Czechs Will Defend Freedom, Havel Says

PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia —  President Vaclav Havel on Sunday addressed a cheering crowd in Prague’s Wenceslas Square and vowed that Czechoslovakia will defend its new-found freedom after more than four decades of communism.

“We haven’t had freedom for a long time, but I assure you we are going to defend it this time,” Havel said.

“Our weapon is that right and justice are on our side.”

During the rally, held to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, Havel spoke from the same balcony where then-Prime Minister Klement Gottwald proclaimed the victory of the Communist Party.

Said Havel: “A predecessor we cannot be too proud about announced that the overthrow had taken place. This is a happy opportunity to announce from the same place that we can say the truth without being punished.”

He said the state of the country after the ousting of the Communists late last year was very sad--unbreathable air, undrinkable water, the land covered with “rabbit hutches” as houses. He said this will take years to change.

Havel leaves today for Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

One of the issues will be the Soviet troop pullout from Czechoslovakia. Soviet and Czechoslovak negotiators agreed last Thursday on a total withdrawal, the first of which begins today with a tank division near the Polish border. It is apparently timed to coincide with Havel’s trip.

The pullout is due to be completed by 1991.