SECRET
Appendix A.
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER- YENERAL
FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
It is a great opportunity to have the Information Officers
of nine South East Asia territories and the heads of the two Foreign
Office Departments principally concerned, here in Singapore on the
spot to exchange ideas and discuss common problems. We have to
try to agree on lines of policy, and by discussion of our
difficulties, to improve and to streamline our methods. We have
an immediate purpose, that is that in a few days time the Bukit
Serene Conference is due to open and we are expected to make
recommendations to that Conference and prepare papers for that
purpose. But apart from this immediate purpose we now have the
opportunity to put direct to those in London our needs and our
difficulties and we have the opportunity also to understand
London's requirements and difficulties. I feel that my own
Indeed I feel my
position in this affair needs some explanation.
position very keenly because I confess at once that I myself have
no knowledge of the mechanics of propaganda, and my experience
whether of our own or of the enemy propaganda is at the receiving
end. How you ply your trade and how for instance you plug this or
that and how you "commit" Stalin to this or that is a complete
mystery to me. From that point of view I am here to listen and
learn, from the point of view of political purpose and use, it is
my task to try to guide your discussions and to act on your behalf
as a rapporteur to the Bukit Serene Conference.
~
Before we consider any particular papers in their
detailed application, and before we get down to what is now
commonly known as the "nuts and bolts" of the machinery of
propaganda, it does seem essential to be clear as to the general
direction in which we are travelling and the general direction in
which we want to travel. Are we infact achieving anything by
propaganda in this part of the world and if not
why not?
/If we are
....
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