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No . 06:45/68 

.. DECLASSIFIED 
129~8 S 	3 6 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
E.O. ~ , cc. . 	.
a'-__ ;i, 7(p Directorate of IntelligenceNLJ l"P 21 August 1968 By ,Uo..-' NARA Date //)r~3r '1 7 
(If 
MEMORANDUM 
SUBJECT: 	Free World Reaction to Events in Czecho­
slovakia (as of 1630 hours) 

Sumroar:l 

Free World reaction to the military interven­tion in Czechoslovakia has been almost universally critical although little reporting is available as yet from areas other than Wes tern Europe. A nurnbei· of key officials in Europe were on vacation at the time of the event. The tone of comment has ranged from Belgium's expression of "consternation" anq condemna­tion of "methods of coercion which nothing can jus­tify" to Austria's reassertion of its neutrality and its announcement of a military alert. There have been demonstrations before Soviet and other Conununist diplomatic establishments in several countries. 
· Europe 
1. 
The United Kingdom and West Germany reacted promptly and strongly. Prime Minister Wilson called the invasion "a tragedy not only for Czechoslovakia but for Europe and the whole worlc1.° Foreign Secre­tary Stewart told the Soviet ambassador that the in­vasion violated the UN charter. The British Parlia­ment has been called for an emergency session on 26 August. Britain's attitude was echoed by Prime Min­istry Holyoake of New Zealand who stated that the in­vasion turned the clock back to the darkest days of the cold war .. 

2. 
German Chancellor Kiesinger called a cab­inet meeting and then issued a statement branding the invasion "a clear violation of Czech sovereignty and interference in its internal affairs." .?\ West Ger­man Defense Ministry spokesman indicated that the Federal Republic would assume the same attitude as other members of the NATO alliance . In Bavaria, 


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steps were taken to provide for potential Czech refu­gees. In both Britain ~nd Germany demonstrators ap­peared before soviet embassies. In private, Holyoake challenged the Soviet Minister's statement that the invasion had been prompted by a request from the Czech ''government." 
3. 
French President <le Gaulle's main concern was with the effect on the European detente which France had been trying to foster. Deploring the events in Czechoslovakia, which he felt constituted an attack on the rights and destiny of a friendly nation, De Gaulle indicated that Moscow apparently still could not free itself from 41 bloc politics" which interfered with the rights of people to manage their own affairs. Italian Foreign Minister Medici felt that the world had returned to "the period be­fore Camp David" and that revitalization of NATO and progress toward political integration of Europe had now become more urgent. Italian Prime Minister Leone was not in Rome when news of th~ invasion was received. 

4. 
Belgium and the Netherlands strongly con­demned the Soviet action. The Belgian Acting For­eign Minister expressed his government's consterna­tion, and the Belgian radio drew obvious parallels with the 1956 invasion of Hungary. In the Hague, both the government and the opposition Labor Party issued strong condemnations. The public reacted with shock and horror. Demonstrations wer~ expected and police were assigned to guard East European embassies. Luxembourg officially announced its consternation at Czech developments. 

5. 
In Scandinavia, Denmark took the lead with a government statement which stated in part that "for all freedom-loving people, the events must be felt as a tragedy, 11 All Danish military leaves were cancelled, at'1d the cabinet was to hold an emergency meeting. SwQdish Prime Minister Erlander issued a statement deploring the intervention and expressing deep concern for the "son:ow and dis­appointmc11t" that must be felt .by the Czech people. Swedish press comment is not yet available, but the conservative press may take the government to task for its weak reaction in the face of all it has said about US involvement in Vietnam. The Finnish public reportedly was stunned and worried by the Soviet action, and demonstrations against the So­viet Embassy seGmed likely. 


