The Czechoslovak leaders denounce the illegality of USSR invasion

Source	« La Cité », N°195, the 22th of August 1968, first page
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: 1847 Ko Availability proposed: pdf document with zoom options
Description of the source	Kind of source: Newspaper First page Origin of the source: Archive of the University of Liège (Belgium) Language: French Copyright issues: full availability
Contextualisation of the source	« La Cité » is a popular French-speaking newspaper. Founded in 1950, this daily of Christian democrat trend is edited in Brussels and has 10 regional editions with one important in Liege. It is the property of the Christian working-class organisations which express their opinions in this newspaper. “La Cité” is mostly read by families. In 1967, 33.000 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	The first page of the newspaper is dedicated to the USSR Invasion of Czech Republic. We can read 5 articles on this page. The editorial is enclosed in a frame and shows clearly the opinion of the editorial committee, shocked by this event. The first page presents also a short relation on the previous events leading to the Invasion of Czech Republic. 25 % of the first page are focused on explanations about the event. We can also read a synopsis on the attitude of the United Nations and an article related to the upcoming congress of the Communist Party.
Original Contents	Extrait: « En décidant de rétablir par la force un ordre de type stalinien à Prague, en violant la souveraineté d’une nation étrangère, et en bafouant la charte de l’ONU qu’ils avaient contribué à rédiger, en violant les principes auxquels ils ont souscrits, de non-ingérence dans les affaires d’un parti communiste « frère », ils justifient les interventions américaines au Viêt-Nam, à Cuba, à Saint Domingue, qui procèdent aussi de la raison du plus fort. Ils rendent force et vie aux blocs militaires, et donc à l’OTAN. Voilà compromise la coexistence pacifique et les progrès de la coopération internationale, voilà remis en cause tous les processus de désarmement et de paix, revoici la peur… »
Original Contents (English Translation)