Турех
OUTWARD TELEGRAM.
26037/1
FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.
TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
Sent 4th November, 1950.
No.1642
TOP SECRET.
13.00 hrs.
32
Following from Foreign office addressed to Singapore No.1266 of 3rd November, repeated to Radgoon, Bangkok, Djakarta, Saigon and Hong Kong.
Begins.
You will have learned from Scott's letter 32 10114/30 that we decided in consultation with the Commissioner. General
2.
a)
that a day should be set aside of the Bukit Serene Conference for discussion of.. 'propaganda matters, and
.
(b) that a preliminary meeting of Information
Officers, if possible under your, Chairman- ship, should go over the whole subject exhaustively and reach conclusions which should then be tabled for discussion by the main Conference.
Please now make preparations for (b). You and other posts concerned may consider this telegram as authority for travel and subsistence expenditure involved.
3.
We will telegraph shortly a draft agenda. Ralph Murray, Head of Information Research Department, and Malcolm, Head of Information Policy Department, will travel from London to attend both Conferences. They will probably arrive about 29th November. Full preliminary conference might therefore start on 1st or 2nd December.
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Je suggest preliminary conference should range over the whole subject of propagando policy and tactics and should cover both overt and covert activities. Latter may have to be considered in restricted meetings on organisation of which we would welcome your recommendations.
5.
In order to be able to deal fully with policy aspects of propaganda, we suggest Heads of Missions concerned might consider whether they should not send to it, where necessary and possible, a Policy member of their staff in addition to the Information Officer. It seems to us desirable, for instance, that Murray from Rangoon should be present to discuss inter alia top secret activities and that, e.g. Joy from Saigon could make an important contribution to the Conference's discussion of the complicated issues which future work in Indo-China promises to raise. ve realise that feasibility of this will depend on timing of Conference and possibility of the Officers concerned being able to return to their posts before or very shortly after Heads of Missions leave for main Conference.
16.