.

Ziegler said Kissinger would return to Washington
Tuesday.

the foreign policy aide made two trips to Japan last
year, June 9-12 and Aug. 19.

hijacking

Washington, feb. 14, reuter -- the United States
hopes to reach an anti-hijacking agreement covering
both aircraft and ships with Cuba by the end of this
week cutting off a major haven for hijackers who in

- 24 -

part in the 1933 revolutionary struggle, representatives of the workers of the "grivita rosie" plant here who had participated in the strike struggle at that time, and representatives of railway workers in bucharest and people from other circles.

veteran fighter comrade chivu stoica of the romanian workers' movement spoke at the rally.

the romanian state council held a medal-presentation ceremony here today. comrade nicolae ceausescu, general secretary of the romanian communist party and president of the state council, conferred medals on a group of railway workers and the "february 16" rolling stock works in cluj city.

speaking on the occasion, ceausescu said that the railway and oil workers' struggle in 1933 "represented an important moment in the development of the revolutionary movement in romania, an important moment for the communist party to play its role in state activities fully. it paved the way for the party's strengthening of its contacts with the broad masses of workers and created conditions for the maturing of the party politically and ideologically."

on the same day, wreaths were laid at the memorial monument in the "grivita rosi" plant and at the memorial monument in front of the building of the ministry of transport and tele-communications by the central committee of the romanian communist party, the state council, the council of ministers, the general trade union confederation, the bucharest city committee of the romanian communist party and the central committee of the union of communist youth, as well as a number of industrial establishments in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

the general strike in 1933 was a revolutionary movement launched by the romanian working class under the leadership of the romanian communist party against the intensified oppression and exploitation by the then reactionary government and the capitalists. the massive strike which started in the grivita plant in bucharest city received quick and active response from railway, oil and other workers in romania. it dealt a heavy blow to the reactionary rule of the landlord and capitalist classes. end item

p-26

021724 -- chou en-lai, chi peng-fei, chiao kuan-hua continue talks with dr. kissinger

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- premier chou en-lai, foreign minister chi peng-fei and vice-foreign minister chiao kuan-hua continued talks today with dr. henry a. kissinger, assistant to the u. s. president for national security affairs.

dr. kissinger and his party this evening attended a symphony concert presented by the central philharmonic society, in the company of foreign minister chi peng-fei and others. in the past two days, the american guests visited the art handicrafts exhibition and the palace museum.

yesterday afternoon, chu mu-chih, director of the hsinhua news agency, and peng hua, director of the information department of the foreign ministry, met with herbert g. klein, director of communications for the executive branch of the u. s. government, end item

021725 -- delegation representing iran imperial organization for social services leaves peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the 5-member delegation representing the iran imperial organization for social services led by dr. majid rahanema left peking by train today to visit southern china before going home.

the guests were seen off at the railway station by hsieh hua, leading member of the ministry of public health, and representatives of medical circles in the chinese capital.

abbas aram, iranian ambassador to china, and officials of the iranian embassy here were present.

during its stay in peking, the delegation had discussions with hsieh hua and leading members of chinese scientific and educational institutes. they exchanged experience in public health and education. the guests visited medical and educational sites and went sightseeing in scenic spots and places of historical interest. end item

p-27

021726 -- china, guinea sign 1973 trade agreement

conakry, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the 1973 trade agreement between the governments of china and guinea was signed here yesterday by han ke-hua, chinese ambassador to guinea, and abdoulaye toure, guinean minister of external trade, on behalf of their respective governments.

han ke-hua and abdoulaye toure spoke at the signing ceremony. they exchanged congratulations on the growing friendly ties between the governments and peoples of china and guinea.

minister abdoulaye toure gave a reception to mark the occasion yesterday evening. it was attended by mamadi keita, member of the national political bureau of the guinea democratic party and minister of the field of culture and education, karamoko kouayate, minister of internal commerce, toure mamadou salifou, minister of posts and tele-communications, toure mamouna, secretary general of the government, and other high-ranking officials.

