the invasion of Czechoslovakia, a wave of political trials began. They mark a new climax of repression. In Prague and Brno, proceedings have been carefully staged against 46 accused. The most prominent defendants have been Milan Hubl, former director of the Party college and member of the Central Committee (CC) of the Czecho slovak CP (CPC); Sabata, also a member of the CC; Litera, Secretary of the Prague City Committee of the CPC; the journalists and scientists Kyncl, Bartosak, Tesar, Battek Hajdanak, and the former student leader Muller. Arrested during the elections of November 1971, they were offered up as sacrifices on the altar of the fourth anniversary of the invasion 9 months later. The defendants were accused of anti-state and anti-socialist activity under article 98 of the Czech penal code. Their offence is supposed to have consisted in their links with emigres in the West, their authorship of leaflets, and their call to boycott the elections. All the offences were said to have begun after 1969. In this way, it would appear as a question of criminal and not political persecution.
TRUMPED-UP CHARGES These trumped-up charges started in 1969 after the first arrests. Amongst many others arrested at this time were Skutina, T.V. Commentator, who was sentenced to 4% years in jail; General Prehlik, head of the Army political administration, who was sentenced to 22 months; Peter Uhl, sentenced to 4 years as alleged founder of the Revolutionary Socialist Party' (together with 15 other alleged members of the group); and the journalist Lederer, sentenced to 2 years for collaboration with the Polish emigration. The type of investigations and charges in the current wave of trials seems very similar to these first cases. The members of the "Revolutionary Socialist Party' attributed their statements to pressure and blackmail exerted by the STB (political police) and to ppovocations in the cells; the "anti-socialist" actions with which they were charged were traced back to direct provocations by police agents. In the same way the accused in the new trials characterised the Froceedings against them as police repression. Milan Hubl described them as pure inventions, pre-fabricated down to the last detail. of the Communist Party CC, declares the accusations to be irrefutably proven since the defendants had given further evidence of their anti-socialist attitude before the court. Does this refer to the defendant s refusal to collaborate with the courts by making confesions? Does it refer to Jan Tesar entering the court with clenched fist, singing the Internationale? For Rude Pravo their guilt is further proved by the sentences, passed by independent judges, upholders of socialist justice. But what can be socialist about a legality where courts do not permit the holding of trials in public or the defendant's right to choose his own lawyer? What can be said about a trial where the accused is not allowed to submit evidence contrary to that of the prosecution, where the court considers refusal to testify and retraction of confessions as 'aggravating" circumstances? Even the 'independent' judges are liable to repression. According to a report of the Minister of Justice, 145 Czechoslovak judges (i.e. 13 per cent) left the service up to July 1970 in the course of "normalisation'. Since then there have been further dismissals - 34 more in July 1972 alone. Under the 'new course the judges are compelled to make their contributions to 'normalisation'. FACADE Legality in Czechoslovakia is a mere facade, even if it has not yet reached the stage of show trials a la Slansky. Charged with the task of political repression, the bureaucracy differentiates very cleverly between initiators and fellow-travellers, berween consistent opposition and unprincipled accommodation. The latent, ever-present opposition must be kept back from political action and struggle. But will the trials be kept within these limits for much longer?
One lesson has obviously been learnt from 1956. Everyting was done then to prevent the revival of the resistance by putting off the trials of former party leaders and thereby Isolating the activist nucleus within the passive population. Two years were required for this in Hungary. Then came the executions. But during those two years Nagy was assured of This immunsty. On 26 November, 1956, Kadar announced: "We said that we would not institute any proceedings against him, even if he admitted his own guilt. We have kept our promise". It was only in 1958 that the execition of Nagy was officially announced. there are no political trials in Czechoslovakia, this can be explained just as in 1956. How and whether the trials get worse depends on the interests of the Soviet bureaucracy. CONSOLIDATION The form of the repression still seems to correspond to the latter's specific interests. In 1968 Czechoslovakia was to become the model for a 'new course", and by 1969 it should have become a model of consolidation, for it was not only in Czechoslovakia that a latent potential of opposition existed. Its experience of resistance can, moreover, become an example for other countries. Thus, all those arrested on the third anniversary of the invasion and subsequently released were again interrogated on the fourth anniversary. The purpose was to examine the changes in opinion, to measure the success of the consolidation, and to spot early any signs of a fresh outburts of resistence. Thus the repression in Czechoslovakia is aimed above all at smashing up political organisation at its inception.
Is there a real danger that the present limited repression will, in the coming period, escalate into monster trials? The bureaucracy has still not ruled out this option. None of the accusations against Dubcek have been enforced yet, though they all refer to high treason, betrayal of the fatherland, aiding foreign powers and anti-socialist activities. Each of these charges carries the death penalty and investigations continue against all the political figures of the Dubcek period. But as long as the threat of action fulfills the function of securing calm, order, productivity and greater privileges for the bureaucracy, the show-trials familiar in the 30s and 50s can be forgone.
In the long term "consolidation" has one drawback: it cannot overcome the passivity of the workers and employees. What growth in production has taken place is above all due to repression at the place of work. Increased targets, stiffer work-norms and repressive labour legislation are the basis of the expansion. Recently, Rude Pravo warned of a new campaign against the high rate of absenteeism, and even complained that there are workers who prevent their work mates from helping out at unmanned points in the productive process; it said some workers stop others from submitting NOT THE ACCUSED ARE THE Sybille Plogstedt at picket last Sunday proposals for innovation and improvement of production, or adopt hostile attitudes towards those promoted for their co-operative spirit. The basic crisis of the so-called socialist states - the political and moral disinterest on the part of the masses in the further development of the system - cannot be solved by repression.
INTERNATIONAL ACTION What action can we ourselves take agains the persecution in Czechoslovakia? As the phoney trials grow in number, so does the wave of international protest against the repression. Now the Communist Parties in the West must react to them: the French CP and CT protested against the use of police methods instead of political persuasion; the Communist Parties of Britain, Australia, Italy and Spain not only attacked the methods of the regime, but even supported the accused and declared that socialism must at all times show its historical superiority over all forms of capitalist democracy. By constantly bringing the issues out into the open we can assist the efforts to thwart further trials. After the recent international wave of protests, proceedings against ten of the accused were dropped. So far we have not learnt of further arrests. For us, every trial that does not take place is a victory, every early release, every reduction in sentence is a success. We must concentrate our work on these objectives and force the Communist Parties of the West to continually discuss the campaign.
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