General policy of the Council of Europe

Recommendation 530 (1968)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 23 September 1968 (10th and 11th Sittings) (see Doc. 2440see Doc. 2440, report of the Political Affairs Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 23 September 1968 (11th Sitting).

The Assembly,

1. Condemning with indignation the military action of the USSR and its allies Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany and Poland against Czechoslovakia, whose aspirations to a more liberal and more humane regime have been stifled by a brutal and inexcusable coup de force ;

2. Paying heartfelt tribute to the courageous resistance of the Czechoslovak population and particularly to the men and women of Czechoslovakia who have laid down their lives for their aspirations to a freer and more humane regime ;

3. Deploring that the tragic events of Czechoslovakia should have dealt a severe blow to the policy of detente between East and West to which the Council of Europe had made a major contribution ;

4. Considering that these events have undermined one of the essential bases of the rapprochement that had begun to emerge and that they have created an urgent need for organised political co-operation among the European democracies ;

5. Stressing that a lasting peace can be achieved in Europe only if all European countries are acknowledged to have the right to self-determination ;

6. Considering that the Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany and Poland which have invaded Czechoslovakia, should withdraw their forces immediately and allow the Czechoslovak people to assume responsibility for its own destiny,

7. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers meet urgently with a view to examining the consequences of the dramatic events in Czechoslovakia and to increasing European co-operation in this new situation.