chinese ambassador han ke-hua was also present.

both the ceremony and reception proceeded in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. end item

021727 -- peking reception marks p. i. a. inaugural flight to peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- kuang jen-nung, director-general of the general administration of civil aviation of china, gave a reception this evening to celebrate the inaugural flight of the pakistan international airlines corporation to peking.

air communications were established between china and pakistan, two friendly neighbours, as early as april 1964 when an airline between karachi of pakistan and shanghai of china was officially inaugurated. a new line, from karachi via rawalpindi and peking to shanghai, was opened to service january 20 this year. this will further increase the friendship between the chinese and pakistan people and

p-28

the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries.

begun nusrat bhutto, wife of the Pakistan president,
and other distinguished Pakistan guests in her party attended
the reception,

attending were Pakistan ambassador to China Agha Shahi
and Pakistan embassy officials.

present were guests from Pakistan and other countries
invited by the p. i. a. to attend the celebrations of its
inaugural flight to peking; the staff of the p. i. a.
office in China; and Iranian ambassador to China Abbas
aram, and officials of the Iranian embassy here.

present at the reception were Vice-Premier Li Hsien-nien
and his wife Lin Chia-mei, Vice-Foreign Minister Han Nien-
Lung and his wife Wang Chen, members of the standing committee
of the National People's Congress Chi Fang and Lo Shu-chang,
Women Vice-Ministers Chen Mu-hua and Chien Cheng-ying,
standing committee member of the peking municipal revolutionary
committee ting Kuo-yu, and leading members of departments
concerned, including Chen Shu-fu, Wang Hai-ting, Ma Jen-hui,
Wang Chien-kung, Teng Kang, Tung Lin, Yang Kung-su,
Han Hsu, Yeh Cheng-chang, Kao Chien-chung, Kuo Tung-chun,
Pai Yun, Hu Peng-fei, Niu Hsiu-chen, Chu Ya-chen and Yu
Chiao.

The reception was permeated with a cordial and warm
atmosphere marking the friendship between the Chinese and
Pakistan people. In a speech, Kuang Jen-nung warmly welcomed
begun nusrat bhutto's presence at the reception and heartily
congratulated the p. i. a. on its flight to peking. He said
that the opening of the p. i. a. flight to the Chinese capital
marked a further development of the China-Pakistan friendship.
this airline of friendship, he added, would surely
contribute to strengthening the amity between the Chinese
and Pakistan people and among the people in the world.

Miraj Khalid, Chief Minister of Punjab, who has
come with Begum Nusrat Bhutto on her visit, extended
thanks to the Chinese side for its warm welcome and hospitality,
on behalf of Begum Nusrat Bhutto and the Pakistan guests
and guests from other countries who have come to attend
the celebrations of the p. i. a. inaugural flight to peking.

p-29

he said: "we in pakistan consider that p.i.a.'s inaugural
flight to china is an important link in the chain of
friendship and cooperation." he added that air communications
between pakistan and china served not only the two countries
but other countries of the world, end item

021728 -- Japanese friend kinkazu saionji and his party arrive in peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- Japanese friend kinkazu saionji, his wife yukie saionji and his eldest son kazuteiu saionji as well as shiro minamimura, chief of the saionji office in tokyo, arrived here by plane this morning for a friendly visit to china at the invitation of the china-japan friendship association.

they were greeted at the airport by yang chi, vice-president of the chinese people's association for friendship with foreign countries, and sun ping-hua, secretary-general of the host association, and leading members of chinese organizations li mao-chai, li fu-teh and meng hsien-ju.

present at the airport were ichihei sugiyama, japanese secretary, and his wife, and said salim abdulla, tanzanian secretary, of the secretariat of the afro-asian journalists' association; hamid wafi, sudanese secretary of the executive secretariat of the afro-asian writers' bureau; and yoshizo yasuda, chief representative of the peking liaison office of the japan-china memorandum trade office of japan, and other japanese friends, end item

