=-' ' ·.'' . " ' , .. \ , I:· 1 .. ,. ; I '· r ' ' ' ' :I "' ,, .. ~~g:c­. j' .DEPARTMENT OF STATE I CZECH TASK FORCB:·' . • i " l, ~i.gns·. P.t.~Cze..e:.ho~ l.~':'~k £0.!1£.e~·~...0~.!1 I~.<:_r_e!l.s.e: Evidence is incl:'ea~ing • I that the Czachos~ovaks are knuckli.ng under ·to. Soviet demand a·. Two indi­ ' I " I,. cations of ~ Qan on independ~nt political activity have appeared. First, the .Interior Ministry refused to legalize tl1e existence of two quas1­poli.tical . clubs-""t.he .11 231 Club," (composed o~ former victims of political persecution)' and thei. "Club ·of Commi.tted Non-Party People. · (FBIS 72) Second the. Presidium of 'the .Conl:ral Conuuit.tee of the National Fron.t issued a state.' . I ment claiming that there. is no reason for political activities outside the Front. (FBlS (>3) On the quest.ion of censc>rship, the Slovak Central Commit• tee on September 5 said th~ conclusions of '. the Moscow meeting on the press, redio• and te,lcvision were -"an unavoidable.step.to normalize relations · bet.ween social·ist states"· and a·nnounced its determin.ation to reali.ze them ·as a temporary measu1:e, "with ,all thoroughn~ss.·" (FBIS 6) National Assembly .President1Smrkovs~y t.old an 1.nLerviewer·.th&t the Assembly would discuss · ·draft laws .on tho Hat.1onal Fi:ont, on the press 1 and on as.scmbly and associa• ~ion (FBIS 57); it ae~ma inescapable that all three law• will be repressive . \ in n<\ t.1.' re• I . This spirit of increasing cooper~tivencss with the occupiers was also refle.cted in the. speech to the Slovak party pl.en.um by the. liberal Gustav Hosakt newly elected Slovak party ·Chief. Hµsa.k attacked those who re­jected the Moscow Etgreement 1 as well as tho~e who wanted to i 4 et:ul."n to the Novotny epl; he asserted that "no for~i.gn ~rgans in our c ~/6~.. ?: . ' . 'I I H~·7NARA~ :Dat .C,0,-~.-?0 • I ' I ... .... 1 • ' ' I' §.it~JJ..on Re,£oyt 0800_1lour{! E,.DT,,,, Septcru.be,r 6, 1968 heavy losses inflicted by the actio1\R of the ant:i..soci.alist forces." Among the activities of those for~es, th~ ·article· listed terrorism subversion slandering· of the Moscow talks, attempts ' to d1.scredit the Cz~ch leadership, and intimidation of those. responding to the; appeal.a of the Czech party and . • government • . It also claimed th~t the r1ght~wingers are trying to spread the noti.on that "normalization" means merely the withdrawal of Warsaw Fact . . troops. (FBIS 27) An Izv.£.sti 1!. ai.•ticle S~ptcmber 5 struck.some of the ·same notes, but· put.. more accent on posi.tive moves toward normali.zation, (FBIS 1) '· ."r 4. poviets AttRc)< Yugos.lP-vi.a: In the sharpest language used against Yugoslavia in yell rs·, t.~e Soviet pi.·ess (in .fuld Star) brAnded the Yugoslavs . " as "revisi.onists whose anti-Soviet 'theses' . are readily used by imperialist propaga1tda." Red Star. lumped thei. Yugoslav "~evisi.oniats" with the Chinese "spl ittet's" as abettors. of i.mperiAlisro, bu·t ". it significantly omitted the Romanians from .its atta.cl<. (1''BIS 31) .BefC1:i.-e the fil~l Star article appeared, a leading Y"'gosl.av politician, $erbian party chief l'etar Stambolic, referred . publicly to orgap°tzed and deliberate _attacks on Yugoslavia comi.ng from the socialist countries engaged in the occupa'tion of C~echoslovt\kia; St~nnbolic also emphasized. th~ necessity of defending rugoslavia 0 £r011\ possible attacks, froln whatever side they may come." (FBIS 75) There is still no hard evidence of a So~iet and/or allied milit~ry build­up against either Yugoslavia or Romania. 5. J:.on>)O. EKri1:csses R~s.ery!Jj._~s on t...'o;rld _Cppmuni~t J1~eti,n.s,: ltalian Com­munist leader Longo told a journal ''it is .not uscful ••• to hold the world communist confer.ence ".scheduled for Moscow ·next November "until the sitoa'.'9 ·tion in Ci;echoslovakia is satisf~ctori.ly normalized •., , .Only a return to normal can now av£n't still tnoi·c serious splits in the int()rnational com­ munist movement.•• (AFl~, Ron:u) • . FBIS 73) ,/I I ' I . I' I . • I I.. I • ... 1 ! . I ' ..;; 1-. .·