414. Telegram From the Embassy in Bulgaria to the Department of State1
494/Depto 10026.
Sofia, February 4, 1987,
0909Z
SUBJECT
- My Day in Czechoslovakia, February 3, 1987.
- 1.
- Secret—Entire text.
- 2.
- Most of the invited dissidents were able to make their way to an Embassy officer’s apartment this morning for our semi-clandestine breakfast with Charter 77. Three were physically prevented from coming. Some of those who arrived thought that the fact that they had made it at all meant that our tough talk with the government had paid off. It also might mean that some of the positive things the Prime Minister said to me might actually become reality.2
- 3.
- It was an intense 90 minutes. Some had spent time in jail, and others have had family members detained. They documented for me many specific cases of people put in prison for “anti-socialist propaganda,” the government’s persecution of religion, and discrimination in employment for those who speak their minds. There was even one person who was reportedly sentenced to three years for listening to the Voice of America. (They depend on VOA, by the way.)
- 4.
- I said that we admired their courage and let them know that I had raised their right to free expression in every meeting I had with government officials. I told them we hoped they would continue their struggle; I think they have the courage to do so. I let them know that even when they felt most lonely, 220 million Americans stood behind them. My only fear in pursuing these kinds of meetings in Eastern Europe is that those who have had the courage to come may pay a price. I have asked the Embassy here to keep a close eye on this. I also said in a departure statement we issued that I regretted the fact that people had been prevented from coming to see me.
- 5.
- I then went to see Cardinal Tomasek, who explained the problems
which confront the Catholic Church. The government allows only one
school to train priests to serve in the 3,000 parishes under the
Cardinal’s authority, and 10 of 13 dioceses remain without bishops
because the government refuses to give approval to church
candidates. Nevertheless. Cardinal Tomasek’s recent dealings with
the
[Page 1354]
government have left
him optimistic that the government is about to become more lenient
on issues such as freedom of assembly and publication of church
literature. The Cardinal is remarkably sharp and vigorous for
87.
The West can lend him our support by continuing to pay him high-level visits such as mine. - 6.
- My stay in Prague ended with an emotional walk through the Jewish quarter, where I visited the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe and saw drawings made by children who lived in Terezin concentration camp. Afterwards I met briefly with former Czech Jewish community leader Galsi. This delightful, patriotic man had been warned not to act as my guide, but was courageous enough to meet me for coffee. He passed on rumors of current high tensions within the government which could lead to Husak’s ouster in coming weeks.
- 7.
- Human rights violations and denial of freedoms in Czechoslovakia are not isolated incidents, but are pervasive and systematic. I think it was important to go there to tell the leadership (and those who suffer their policies) face-to-face what we think about that.
- 8.
- We start our work in Bulgaria tomorrow.3
Levitsky
- Source: Department of State, Official Correspondence of Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead, July 1982–January 1989, Lot 89 D 139, JCW’s Eastern Europe Trip 1/27–2/7/87 Memcons. Secret; Immediate; Nodis.↩
- See Document 415.↩
- See Documents 388–392.↩