INVADERS SEEK TO JUSTIFY ACTION

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31836, 14 November 1968, Page 13

INVADERS SEEK TO JUSTIFY ACTION

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) WARSAW, November 13. A Czechoslovak delegate is scheduled to address the Polish Communist congress in Warsaw today after listening to Soviet, East German, Bulgarian and Polish leaders justify their August invasion of his homeland.

Mr Josef Lenart, a “middle of the road” party secretary in the Prague leadership, is listed to address the congress as a fraternal representative at this morning’s session.

He will be followed by a spokesman for the fifth of the Warsaw Pact powers which sent their troops to save Czechoslovakia from the alleged danger of “counterrevolution” a Hungarian Politburo member, Mr Bela Biszku. The Soviet Communist Party secretary (Mr Leonid Brezhnev) conceded at yesterday’s congress sessionattended by representatives of 39 foreign Communist parties and more than 1700 delegates from all over Poland—that the invasion was “an extraordinary step, dictated by necessity.” Such intervention was permissible only when direct actions of enemies of socialism inside or outside a Communist country threatened the common interests of the Socialist camp, he said.

Mr Brezhnev made it clear that Moscow considered that once a country had embraced communism, there could be no turning back to capitalism. Mr Todor Zhivkov, First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party, said the armed action saved Czechoslovakia’s “Socialist achievements” and created conditions for normalisation of the situation in the country and consolidation of peace and security. Mr Zhivkov echoed Soviet determination —expressed by Mr Brezhnev—to go ahead “in the near future” with a projected world Communist Party summit conference. This was postponed from its original date of November 25 because of disarray and differences in the world movement over Soviet treatment of Czechoslovakia. An international committee is meeting in Budapest next Sunday to consider when it should be held. Mr Brezhnev said it would

be a mistake to turn a blind| eye to these differences. The'j Soviet party was ready to' discuss them frankly. In a marathon six-hour opening address to the week-! long congress last Monday, the Polish party leader, Mr Wladyslaw Gomulka, implicitly rebuked Western Communist parties which condemned the intervention in Czechoslovakia. Some—including the Italian, French, and I

British parties—are represented at the congress. The Swedish party which also opposed the action was not invited to the gathering,

a spokesman for the congress press centre told reporters. Neither were the Jugoslav, Chinese and Albanian parties. Informed sources said an invitation went to Cuba but no delegation arrived. The Swiss party also failed to turn up, although invited.