Puerto Rico

Breaking news from the United States! This year, in Puerto Rico, a brief but bloody uprising took place, leaving 28 dead, 50 wounded, and leaving two towns, Utuado and Jayuya in ruins.

While the police and national guard are still policing together exactly what happened, we are reasonably sure that, due to police pressure, this abortive uprising was launched earlier than intended. Puerto Rican Nationalist forces, mostly in the towns of Utuado and Jayuya, rose up on October 30th, although there was some violence scattered across the rest of the island.

After the Puerto Rican National Guard, police, and USAF used aerial bombing against the affected towns, the uprising came to a sad end. There are allegations of the execution of prisoners by the national guard, but we cannot confirm or deny those reports. What we can confirm is that thousands have been arrested following the uprising.

Myanmar

We must report some somewhat dizzying news for the conflict in Burma. What initially began last year as both a communist insurgency and an ethnic conflict against the Karen has taken on new aspects.

The first update is that we have news that the government has been in conflict with some of its Muslim groups, allegedly, according to some government sources, with outside help. We can’t report on the veracity of this, or who would be helping those Muslim rebels, but we hope that this doesn’t escalate.

Another new factor is that we have reports of hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers of the Nationalist government of China entering Burma from Yunnan. The government of Burma has claimed that this is an illegal action and has demanded their surrender or withdrawal from Burma, and we have sources indicating that fighting has broken out between the government and KMT forces. We believe the likely intention of the KMT forces is to regroup and try to reenter China. Some of our sources report that the KMT has been acquiring additional foreign equipment, but whether this is true, and where it’s from, are unknown. Possible theories range from cross-border raids to capture gear, the black market, stashes, and foreign supply. Tenuous reports indicate that Burmese government attempts to recapture Tachileik, a border town between Thailand and Burma, and the nearby disused WW2-era airstrip Mong Hsat, have so far failed. Experts tell us that these locations are important because they provide a safe border crossing between Thailand and Burma for the KMT, as well as a base of resupply.

The civil war involving the Karen forces and those of the Communist Party of Burma, the latter of which were recently reorganized, seems to have become a three-way conflict, with the government being the third party. While the government’s position seems more stable than last year, when the Karen forces were concerningly close to Rangoon [Yangon], the situation is still grim for many refugees who have told us their stories.

The government of Burma’s material situation does seem better than it was before, which has, reportedly, given it an upper hand in some of the recent fighting against the Karen and Communists. Additionally, the logistical situation of the government forces has, according to our sources, seen some improvements.

The Communists have accused the government of working with the British, something which the government has denied, although our sources have confirmed the presence of more Europeans in Rangoon than usual. This has been in the wake of recent communist offensives faltering, so this could be a sign of desperate accusations or the truth; we aren’t sure at the moment, our dear reader.

La Violencia, Colombia

We must, unfortunately, report that when we, in our last issue, wrote that there seemed to be no end in sight for the violence between liberals and conservatives in Colombia, we were right. Our correspondent in Bogota has informed us that there were no Liberal candidates for any of the major positions in the 1950 election. The lack of any political resolution or, truthfully, any attempt by the Conservatives to ameliorate the situation has been reflected in continued and increased violence across the country.

While the scenes of random neighbor-on-neighbor violence through villages have mostly subsided, in its stead has been a more organized guerrilla and counter-guerrilla-based campaign.

Our sources tell us that a Liberal leader known as Velásquez has assumed command over the various guerrilla forces fighting the government in the country’s Eastern Plains. His forces are estimated to have anywhere from one hundred to a thousand fighters.

We are, as of yet, unaware of how well or poorly their struggle has been. We do, however, know that fighting has broken out between organized groups in Antioquia, Tolima, and Sumapaz. We hope that next year we can better inform our dear readers.

Malayan Emergency

We bring updates on the Malayan Emergency for 1950! Although last year the communist forces, while harried, still maintained the momentum, this year the situation is unclear. What is clear is that the Commonwealth forces have put in significant efforts to overhaul and reshape their operational strategies for the purpose of defeating the MNLA (Malaysian National Liberation Army).

Some of our sources close to the conflict tell us that the establishment of new training programs for jungle warfare, newly recruited units, organizations to handle anti-guerilla warfare, and tactics has already borne some positive fruit, but it will take time for these measures to settle and produce their full effect. Additionally, the large reorganization process has caused some disruptions in the British efforts to defeat the MNLA. A more visible change has been the introduction of jet power (on the British side, for those wondering on the status of the MNLA air force) into the conflict this year, something some local British authorities were glad to brag about.

The Communist forces have kept up a pace of attacks and operations, although it has decreased in intensity and tempo from last year. Whether this is merely a temporary decline before more major operations or a serious blow to MNLA capabilities remains to be seen.

Some of our still unnamed sources believe that the British have benefited from much better intelligence this year, although we cannot confirm where that intelligence has come from. We can also confirm that some very loosely conducted polls by our reporters have reported a more ambivalent attitude to the communists among the ethnic Chinese population than last year. While the British civil and propaganda efforts have certainly played a role, the legalization of the KMT in Malaya and Singapore has had an unknown impact on the British effort.

Pakistan-Afghanistan border skirmishes

This year, on the 30th of September, our reporter in Islamabad heard the Pakistani government claim that Afghan troops and tribesmen had invaded Pakistan’s Balochistan after crossing the border. Following that announcement, our eager and underpaid reporter worked tirelessly to get as much information as he could reasonably get.

After just a week, the fighting seemed to have come to an end. From what we have gathered, the fighting was never particularly intense, although a Pakistani Hawker Typhoon was apparently shot down during the conflict, reportedly by some sort of light AAA, although the pilot was rescued. The invasion, from wherever it originated, was repelled after six days.

The Afghan government has denied any involvement, stating that “invasion” was nothing more than oddly well-equipped pro-Pashutunian Pashtun tribesmen.

We at the paper hope that this will be the end of hostilities here. Hopefully.

Darul Islam rebellion, Legion of the Just Ruler

Although we are able to say that our reporters within Indonesia have acquired more information on the Darul Islam rebellion that broke out last year, more information has made the situation only more confusing.

This year, in addition to the ongoing Darul Islam rebellion, still led by the mystic Kartosuwirjo, the Indonesian Army has been faced with a new group called the Legion of the Just Ruler (ARPA). While we know that this group was founded by Raymond Westerling, attempted a coup and briefly occupied Bandung before the Indonesian Army put down the short-lived insurgency. Due to its short length, most of our information about the group comes from the Indonesian Army.

We are unaware of what has happened to the former fighters of that group, but we will keep our loyal readers updated on the situation.

Huks, Utuado, Philippines

Our experts on the ground have reason to believe that the Hukbalahap rebellion, or the Huks, in the Philippines, which we have covered since last year, has grown in strength. While we have no official numbers or roster of their membership list, unfortunately, we can make some estimates. Their number of soldiers is likely somewhere from 10,000-20,000 soldiers, with a base of mass support ranging from 40,000 to perhaps 80,000.

The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), which has been formally aligned with the Huks before breaking off relations after the start of its insurgency, has seen its entire secretariat, including its general secretary, arrested this year.

We would also like to take this opportunity to update our readers on the status of the Kamlon Rebellion, which we regretfully omitted in prior updates. After the surrender and then the resumption of fighting last year, the uprising has continued. Despite harassment from government forces, our reporters have told us that the common consensus is that the movement has gained some strength and support recently.