THE MICHIGAN DAILY
REVOLUTION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA:
Communism and Freedom
Together?
Vietnam War Effort Erodes
Swedish-A merican Relations
PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia OP)
-At the beginning there was
a transplant without a chance
of 'success. Then there was
murder, suppression and fear.
Finally therm was an unparal-
leled upheaval with the of-
ficial aim of combining what
sounds irreconcilable to most
Western ears: COMMUNISM
AND FREEDOM.
This is the backdrop for
the situation in Czechoslovakia
today. Within a few weeks, the
mood of the country has
changed radically. Support for
the leadership that spurred
the transformation seems wide
spread.
But with domestic political
time bombs ticking and armies
of Czechslovakia's worried al-
lies maneuvering close to the
borders, the situation is far
from stable.
Spared
When the Communists took
over in Czechoslovakia 20 years
ago, this was the sole highly
developed country in the So-
viet orbit. Its industries had
been spared by the war and its
manpower was shrunken less
by combat losses than that of
most other European nations.
To impose the Soviet econ-
omic system on this industrial-
ized society meant the grafting
of incompatibles.
Politically, independent mind-
ed leaders were hanged or jail-
ed. So were people with West-
ern background, whether they
had, fought against Generalis-
simo Franco's troops in Spain
or helped down German bomb-
ers in the London blitz.
For years, the system seemed
to work. Production figures
rose, productivity dropped.
But gradually, alarms were
sounded over what were la-
beled "economic discrepancies."
In 1963 even production drop-
ped. A growing stream of West-
ern tourists brought badly
needed hard currency, but that
gave second thoughts to many
Czechs who saw Western work-
ers roving the country in cheap
cars.
The country's intelligentsia,
alerted to Stalinist crimes by
the thaw of the Khrushchev
era, became increasingly rest-
ive. Rehabilitation of Stalinist
victims, in many cases posthu-
mously, was done behind closed
doors.
Western fads spread among
the youth. The Beatles were
idolized and in 1965 American
poet Allen Ginsberg, cheered
for his eccentric message of
individual freedom, was pub-
licly crowned king of the
Maiales, a student festival.
A writers' congress heard
fierce denunciations of the re-
gime's uncritically pro-Arab
stand. In October, a student
march, demonstrating against
poor dormitory conditions, was
stopped brutally by police
clubs.
The first move in the new
program of "socialist democrat-
ization" was to proclaim a
division of party and govern-
ment functions. The next was
the virtual lifting of press cen-
sorship.
Defection
A third, unscheduled one was
the sensational defection of
Gen. Jan Seina, a Novotny
protege, to the United States.
Public exposure of conspiracy
and corruption he is alleged to
have masterminded reduced the
ranks of the hard line sup-
porters.
The process of "socialist de-
mocratization" gained amazing
momentum. Criticism was aired
in a way without precedent in
any Communist country. Gen-
erals criticized their chiefs of
staff, editors their publishers,
government officials their min-
isters and ministers the head of
state. ..
Controlled
Western observers who at
times doubted the new leaders
had things still under control
are becoming convinced that
the upheaval is astoundingly
well orchestrated.
Reformist party chief Alex-
ander Dubcek keeps voicing un-
flinching loyalty to the Moscow,
alliance. Domestically, the new
leaders have opened ideological
flood gates, but manifestations
of anti-Soviet feelings have re-
mained an exception.
Practical
The new leaders confide in
the practical sense of people
who have lived under foreign
rule for most of 300 years.
Slovak Communist leader
Gustav Husak has called the
democratization p r o c e s s a
"quiet revolution." Observers
here believe it will stay that way
although tanks rumbling in
spring maneuvers in East Ger-
many and Hungary have an
eerie echo here.
Not All is Well
Political time bombs are tick-
ing that can blow up either way.
A growing segment of public
opinion demands a genuine op-
position party as a control or-
gan.
The Czechoslovak man in the
street hovers between skepti-
cism and enthusiasm, although
most seem optimistic.
STOCKHOLM R) - "Bad
wars make bad friendships"
should, perhaps, be the current
national slogan here, for it
would best describe the.affect
the war in Vietnam is having
on Swedish-American relations,
This strain in relations be-
tween the United States and
Sweden runs counter to an
unbroken 185-year friendship
between the two countries, a
friendship as old as the United
states itself.
Except for an era of ruffled
feelings a few years ago, there
has been nothing within the
memory of Swedish officials
here like the present deteriora-
tion in relations.
Since the 1965 stepup in the
Vietnam war, relations gradual-
ly have become more and more
clouded. Sweden, a neutral
country, officially took an ever-
sharper critical tone in opposi-
tion to U.S. policy in Southeast
Asia. Broad sections of the press
also reflected a hostile stance
to the U.S. role in Vietnam.
The climax came when the
Social Democratic government
openly supported Hanoi policy
by permitting a Cabinet min-
ister to walk at the side of a
North Vietnamese diplomat and
denounce the United States in
a pro-Viet Cong, anti-Amer-
ican demonstration.
Why is the Swedish govern-
ment following such a line at
the risk of seriously damaging
traditionally amicable ties with
the United States, first sealed
by Benjamin Franklin in a
treaty April 3, 1783?