021729 -- liao cheng-chih, yang chi fete japanese friend kinkazu saionji and his party

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- liao cheng-chih, president of the china-japan friendship association, and yang chi, vice-president of the chinese people's association for friendship with foreign countries, this evening gave a banquet in honour of japanese friend kinkazu saionji, his wife yukie saionji and his eldest son kazuteiu saionji as well as shiro minamimura, chief of the saionji office in tokyo. they had a cordial, friendly talk in the course of the banquet.

p-30

present at the banquet were leading members of chinese
organizations concerned, including chang hsiang-shan,
li mao-chai, wang hsiao-yun, sun ping-hua, wu shu-tung,
li fu-teh, chou chi and meng hsien-ju, end item

021731 -- chinese stadium study group leaves for sierra leone

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- a 11-member stadium study group of china led by chang yi-su left here for sierra leone by air this evening.

among those seeing the group off at the airport was
liu feng, leading member of a department concerned,
r.e.k. taylor-smith, ambassador of sierra leone to china,
and his wife, and j.c.w. porter, counsellor of the sierra
leone embassy, were present, end item

021730 -- chinese foreign minister meets first ambassador to china of people's democratic republic of yemen

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- chinese foreign
minister chi peng-fei today met with alwai abdul rahman
al-saqaff, first ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary
of the people's democratic republic of yemen to china.
matters relating to the presentation of the credentials
were discussed on the occasion, end item

021732 -- canadian table tennis association president arrives in peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- arthur barran,
president of the canadian table tennis association, and
his wife flew in to peking this evening at the invitation
of the chinese table tennis association.

he was greeted at the airport by chen hsien, president
of the host association, end item

021733 -- leader of bulgarian government trade delegation arrives in peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- k. kozmov,
leader of the government trade delegation of the bulgarian

p-31

people's republic and vice-minister of foreign trade,
arrived here by plane today.

he was welcomed by Li chiang, chinese vice-minister
of foreign trade, and leading members of departments
concerned Wang pin and Wang ming-hsiu.

present at the airport were bulgarian ambassador to
china Luben Stoyanov, deputy leader of the bulgarian
government trade delegation d. Genovski, who had arrived
in peking earlier, and commercial counsellor of the
bulgarian embassy in peking a. Borisov, end item

021735 -- ashes of late charge d'affaires a. i. and
interpreter of chinese embassy in Lusaka
brought to peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the ashes of
comrade Hou chi-wen, late charge d'affaires ad interim,
and comrade Chang hsin-kuei, interpreter, of the chinese
embassy in Zambia, were flown to peking from Lusaka today.
escorting the ashes on the journey were Wang lien-fang,
widow of comrade Hou chi-wen and his daughter Wang
yueh, and Liu tung-chen, second secretary of the chinese
embassy in Lusaka.

comrade Hou chi-wen and comrade Chang hsin-kuei were
killed in a car accident on august 4 last year in Zambia.

present at peking airport today were vice-foreign
minister ho ying, leading members of departments concerned,
and relatives and friends of comrades Hou chi-wen and
chang hsin-kuei. also present at the airport were
Zambian ambassador to China j. k. Chivunga and other
diplomatic officials of the Zambian embassy here.

when the plane carrying the ashes of comrades Hou chi-
wen and Chang Hsin-kuei left Lusaka yesterday, Chinese
ambassador to Zambia Li Chiang-fen and Chinese embassy
personnel were present at the airport.

also present at the airport were elijah h. k. mudenda,
minister of foreign affairs of Zambia, timothy Kankasa,
state minister for foreign affairs, and sampa, permanent
secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs, and other
Zambian government officials.

p-32

also present were wife of the korean ambassador to
zambia and charge d'affaires ad interim of the korean
embassy, and first secretary of the romanian embassy.
end item

