Some Czechs Turned Their Faces From Invaders

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31764, 22 August 1968, Page 1

Some Czechs Turned Their Faces From Invaders

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) PRAGUE, August 21. Soviet troops and tanks today roared through the streets of Prague as angry young demonstrators chanted “Liberty” at them, according to an A.A.P.-Reuter correspondent, Vincent Buist.

Tanks rumbled along the six-mile road from Prague Airport into the centre of the city in large numbers soon after 6 a.m. Troops m steel helmets swept down the broad high-

way in armoured troop carriers, Russian traffic police took over from Czechoslovak police, and citizens on their way to work turned their faces away and ignored the invaders.

One woman telephoning into the centre of Prague from a room overlooking the airport said: “It’s unbelievable. . . the tanks are coming but the people are not looking at them.” The rattle of Russian machine-gun fire and rifle fire split the dawn air near the Czechoslovak Central Committee headquarters as the redbereted soldiers forced the heckling crowds to take cover behind trees. It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties or whether [they were all warning shots, over the crowd’s heads. HORNS BLARING

All the taxis and cars in I Prague raced through the streets at dawn blaring their horns and with headlights blazing to warn the people of the entry of the Russian troops. As Russian troops in red berets with machine-guns took up position outside the Prague Radio building, the people of Prague climbed out of their beds and went down into the streets—some in pyjamas and dressing-gowns. Thousands of young people grabbed Czechoslovak flags and marched on the centra) committee building. Only a few minutes before they arrived at 4.45 a.m.,

Soviet armoured cars and tanks surrounded the building. WAVED BACK I drove up the embankment road towards the central committee building and as I swung round a corner, a Russian soldier with a machinegun in the crook of his arm pointed the gun at me and waved me back.

I reversed very smartly and returned to the other side of the large four-storey building where 1 ran into a group of red-capped Russian soldiers taking up positions at the double along the embankment.

A Russian tank clattered upi to the entrance of the building and the turret swung round until the gun was pointing at the main entrance of the Central Committee building. The crowd of young demonstrators began gathering and increasing in size. A few warning shots were fired over their heads and the blue smoke from the Russian carbines curled up in the early morning air. CZECHS CHANTING

But the young demonstrators continued chanting “Liberty” “Where is Dubcek,” “Russians out” ... A few minutes later I heard the rattle of machine-gun fire and I saw the crowd fleeing and taking cover behind trees along the embankment As I turned the car round to return to the centre of the city more T 54 tanks were rumbling over the bridges from north Prague into the city centre. Thousands of men, women and youths stood on the streets holding transistor radios to their ears. One driver was sobbing convulsively in the front seat of his car.

Outside Prague Radio a young man raced up to my car and—contorted with anguish and anger—bellowed through the window, “Blow your klaxon—drive through the streets. Wake everybody up. They’ve come . . . they’ve come ...”

Next time I arrived back at the radio building, about 5 a.m., there were armoured cars and armoured troop carriers filled with red-bereted soldiers around the building. They seemed to be engulfed in a crowd of angry Czechoslovaks. The Czechoslovaks glared at the Russians who looked stolidly back, their machine-guns and carbines held at the ready.

Long after the Russians had entered the capital, young men and women in their own cars or in commandeered taxis raced through the streets of central Prague with the Czechoslovak na- | tional flag billowing out of side windows. Men and women near the central committee building stood as if stunned at the sight of the troops and tanks. Although machine-gun fire crackled out only 100 yards away, many of them could not grasp what was going on and remained motionless watching the Russian troops adopt kneeling positions. A young man stood on top of a taxi and began to harangue the Czechoslovak demonstrators. As he spoke the crackle of gunfire broke out. I dodged behind a tree and I could not see what happened to him. In other parts of Prague early morning workers were phlegmatically queueing for trams . . . policemen were changing their posts at traffic lights .... and within a few hundred yards life was going on normally. But then the central telephone exchange began refusing all calls outside or inside the country.