NASSER NOW CONTROLLING ANTI-WEST PROPAGANDA

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28606, 7 June 1958, Page 13

NASSER NOW CONTROLLING ANTI-WEST PROPAGANDA

NEW YORK, June 6. President Nasser had begun to exert rigid controls on propaganda efforts in the United Arab Republic by the Soviet Bloc, a “New York Times’* correspondent in Cairo reported today. The correspondent. Osgood Car - uthers, said Colonel Nasser, who had turned to the Eastern Communists for aid against Western economic pressure and thus opened the doors of the Middle East and Africa to Soviet penetration appeared today to have taken a more sober and cautious view of his relationship with the Soviet Bloc. The cooling off seemed to coincide with a gradual bi t quite general improvement in C r lonel Nasser’s relations with the West and with uncommitted countries. Colonel Nasser had taken action in the last few days to restrict Pro-Communist writers who still hold key posts tn the Cairo newsPaoers, Caruthers said. Moreover, for the first time a number of articles quite critical of the Soviet Union had appeared in Egyptian magazines. The articles were written by

leading journalists who accompanied Colonel Nasser on his trip to the Soviet Union last month. The writers had found that everything was not so rosy under the red carpet which the Kremlin had laid for the Arab visitors, Caruthers said. Colonel Nasser’s attitude toward the Soviet Bloc began to change after be had received "rm assurances of Washington’s willingness to try to improve rela' ons. It was further hardened by an important offer from West Germany of about £42.600,000 worth of credits for the purchase of industrial equipment. The Arab leader received new cause for concern over his involvement with the Soviet Bloc when the Kremlin abruptly cancelled its huge credit offer to Jugoslavia because Marshal Tito had defied Moscow’s political dictates. the correspond t said. Thus political strings to Moscow’s aid offers, which Colonel Nasser maintains do not exist in his case, were laid bare, and the Arab leader had had some anxious moments wondering about his own acceptance of Soviet largesse.