Protests Against Prague’s New Policies Increase

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31841, 20 November 1968, Page 17

Protests Against Prague’s New Policies Increase

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

PRAGUE, November 19, Czechoslovakia’s leaders today faced a wave of protests over their new postoccupation policy heralding tougher controls on the press and on political affairs.

The new tough line was hammered out at a three-day meeting of the central committee which ended early on Sunday. The nation has learnt the details only in the last 24 hours. The curbs on the liberalisation programme—introduced (by the party leader, Mr Alexander Dubcek, when he came to power last January —drew immediate reaction from Prague students, who started a three-day sit-in yesterday. Students in Olomouc, Brno and Pilsen also came out in support of Mr Dubcek and against Conservative criticism of his progressive policies, and in Prague journalists gave notice that they would not stay quiet. Journalists Gather More than 1000 journalists gathered in a reception hall jin the heart of Prague last night to protest against the recent one-month suspension of the weekly news magazine, “Reporter” and the ending of political commentaries on television and radio. The journalists passed a resolution calling the attention of party, Parliament and Government leaders to the dangers to contacts between the country’s representatives and the people “should freedom of word be completely liquidated and speech tragically crippled.” They said they refused to be confined to the outskirts of society and declared they would maintain their contacts with workers, on whose mutual solidarity they depended. The Communist Party newspaper “Rude Pravo” today published details of a resolution passed by the central committee, blaming the flaws which led to the August invasion by Warsaw Pact

troops on both the old guard under ex-President Antonin Novotny and on the new progressive Dubcek regime. But while they endorsed restrictions demanded by the Soviet Union on the liberalisation programme, party leaders also said they wanted to bring democracy to their internal affairs. Socialist Spirit i The resolution said in one! | of the four main tasks set out for the party that journalists were “responsible for mass means of communications working in an exclu-j ! sively Socialist spirit ” ! All mass media workers! served the interests of the! State, it said, adding that it! was particularly important; that the press “unequivocably ( and unambigously” supported; the resolution. Under the same point—' strengthening the leading role of the party—came a para-

graph calling for an increase in the militant and political preparedness of the people’s militia, the factory fighting groups, which played a key role during the 1948 Communist take-over.

lin for its move towards decentralisation through the establishment of workers' councils. In the central committee meeting, Mr Dubcek's influence was considerably curtailed through the reinstatement of Conservatives into the party apparatus. An eight-man ruling executive of the presidium was established, leaving him with only one close associate, the National Assembly chairman, Mr Josef Smkrovsky. The other members lean towards moderate and Conservative views, and one of these, Mr Lubomir Strougal, is seen as a restraining influence on the progressives.

The militia’s part in the country’s defence system was to be incorporated in law, the resolution said, dispelling older Communist's fears that the militia might be disbanded. Victimised Conservative

Measures to develop inter--1 nal party democracy revealed ;party leadership attempts to stop victimisation of Conservatives who have been bit- [ terly attacked for their views, especially those who supported the Soviet occupation The central committee said it would oppose all attempts to discredit honourable comrades, as well as any “harassment on account of an open internationalist relation to the Soviet Union.” But the resolution also said; party members should be able! to express their opinions! freely and openly in party forums. On economic measures, it called for a continuation of reforms but did not specify if reference to “the; democratic participation of working people in directing and controlling the economy” meant continuing with plans for setting up local workers’ councils. Czechoslovakia's economic system of management has been attacked by the Krem-