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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 1. 1967.

CIA finance shocks

page 9

CIA finance shocks

Recent disclosure have tinued existence [unclear: c] the Student Conferencein [unclear: do] It was reported by [unclear: Ja] the New York Tires in that the American entro Agency, as well as [unclear: s] States National (USNSA) and other [unclear: meric] since 1952 given hue amo to such international progam International Student Cor and the World Asse[unclear: bly] of

The ISC was established [unclear: in] 1948 after West [unclear: Eruopear] student bodies, led by Ameri[unclear: can] student groups, [unclear: became] increasingly restive at the [unclear: so-]called left-wing tendencies [unclear: of] the International Union [unclear: of] Students.

This of course was [unclear: just] another development in the Cold War. which had [unclear: beet] systematically formulated [unclear: a] a policy by the [unclear: American] since as early as 1943. and instituted by President Tru[unclear: man] when he assumed [unclear: power] on the death of [unclear: President] Roosevelt.

Recent research indicate that the dropping of the atomic bomb on [unclear: Hiroshima] was meant by the [unclear: American] as intimidation to the [unclear: Rus] sians—to stop them [unclear: moving] down through Europe, [unclear: and] stop them entering the [unclear: was] against the Japanese.

The Americans [unclear: withdrev] aid from the Russian, [unclear: stopped] aid to other countries [unclear: through] the United Nations Relie and Rehabilitation Adminis tration, and instituted the Marshall Plan whereby [unclear: a] was given only to [unclear: countrie] and organisations [unclear: which] agreed politically with the Americans.

The break-up of [unclear: man] international [unclear: organisation] such as the IUS and [unclear: the]

[unclear: have] put the [unclear: con-]the Internationaldoubt.

[unclear: James] Reston [unclear: in] in mid-February [unclear: entral] Intelligence [unclear: asnsidising] the United [unclear: student] Association [unclear: nerican] bodies, has [unclear: amounts] of money rganisations as [unclear: the] Conference (ISC) ly of Youth (WAY).

[unclear: world] Federation of Trade [unclear: nions], was then an [unclear: import] part of a concerted and [unclear: prmulated] American policy.

"[unclear: wingers]" and "[unclear: fellow]-revellers" on student organi-[unclear: ations] were denounced, and [unclear: he] members of the [unclear: separate] nternational Student Con-[unclear: erence] (including NZUSA) [unclear: ecame] increasingly conserva-[unclear: ve].

Split between IUS and ISC

[unclear: During] the 1950s the split [unclear: etween] the IUS and the ISC [unclear: became] complete, until now [unclear: here] is little contact [unclear: between] he two giant student [unclear: organ] sations.

[unclear: Each] denounces the other [unclear: t] every available-[unclear: opportunity] with the IUS nominally [unclear: llgned] with "the East" [unclear: and] he ISC with the "free [unclear: coun] ries of the West."

[unclear: It] is openly acknowledged [unclear: hat] the IUS and other Com-[unclear: munist] student organisations are subsidised by the State, [unclear: out] the source of ISC [unclear: funds] has been a continual mystery.

When the ISC was [unclear: first] started at the end of the 1940s [unclear: found] difficulty in [unclear: obtaining] money. But in 1947 President Truman signed the National Security Act and created the Central Intelli-gence Agency, and it has now been admitted that from the beginning of 1952 the USNSA among others has been heavily subsidised by the CIA. And I'm quite sure that the ISC was subsidised from birth by the CIA.

The extent of the finance given to student and youth organisations has risen over the years until now USNSA admits that it receives an average of 200,000 dollars a year from the CIA.

The chairman of the USNSA has admitted that at one time his organisation had received as much as 80 per cent of its 850.000-dollar budget from the CIA

The total given to the ISC and the World Assembly of Youth is at present unknown —funds have been skilfully distributed through a number of front organisations.

CIA notorious in politics

The CIA is notorious for its variously channelled activities. It conducts its political activities in most countries independently of USA foreign policy, and in not a few cases directly contrary to it, with consequent embarrassment to USA official representatives.

In 1964 NZUSA was elected to the ISC Finance Committee.

Even though there were a couple of meetings of the ISC Finance Committee during 1965, the accounts were kept entirely by the ISC Financial Secretary.

Members of the Finance Committee were allowed to see the accounts only in the most general detail, and to consider such matters as levies from national student organisations.

US "foundations" corrupt

The incoming money from American "foundations" was recorded by the American accountant. These American "foundations" had insisted on his appointment.