021734 -- vice-president of hongkong football association
leaves peking

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- akers
jones, vice-president of the hongkong football
association, and his wife left peking by train today for
southern china after a visit here. they will return to
hongkong via kwangchow. they were seen off at peking
railway station by sung chung, secretary general of the
all-china sports federation, and lu ting, leading member
of the chinese football federation.

during their stay in peking, mr. and mrs. jones
visited the peking physical culture institute, a spare-
time sports school, the capital indoor stadium, the
workers' stadium, and scenic spots and places of historical
interest.

on the evening of february 15, the all-china sports
federation hosted a dinner in honour of akers jones and
his wife. li meng-hua, a leading member of the
federation, had a friendly conversation with the guests
at the dinner. end item

021737 --british secretary of state sends message on
earthquake in szechwan

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- sir alec douglas-
home, british secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth
affairs, has sent a message to chinese foreign minister
chi peng-fei expressing his sincere condolences on the
recent earthquake in the kantse tibetan autonomous chou,
szechwan province of china. the message reads:

i am extremely sorry to learn of the damage and loss
of life caused by the recent earthquake in szechwan.

please accept my sincere condolences.
end item

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021738 -- pakistan minister of state sends message of sympathy on earthquake in szechwan

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- aziz ahmed, pakistan minister of state for foreign affairs and defence, has sent a message to chi peng-fei, chinese minister of foreign affairs, expressing profound sympathy on the recent earthquake in the kantse tibetan autonomous chou, western szechwan province of china. the message reads:

we are deeply grieved to learn through our embassy in peking that an earthquake of high intensity rocked south west china a few days ago resulting in loss of life and property. on my own behalf and on behalf of the government and people of pakistan, i express our profound sympathy to the government of the people's republic of china and to the affected people. end item

021741 -- canada government imposes controls on crude oil exports to u. s.

ottawa, february 16, 1973 (hsinhua) -- canada minister of energy, mines and resources donald macdonald announced yesterday the canada government's decision to impose controls on exports of crude oil to the u. s., effective march 1, 1973.

the decision made yesterday was based on a report submitted by the official national energy board, which feared that canada's reserves in oil could quickly run up unless she regulates oil exports.

It was reported that canada produces about two million barrels of crude oil a day. in the face of a serious energy crisis, the u. s. has sharply increased its oil imports from canada this year, running at 1.2 million barrels a day in january-february, compared with 850,000 a day last year. end item

021740 -- cuba, u. s. sign hijacking agreement

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the cuban and united states governments announced in havana and washington on february 15 that the two governments signed on the same day an agreement on the hijacking of aircraft and vessels and other offenses.

the agreement provides that any persons who hereafter hijacks an aircraft or vessel of one of the contracting parties shall either be returned to that party to be tried by the courts of that party or be brought before the courts of the party whose territory he reached for trial. each party shall severely punish in accordance with its laws any person who, within its territory, promotes such acts of hijacking or other similar unlawful acts. each party shall apply its own laws to any national of the other party who, coming from the territory of the other party, enters its territory and violates its laws.

the agreement was signed in havana by cuban foreign minister raul roa and swiss ambassador to cuba silvio masnata, representative of the interests of the united states in cuba. it was signed in washington by u. s. secretary of state rogers and czechoslovak ambassador to the united states jaroslav zantovsky, representative of the interests of cuba in the united states.

the cuban-u. s. negotiations on hijacking through the swiss embassy in cuba began last november. in a note of october 30, 1972 to the swiss embassy in cuba, representative of the interests of the united states in cuba, the cuban government proposed that cuba and the united states negotiate and reach a bilateral agreement on handling cases of aircraft hijacking, piractical attacks on cuban ships and attacks from u. s. territory against cuban territory.

on february 15, the cuban and canadian governments signed in ottawa a canada-cuba agreement on the hijacking of aircraft and vessels. end item

021739 -- albanian leader receives korean government delegation

tirana, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- mehmet shehu, chairman of the council of ministers of the people's republic of albania, today received the government delegation of the democratic people's republic of korea led by minister of education kim sok gi.

present on the occasion were adil carcani, vice-chairman of the council of ministers; nesti nase, minister of foreign affairs; thoma deliana, minister of education and culture; and song gwan jo, korean ambassador to albania.