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6. In central Europe, Austrian Chancellor 
Klaus addressed the nation on 21 August to reassure 
Austrians and visiting foreigners of their safety 
and to serve ~ot~ce indirectly to the USSR that 
Austria did not intend to interfere at present, 
Privately, the Austrian Government indicated that 
it did not wish to do anything that would jeopardize 
its ability to be helpful in the future_ There has 
been no official reaction f l·orn .s·,,; i t zer land' µs yet,. 
but swiss citizens were qui.ck to '.demonstrat~-be.fore 
the Soviet and Polish embassies in Bern. 

Middle East 
7. The Greek, Turkish, and Iranian governments 
are apparently concerned, but there has been no of­
ficial reaction from them as yet. Privately, they 
are almost certain to be adversely .affected by the 
Soviet move. Popular sympathy for· Czechoslovakia 
is likely to run high in Turkey, but the Turkish 
!'adio has conf'ineCl. itself so far to full tactical 
reporting. Nothing significant has been heard from 
the Arab states as yet. Indian Prime Minister 
Indiri Gandhi, who is torn between moral considera­
tions and India's dependence on Soviet military aid, 
has informed parliament of her 11 anguish. 11 She hopes 
that the military forces which had entered Czechoslo~ 
vakia would withdraw shortly. She stated that the 

~rights 	of a nation to live peacefully without out­side interference should not be denied in the name of religion or ideology, 
Far East 
a. In this area only Japan and Malaysia have reacted as yet. Japanese official reaction has been confined to a statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary to the effect that the Soviet intervention is unac­ceptable "whatever the reason." Press and radio conunent has been sparse and limited to e»cpressions ..:>f concern. Small groups have demonstrated before the Soviet Emb.assy. Malaysian Prime Minister Rahman has termed the Soviet action °most unfortunate," stating that any country that used force in this man­ner was a threat to Malaysia. The Deputy Prime Min­ister echoed these sentiments~ Malaysian leaders now may have second thoughts regarding their recent 
policy of encouraging closer relations with the USSR. 
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Africa 
9, Reaction from Africa so far has been uni­versally critical. The President of the Malagasy Republic was quoted on the national radio as calling the invasion "shamefulu and ''revolting." He went on to say that "this affair shows us once more that to join up with the Conununists is to accept their subjugation, to agree to be their tool, and thus to renounce freedom of choice and self-determination.u Tunisian Foreign Minister Bourguiba expressed deep concern to a us Embassy official~ The Kenyan Foreign 
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Minister stated that "gunboat diplomacy was out of place in the second half of the 20th century. 
lO. A Congo (Kinshasa} spokesman made a statement critical of the use of brute force against Czecho­slovakia and said the Congo would recall its students from countries which had participated in the invasion. The Ethiopian radio gave unusually detailed ~overage of Czech events, terming the movement of Communist military forces a 0 full invasion. 11 The government has ordered news media not to editorialize, however. In Sierra Leone, several cabinet ministers have notified the us Embassy of their concern and disapproval, but the Minister of Information says no public statement is likely. The government of Nigeria is also concerned, but has no direct information sources of its own and has. net yet commented publicly. 
Latin America 
11. Reaction from Central and South America is li.ght. The Brazilian Foreign Minister ·has conde.mned the Soviet action, tellin~ reporters that the news was received' with surprise ana that the invasion is a viola­tion of the principles of the UN charter, He added that freedom and Communism were irreconcilable.. In Chile, a TV commentator stated that Russia cannot al­low neutrality in central Europe for fear its own security would be weakened, and he suggested that Czechoslovakia had suffered the same fate as Hungary. Early morning papers in Latin America carried full news ~eports but little editorial comment, 
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8!30RET 




t the United ations, Secretary General u 

an · ssued a state ent deploring Soviet interven­t' n · Czechoslovakia and appealing to the Russians to eYe cise restraint. U Thant also canceled his p ans to v sit Pr gue shortly . The United States an fo r other countries called for a meeting of the U · s~curity Council on the afternoon of 21 August~ ~, .. 'lO officials are keeping a close watch on the situa­tion. !n Rome, Pope Paul VI indirectly appealed to the Soviet Union and its allies not to destroy the 
ign ty and liberty of the Czech people. 
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