Probably the only other person to know the financial transactions of the ISC in detail was (and is) the Secretary-General, The present secretary-general is an Indian (a safe pro-American one): and of the previous two. one was an American, and the other English.

In the elections for all these secretaries-general it was stressed that the person elected must be suitable to deal effectively with the American "foundations."

Only one or two people knew what these foundations were, what they were called, what they stood for. But every two months at least the secretary-general had to fly to New York (from Holland where the ISC is situated) to deal with the "foundations."

Leaders of the USNSA have admitted that some of their members. financed by the CIA, had gathered "sensitive information" for the Government while attending international conferences.

Jail possibility if oath broken

Many members of the USNSA had been given a security check by the CIA without their knowledge. If they passed the check they were called in to talk with CIA and high NSA officials. and told that if they wanted to do a good job at overseas conferences they had to have security information from classified sources.

To obtain this informalion they had to sign a security oath, and immediately they'd signed they were told about the CIA involvement in USNSA. They were trapped in the CIA and couldn't get out without breaking their oath and being subjected to CIA pressure, and a 20-year jail sentence.

ISC newspaper pro-American

And, of course, in the ISC secretariat the influence of the Americans is great. There are usually at least six Americans on the staff, most of them in influential positions. One. the editor of "The Student" (which has a huge circulation), renders this mouthpiece of the ISC politically ineffective.

Security checks telling weapons

As all American members of the ISC Secretariat are nominated by USNSA it's obvious that they have been "checked out" for security purposes by the CIA.

It was (and presumably is) a prerequisite for continued membership of the USNSA executive to have a satisfactory security check, and all American members of the ISC Secretariat had served for some time on the USNSA executive or staff.

Information is being col-lected by the ISC, collated. and in many cases passed to State Department officials or "foundation" representatives. This is perhaps one of the most telling weapons the CIA uses. Student organisations throughout the world are in an extremely good position to keep contact with, and find out about left-wing organisations, groups and individuals.

Student leaders help CIA files

Organisations such as the ISC and the USNSA have large staffs whose job it is to know about student movements in foreign countries. Undoubtedly their information on activities in such countries as South Korea, the Philippines, Spain. Nigeria and so on comes in useful for CIA officials.

• After all, one of the CIA's many roles is the collection and collation of security information. Student leaders who travel throughout the world are in a good position to help them, and there have been many cases recently where prominent student leaders have been paid by "foundations" to obtain information on student organisations and political developments in different countries-including New Zealand.

On a lower but still effective level, the CIA achieves much through subsidising student activities. American officials in the State Department and the CIA have a fanatical belief in the value of the "American way of life." Student leaders go to the United States for guided tours; cultural and political seminars are organised in developing countries to transmit this American culture.

CIA co-operates with State Dept.

• The Americans seem to feel that they should do a big public relations deal with students and young people: by supporting right-wing student organisations in such countries as Thailand, South Vietnam. South Korea and India, and through international and national youth organisations.

But on this level they don't seem to be achieving all their aims. The ISC still passes resolutions condemning the American action in Vietnam, the USNSA still follows a left-wing line, has many left-wing leaders and has an anti-Vietnam policy.

But paper resolutions don't count much anyway, and an anti-Vietnam policy hasn't hindered close co-operation with the CIA and State Department.

• The disclosure of CIA finance to student and youth organisations has revealed some of the insidious methods of operation of the CIA. Other organisations which receive CIA money must be worried lest they. too. are brought into the open.

Insidious methods of operation

• The disclosure of CIA finance and youth organisations has revealed some of the insidious methods of operation of the CIA. Other or-ganisations which receive CIA money must be worried lest they, too, are brought into the open.

Scepticism needed

The Ford Foundation. Radio Free Europe, trade unions. anti-Communist publications, radio and tv stations all over the world: it's quite a list. At least it might ensure that people look upon secretly financed organisations With more scepticism, especially when they re transmitting a straight American line.

With the development of political detente in Europe it would be good to see student, youth and university organisations becoming independent of the CIA. One day they may be capable of implementing their own ideas.

But in USNSA this isn't likely, for their president, Eugene Groves, has said that he "hoped the disclosures would not lead to drastic changes in the activities of the CIA."

ISC ideals questioned

What effect will this disclosure have?

II members of the ISC really had faith in its ideas and ideals (which it said it stood for) and believed in its pronouncements, they may well be disillusioned enougn to withdraw.

But if, like USNSA, they were merely paying lip-service to the idea of free and independent action. this revelation will not be very shocking to them.