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the reception proceeded in a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

albanian foreign minister nesti nase held talks with kim sok gi yesterday, end item

021742 -- wuhan acrobatic troupe of china concludes visit to sri lanka

colombo, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the wuhan acrobatic troupe of china left here for pakistan today after a two-week friendly performance tour in sri lanka.

among those seeing the troupe off at the airport were r.d. senanayake, deputy minister of planning and employment; mahinde bandusena, deputy director of cultural affairs to the ministry of cultural affairs; and walpita, president of the sri lanka-china friendship association.

chinese charge d'affaires ad interim yang hui-sheng was also there.

during its stay in sri lanka, the troupe gave eleven shows in colombo, galle and kandy to a total of some 50,000 spectators. on the evening of february 9, the troupe gave a consolatory show for sri lanka and chinese workers and technicians participating in the construction of the bandaranaike memorial international conference hall.

the troupe gave its farewell show on the evening of february 15. speaking before the performance, kulatilake, minister of cultural affairs of sri lanka, said that the wuhan acrobatic troupe was warmly welcomed by the sri lanka people and that its performances have left an indelible impression on their minds.

in reply, shen chien, leader of the troupe, thanked the sri lanka government and people for their warm hospitality and great assistance given to the troupe. he said that during its visit, the troupe has witnessed the sri lanka people's efforts in building the country, which deserves learning. he expressed the hope that friendly cooperation and cultural exchange between the two countries would be constantly strengthened.

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after the performance, minister kulatilake presented
gifts to the troupe on behalf of the sri lanka government
and people and went backstage to congratulate the acrobats.
end item

021736 -- head of r.s.v.n. military delegation holds reception on p.l.a.f. anniversary

hanoi, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- lieutenant-general tran van tra, head of the military delegation of the provisional revolutionary government of the republic of south viet nam to the four-party central joint military commission, held a grand reception at the office of the delegation on the evening of february 15 to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the reunification of the south viet nam people's liberation armed forces, according to gpa.

present at the reception were major-general le quang hoa, head, senior colonel luu van loi and senior colonel hoang hoa, deputy heads, and many officers and fighters, of the military delegation of the government of the democratic republic of viet nam to the four-party central joint military commission.

the heads, deputy-heads and many members of the polish and hungarian delegations to the international commission of control and supervision were also present.

the canadian and indonesian delegations to the international
commission of control and supervision, which had been invited,
failed to attend the reception because of obstructions
set by the saigon regime, so did many foreign correspondents
in saigon. lieutenant-general tran van tra made a speech
at the reception, he emphatically pointed out that great
victories have been won by the south viet nam people's
Liberation armed forces in the past 12 years. he expressed
profound thanks to the compatriots in the whole country,
especially those in saigon, for their kith-and-kin feelings
towards the delegation,

the reception proceeded in an atmosphere of unity and
friendship, end item

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021744 -- chinese medical association leader meets american
health delegation

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- hsieh hua,
leading member of the chinese medical association, met
the health delegation from the united states here this
evening. leader of the delegation is noted cardiac surgeon
micheal e. debakey, president of the college of medicine
of the baylor university, houston, texas; and deputy leader
is professor harry becker of albert einstein college
of medicine.

present on the occasion were leading members of chinese
organizations concerned and representatives of the
medical circles in peking, including fu yi-cheng, wu
chiew-ping, lin chiao-chin, wu ying-kai, li hsiu-chen
and fan kuang.

the delegation arrived in peking on february 15 on
a friendly visit to china at the invitation of the chinese
medical association, end item