"I am certain the present pic-
ture would be different if this
weren't an election year in
Sweden as it is in the United
States," said a prominent Swed-
ish__official.
"The government, of course,
denies it, but let's be explicit-
this extreme criticism of the
United States could not have
happened if it weren't that our
Social Democratic government
is worried about the outcome
of the parliamentary election
in autumn.
"Socialists fear that their far
left and especially many of the
young new voters will defect
to the Communists unless they
appease them on the Vietnam
war issue.
"They also feel they will
benefit among the electorate
generally by championing the
antiwar sentiment. And remem-
ber the Social Democrat share
of the votes has been declining
since 1962," he said.
Swedish youth, unfettered by
any memories of a time when
Europe's freedom was threat-
ened, are protesting more loud-
ly, becoming politically more
active and extreme and de-
manding more involvement in
world affairs than any previous
Swedish generation. Undoubt-
edly part of the reason is that
Vietnam is being brought into
their living rooms through
television.
A worrying question in Swe-
den, raised recently by the con-
servative paper Sveska Dag-
bladet, is whether the young
generation is prepared to step
beyond the boundaries set by
Sweden's 150-year-old policy of
non-alignment in peacetime,
which still finds general ac-
ceptance.
Many Swedes still feel guilty
about not having spoken out
critically against the Nazis as
they do today against the Unit-
ed States.
One student of foreign af-
fairs recalled, "There was what
amounted to almost an official
conspiracy of silence for fear
of offending the Nazis. There
were no demonstrations, no
rock or egg throwing, no flag
burning. Had a paper then at-
tacked Hitler as many attack
President Johnson and his ad-
ministration today, it would
have been confiscated-as some
indeed were for defying the
government."
Sweden smarted when the
late American Secretary of
State John Fuster Dulles: de-
clared there -could be no such
thing as a neutral poisition dur-
ing the cold war era because
it basically was a fight between
democratcy and totalitarianism.
Charges that Sweden is "tak-
ing sides" in this Vietnam war
led the government to go out of
its way to redefine its neutral-
ity last week in a foreign af-
fairs debate. Sweden's neutral-
ity is not passive, the govern-
ment said.
-Associated Press
Change Comes to Czechoslovakia
4
Learning Draft Laws for Fun and Profit
II...
WASHINGTON (CPS) -
With the prospect that the
current draft regulations will
be changed or eliminated look-
ing more dim every day, many
students will soon find them-
selves confronted personally
with the idiosyncracies of the
Selective Service System.
Michael Tigar, a young
Washington lawyer who has
handled many draft cases, and
is now editor-in-chief of a new
law journal called the Selective
Service Law Reporter, has of-
fered some suggestions about
how students should respond to
the threat of the draft.
His recommendations, based
on a careful study of, the cur-
rent draft laws and the admin-
istrative regulations that ac-
company them, are necessarily
somewhat broad in scope, since
he, could not take into account
the idiosyncracies of individual
draft boards. He does feel,
though, his suggestions should
be of some help to prospective
draftees in colleges around the
country.
Tigar's basic suggestion for
students is that them plan care-
fully in dealing with with the
Selective Service System. Many
students take the position that
the best way to avoid the draft
is to ignore it, in hopes that it
will go away. Tigar says that
is a fundamental mistake.
"Don't stay away from your
draft board," Tigar says; "Go
to the board and look in your
file. If you can't go yourself,
you can designate someone else
in writing-preferably a mem-
ber of your family-to check
your file for you. And besides
that, consult someone who is
competent in Selective Service
law."
In the matter of clAssifica-
tions, Tigar recommends that
students not get a II-S (stu-
dent) deferment if they can
avoid it, since anyone who has
held a II-S since July 1, 1967,
will not be eligible for a III-A
.famiy) deferment after losing
his II-S. If a registrant has
been automatically granted a
II-S, though, rather than ap-
plying for it, the restriction on
getting a III-A doesn't apply.
According to Tigar, there are
several popular misconceptions
about getting conscientious ob-
jector status.
One is that to be designated
a C.O., a registrant must be a
member of a "peace church,"
such as the Quakers or the Je-
hovah's Witnesses. Under pres-
ent laws, this is entirely false.
Another is that a C.O. must
be a complete pacifist. On the
contrary, a C.O. must-only be
opposed to "war in any form.'
He can be willing to fight to
defend himself, his home, his
family, etc., and still qualify
as a C.O.
Finally, many registrants
don't realize that a C.O. ap-
plicant need not believe in an
anthropomorphic God. As a re-
sult of a Supreme Court deci-
sion, a C.O. can base his ob-
jection to war on deeply-rooted
value system that has the same
function in his life as the belief
in God does in the life of a
religious man.
In his actual dealings with
his board, Tigar says, a reg-
istrant should not take the posi-
tion that the less he has to do
with it, the better. Tigar rec-
ommepds hat every registrant
find out what is in his file, and
make sure that all his dealings
with his board are recorded in
it, if possible.
When a registrant runs into
hostility from his board, he can
ask the government appeals
agent to intercede. Each board
has an appeals agent, who is
usualy a local lawyer. The
agent represents both the board
and its registrants, and he is
usually in a better position
thanthe board members to in-
terpret the lawe.
1
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