Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XX, Eastern Europe

101. Briefing Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Vest) to the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Lake)¹

Washington, January 26, 1978

Your Meeting with Czechoslovak Ambassador Jaromir Johanes, Friday, January 27, 2:30 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

• The Director, S/P
• Phillip S. Kaplan, S/P
• James H. Glenn, EUR/EE
• Jaroslav Johanes, Czechoslovak Ambassador to the United States

SETTING

Ambassador Johanes recently indicated to Jim Glenn, EUR/EE, at a reception that he would soon begin a series of courtesy calls on various high-level officials of the Department of State and of other executive agencies. His call on you is the first of this series. Since requesting an appointment with you, he has requested similar appointments with Secretaries Blumenthal and Kreps.² He has not indicated an interest in discussing any specific subject during these calls. We do not expect that he has anything new or extraordinary to discuss with you. Rather, we speculate that he simply wants to extend his personal contacts with U.S. officials, or that he is testing us to determine if we are willing to extend to him the same degree of access to U.S. officials which we have been pressuring his Government to extend to our Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, Thomas R. Byrne.

ISSUES

1. Human Rights and the Implementation of the Helsinki Final Act

Essential Factors: The Czechoslovak Government last October convicted and sentenced four dissidents, including three signatories of Charter 77. Two received prison terms of three or more years for subversion involving alleged efforts to send written materials out of the country and to have materials published abroad. Although Czechoslovak authorities maintain there was no connection between that trial and Charter 77, the three Charter signatories were directly associated with efforts of the Charter 77 Movement to encourage full compliance by Czechoslovakia with all provisions of the CSCE Final Act. Earlier this month, the Czechoslovak court rejected the appeal of the three Charter signatories and lessened by one year the sentence of the other defendant, who had pleaded guilty at the trial and subsequently publicly apologized for his “crimes.”

We have received information that a Charter 78 may be disseminated in the near future. This new Charter reportedly will examine the compliance of the Czechoslovak Government with the CSCE Final Act, the International Covenants on Civil and Political and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Czechoslovak Constitution.

We regard human rights as a key issue in our bilateral relations and, both here and in Prague, have made our position on this subject clear. (See, for example, the attached report of my conversation last fall with a Czechoslovak Deputy Foreign Trade Minister.)³ Pending indications as to how the regime’s treatment of dissidents may evolve, we are going slow on any initiatives to improve relations. For example, we are delaying signing a cultural and scientific exchanges agreement, negotiated in 1976. The regime’s treatment of dissidents—and its overall image here—will determine whether we will be able to take positive action both on the exchanges agreement and on other bilateral issues.

We also object to the Czechoslovak Government’s policy on the issuance of visas to U.S. journalists. It flatly refuses to issue visas to a few journalists and demands that others pledge not to attempt to contact dissidents while in Czechoslovakia before it will issue them visas. We consider this policy to be inconsistent, to say the least, with the provisions of the CSCE Final Act regarding the treatment of, and working conditions for, journalists. We take every useful opportunity to express our concern and displeasure to the Czechoslovak Government on this issue.

2. Claims/Gold

Essential Factors: We negotiated an ad referendum agreement on this long-standing issue in July, 1974, involving satisfaction of the claims of U.S. citizens against the Government of Czechoslovakia in return for the return to Czechoslovakia of its share of the gold confiscated by the Nazis before and during World War II. Senator Long’s desire for a higher settlement than we had obtained led to Section 408 of the Trade Act of 1974 requiring renegotiation of the agreement. The Czechoslovak Government is opposed to giving us as much as Senator Long would like. Ambassador Byrne in mid-September, 1977, began quiet, informal discussions on this issue with Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Chnoupek. The Secretary in his UNGA meeting with Chnoupek in late September emphasized that Ambassador Byrne has the Department’s full confidence and support in working out a settlement but stressed that a successful resolution of the claims/gold issue would not of itself normalize our bilateral relations. He indicated that improvement in relations would also require a change in the human rights situation in Czechoslovakia and in the manner in which the Czechoslovak Government implements the CSCE Final Act.⁴

Ambassador Byrne hopes in the near future again to discuss this issue with Chnoupek and then to send us his thoughts on what amount might be acceptable to all concerned. As in the case of the exchanges agreement, the regime’s treatment of dissidents may delay whatever progress is possible in resolving this issue.

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Official Working Papers, S/P Director Anthony Lake, 1977–Jan 1981, Lot 82D298, Box 11, Classified Correspondence, 1978. Limited Official Use. Drafted by Glenn; cleared by Schmidt. Luers initialed the memorandum for Vest. No record of the meeting has been found. The Ambassador’s first name was corrected by hand in the subject line. In a handwritten note, presumably to Leo Reddy, the Secretariat Staff Director, S/P staff assistant Mary Ann Casey remarked: “LR—PK [Phillip Kaplan] will ask desk do memo. TL says ok if desk sits in w/PK. PK will ask desk & let you know. TL wants reschedule appt for next week or week after so won’t conflict w/for. pol. report. Pls let PK know new date. I will meet on whatever new date is. MAC.” (Ibid.)
2. In telegram 49472 to Prague, February 25, the Department informed the Embassy that Ambassador Johanes, having failed to secure a meeting with Secretary Blumenthal or Secretary Kreps, decided to cancel his appointments at Treasury and Commerce. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D780088–1267)
3. Attached but not printed. In telegram 259591 to Prague, October 29, 1977, the Department reported the discussion between Jakubec and Vest on October 18, 1977. The two officials discussed the status of bilateral relations between the two countries and the effect of human rights, especially the recent trials and convictions of dissidents in Czechoslovakia, on the future of relations between the two countries. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D770399–0115)
4. See Document 99.