021745 -- special representation of r.s.v.n. to d.r.v.n.
issues appeal of four-party central joint military
commission

hanoi, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- a joint appeal of
the four-party central military commission was made public
at a press conference here this afternoon by the special
representation of the republic of south viet nam to the
democratic republic of viet nam.

the appeal says:

considering that the high commands of the parties
in south viet nam have all ordered the armed forces and
armed police under their command to end hostilities
completely on the whole territory of south viet nam at the
exact time stipulated in article 2 of the agreement on
ending the war and restoring peace in viet nam, and

seeing that gunfire has not been ceased and the
ceasefire has not been consolidated,

the four-party central joint military commission calls
upon the high commands of all the parties in south viet nam

p-38

"to order at once all the armed forces, regular and irregular, and armed police under their command to end all hostilities throughout south viet nam, fully respect the ceasefire and settle all problems by peaceful negotiations, in the spirit of national reconciliation and concord, so that conflicts may be avoided and peace preserved.

"to order at once all the armed forces, regular and irregular, and armed police under their command to scrupulously observe the prohibition of the acts as specified in article 2 of the protocol on the ceasefire in south viet nam," end item

021746 -- photo exhibition on china held in tokyo

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- a photo exhibition entitled "china, 700 million faces as they are" is now held in tokyo to the warm welcome of the japanese people, reported the toho news agency.

the exhibition is sponsored by the "asahi shimbum" with the support of the japan-china cultural exchange association. on display at the exhibition are over 260 photos taken by japanese photographer norio mitome during his visits to china in 1971 and 1972.

these photos give the japanese masses a glimpse of china's industry, agriculture, people's liberation army and militia, education, sports, public health work, arts and crafts as well as the scenery of peking, shanghai, kwangchow and yenan.

the member of visitors to the exhibition everyday exceeded 3,000 on the average and went up to 5,000 sometimes. many visitors expressed the desire to visit china so as to help deepen the friendship between the japanese and chinese people.

present at the opening ceremony on february 9 were kenichi hasegawa, managing director of the "asahi shimbum"; kenzo nakajima, director general of the japan-china cultural exchange association; kinkazu salonji, standing director of the association; noted critic yoko matsuoka, and other japanese public figures. hasegawa and nakajima spoke at the ceremony.

an official of the chinese embassy in japan attended the ceremony on invitation, end item

p-39

021743 -- madam bhutto leaves islamabad for china

rawalpindi, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- begun
nusrat bhutto, madam of pakistan president bhutto,
left islamabad by the airliner of the pakistan international
airlines corporation this morning for an official visit
to china. the airliner was making an inauguration
flight to peking.

present at the airport to see her off were abdul
hafeez pirzada, minister for education and culture and
provincial coordination, and s. ghais uddin ahmed, secretary
general of the defence ministry and chairman of the
p.i.a.

chang tung, chinese ambassador to pakistan, and other
diplomatic officials of the chinese embassy were also
present.

m. rafique saigol, p.1. a. general manager, gave a dinner
here last night in celebration of the p. 1. a.'s inauguration
flight to peking.

the dinner was attended by sheikh mohammad rashid,
minister for health and social welfare, khursheed hassan
mir, minister without portfolio, raja tridiv roy, minister
of minorities affairs and tourism and s. ghias uddin
ahmed, secretary general of the defence ministry
and chairman of the p.1.a.

chinese ambassador chang tung was also present at the
dinner, end item

021747 -- strike by surinam workers spreads

peking, february 17, 1973 (hsinhua) -- the strike by
workers and employees in paramaribo, capital of surinam
(dutch guiana), for higher wages and better living conditions
has grown in scale, according to a report from paramaribo.

on february 14 the strikers demonstrated in the streets,
shouted slogans against the brutal exploitation of the
local people by the transnational companies operating in
surinam and demanded a change of the plight in the country.
the demonstrators erected roadblocks, occupied buildings

p-40