April in politics

It may seem as a paradox that the so called April Session of the ÚV KSČ (the Central Committee of the Communist Party), which was later to enter history, in fact begun already on 28 ^th March. The session was held at Prague Castle, maybe to let the public know where the real power was.

The most important part of the discussion that finished as late as on 5 ^th April was a unanimous approval of the Action Programme (we deal with this topic in another article). Nevertheless, the session didn’t deal just with that. Other important matters were discussed as well. Changes in the ÚV KSČ leadership were made and most importantly it was arranged that at the KSČ emergency congress, planned for September, the entire Central Committee will be replaced and that the congress will adopt new, more democratic regulations.

The session also decided to postpone the May’s National Assembly elections. The reason was that the list of candidates was drawn in the times of Novotny’s leadership and therefore the content didn’t conform to current conditions. It enabled delegate more candidates than there were seats, but citizens wanted more. They also demanded the option of changing the sequence of those candidates.

The public welcomed the establishment of the so called “Piller Committee” that took place at the already mentioned April Session. The committee was commissioned to conclude and verify rehabilitation of people persecuted in trials that happened in years between 1949 and 54. Unfortunately the conclusion of the committees work has never been discussed because of the August occupation.

It needs to be said that the committee was supposed to deal only with rehabilitation of top leaders of after-February Czechoslovakia. Ordinary people weren’t on the programme. In April 1968 rehabilitations were already happening but they considered only party members. Party members that were prosecuted in nineteen fifties were given their party membership back and were awarded state medals.

New government and divided Party leadership

In the light of all those changes in society it was inconceivable that the old government should stay in power. Oldřich Černík replaced Lenárt in the function of the Prime Minister and the government had to deal with a rather sticky problem that concerned solving the Czech-Slovak relationship on the basis of a federal state. The change was significant. Only nine Ministers from the old government managed to keep their posts, twelve brand new Ministers were appointed. One of them was Gustáv Husák who was entrusted with the legislative control.

The KSČ leadership was divided into several blocks. The awakening of the civil movement was perceived as dangerous not only by former Novotny’s supporters such as Jozef Lenárt or Antonín Kapek, but also by neoconservatives Vasil Biľak, Drahomír Kolder, Emil Rigo, Alois Indra and Oldřich Švestka who was an editor-in-chief of the paper Rudé právo (The Red Law – the official newspaper of the Communist Party). Somewhere in the middle stood Josef Smrkovský, Oldřich Černík, Alexander Dubček and Zdeněk Mlynář. The progressive reformist group was in the minority and included František Kriegl, Václav Slavík and Čestmír Císař.

During the approval procedure all members of the ÚV KSČ leadership agreed that there shouldn’t be other opposition political parties and they also refused restoration of the Social Democratic Party.

Events in Czechoslovakia were also influenced from abroad and that contributed to the empowering of the conservative wing of the KSČ leadership. We already mentioned that the Czechoslovakian delegation was severely criticised at the meeting of the Warsaw Pact in Dresden. Most fevered critics were Gomulka and W. Ulbricht. After his return from Dresden, Dubček announced to the Czech Press Agency that concerns were expressed at the meeting that the democratisation process may be abused by antisocialist groups.