Czechoslovakia : the national sovereignty of a socialist country violated by USSR

Source	« La Wallonie », n°196, the 22th of August 1968, P.1, 6.
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: Archive of the University of Liège (Belgium) Language: French Copyright issues: full availability
Contextualisation of the source	« La Wallonie » is a French-speaking newspaper. Started in 1919, this daily paper of left socialist and syndicalist trend is edited in Liege. It is the property of the General Federation of the Belgian Workers (FGTB) and more particularly of the Provincial Federation of the Metalworkers. It is mostly read by the popular class. In 1969, 80.000 copies were daily printed. (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 is made to attract the reader’s attention : large eye-catching titles, numerous pictures... The first page doesn’t contain any articles, but references to the inner page totally dedicated to this event. Nevertheless the title of the first page shows the newspaper trend, that is a strong opposition to the Soviet intervention. The reader is then directed to the inner pages where articles take stock of the last hours in Prague, and the redaction proposes an overview of the international reactions. The reader is also aware of the position of the newspaper, expressed throughout all articles by little sentences. The journalists also explain their restlessness about future.
Original Contents	EXTRAIT : « Ici nous avons depuis les premières ivresses du printemps de Prague essayé d’être objectif mais aussi de mettre en garde nos amis Tchèques contre les pêcheurs en eaux troubles et de bons apôtres trop heureux de pouvoir donner des coups bas au socialisme quel qu’il soit, nous sommes bien placés pour déplorer ce qui vient de se passer à Prague. Désormais, il sera difficile aux amis du socialisme et de la paix, de dénoncer encore les attitudes des impérialistes, que ce soit en Amérique latine ou ailleurs. Que pourrait-on répondre en effet si, excipant eux aussi de la demande de citoyens cubains, la marine ou l’aviation américaine ne s’avisaient de rétablir un ordre qualifié lui aussi de démocratique à La Havane ? »
Original Contents (English Translation)