NID: CZECHOSLOVAKIA: AFTERMATH OF THE DEMONSTRATION

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe: A 30-Year Legacy
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06826788
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2019
• Publication Date: November 20, 1989

Approved for Release: 2019/10/29 C06826788
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CZECItOSLOVAKIA: Aftermath of the Demonstration
The alleged death of a student demonstrator by police on Friday is
fueling plans for farther protests and appears to hare thrown the regime
itessure will add to the hardliners discomfit.
The brutal suppression on Friday of a rally by 50.000 protesters
in Prague has prompted new challenges to the regime. Two thousand
mourners assembled on Saturday at Wenceslaus Square where a
20-year-old student reportedly was beaten to death by police. and
30.0(10 protesters returned there yesterday to call for the leadership's
ouster. Leading dissident Vaclav Havel told that
the student's funeral would be an antiregime rally.
The Czechoslovak regime also appears to be under pressure from
Moscow. Party ideologue Jan Fojtik. in Moscow for talks with his
Soviet counterparts. said Friday that the Czechoslovaks will reassess
the Soviet invasion in 1968 and the Prague Springj
There are other signs that the government is in disarray. At least
one official claims he and others have turned down ministerial
appointments for fear of being compromised by association with
the Jukes leadership. The newspapers of two formerly subservient
political parties condemned the suppression of Friday's
demonstration and praised the students. More than 20 legislators�
including at least two Communist delegates�plan to vote against a
new law restricting independent publications.
Comment: The regime almost certainly has undermined its position
and added to internal disunity by its brutality. Popular resentment
and finger pointing by other leaders anxious to escape responsibility
for killing a protester probably will center on hardliners such as
General Secretary Jakcs and Fojtik. Miroslav Stepan. Prague party
chief and presumed contender for Jakes's job. could also be held
accountable. A party plenum on 14 and 15 December could serve as
the occasion for moderates and opportunists alike to press for major
changes in leadership and policies. The regime's in-house critics
probably will use Moscow's apparent pressure on the hardliners and
additional signs of public unrest to stet) UP Pressure for sienifi7nt
political and economic reforms.
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TCS 2969/89
210 November 1989
Approved for Release: 2019/10/29 C06826788