Czechoslovakia occupation excites indignation throughout the world

Source	« Le Soir », n°196, the 22th of August 1968, P.1, 3, 4.
Event referred to	20th of August 1968 : USSR invasion of Czech Republic.
Technological characteristics	Type of file: Image Extension : pdf Characteristics Dimension of the file: < 2000 Ko Availability proposed: pdf document with zoom options
Description of the source	Kind of source: Newspaper article Origin of the source: Archives of the University of Liège (Belgium) Language: French Copyright issues: reproduction and pedagogical exploitation authorized in the framework of the MHM project
Contextualisation of the source	« Le Soir » is an important French-speaking newspaper. Started in 1887, this daily of neutral trend is edited in Brussels. It is an opened place for the most important political parties in Belgium. It is mostly read by the middle classes. In 1967, 280.000 copies of this newspaper were published. (J. GOL, Le monde de la presse en Belgique, édition du Centre de Recherche et d’Information socio-politiques – CRISP- 1970)
Interpretation of the source	This edition contains all the very last available information coming from Czechoslovakia. The layout incites the reader to go on reading further the inner pages of the diary, some of the articles have to be continued. The first page but also the following ones have to be read for a clear view of these events. On the first page, a picture showing a tank on the most well known place of Prague (the Wenceslas place), strong symbol of the Russian occupation. As “Le Soir” is a neutral diary, it does not reflect any prejudice, but however it lays stress on the fact that some Communist European Parties have condemned the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia. It shows thereby the unpopularity of this intervention. The layout is very restrained, the headlines aren’t eye-catching, except for the first page. On the page 3, only a title on the top of the page reminds the reader the topic of the different articles. On the first page, we can’t find journalists’ names on the top of the main article, but only the names of press agencies (AFP, Reuter, AP). The daily paper does not show off any trend, the reader has to wait for the second article of this page to find the name of one journalist of “Le Soir”. The leading articles are located in the inner pages.
Original Contents	EXTRAIT : « C’est la première fois qu’une intervention armée de l’URSS suscite officiellement des réactions défavorables dans les partis occidentaux. Budapest avait provoqué un profond malaise chez nombre de communistes d’Europe occidentale, dont certains avaient rompu avec le parti. Aujourd’hui, en France et en Italie notamment, c’est le parti lui-même qui s’insurge. A longue ou moyenne échéance, ce sera un événement d’une portée autrement considérable que les clameurs pieuses et éphémères des chancelleries occidentales : depuis Munich, les Tchécoslovaques savent ce qu’en vaut l’aune. Mais la prise de position des communistes italiens et surtout français, ces derniers réputés hier encore de « moscoutaires inconditionnels », accélère de façon foudroyante l’évolution enregistrée ces dernières années dans le mouvement communiste international : celui-ci est non seulement en train de perdre sa Mecque, mais aussi en passe de s’en féliciter, mesurant que, ce faisant, il rompt enfin avec un obscurantisme qui n’a rien à envier à celui des juges de Galilée. »
Original Contents (English Translation)