ABSTRACT: A delegation of Radicals went to the Embassy of Bulgaria for a meeting having the purpose of illustrating the nature and the peaceful and nonviolent conditions of the demonstrations held in Sofia on 24 September by Radical militants (Marco Pannella, Marcello Baraghini, Antonio Azzolini and Silvia Leonardi). The delegation underlined its negative judgement on the armed invasion, and said it would hand a document to the embassy containing specific requests to the Communist Party of Bulgaria, such as the immediate withdrawal of the Warsaw Pact troops from Czechoslovakia, the full respect of the independence of that State, the complete fulfilment of the norms relative to freedom of expression which are recognized by the constitutions of the socialist countries but have never been applied.

(RADICAL NEWS No. 48, 26 September 1968)

ROME (R.N.): A delegation of the national direction of the Radical Party went to the Embassy of Bulgaria for a meeting on the demonstrations in support of the Czechoslovak people which were staged on 24 September in Sofia by radical militants. The delegation was headed by Angiolo Bandinelli, member of the national executive board.

During the meeting, the delegation informed the Embassy representatives on the political meaning of the of the demonstration, illustrating their peaceful and nonviolent characteristics and stressing that their purpose was essentially that of providing an information enabling an open debate on the occupation of Czechoslovakia. The delegation underlined the fact that, in the context of the anti-imperialist struggle not only in Europe, the Radical Party along with other democratic and socialist forces in Italy and abroad, it cannot but repeat its negative judgement on the effects brought about by the armed intervention, and that it meant to promoted further initiatives in support of the people of Czechoslovakia, urging a similar behaviour on the part of other socialist and democratic forces.

A document on the subject prepared vy the national secretary pf the Radical Party will be handed to the Embassy to be forwarded to the Presidium of the Communist Party and to the Government of Bulgaria. A number of specific requests are advanced in the document, namely 1) the immediate withdrawal of the troops of the Warsaw Pact stationed in Czechoslovakia; 2) the full respect of the autonomy of the Czechoslovakian State, Government and Communist Party; 3) complete fulfilment of the norms relative to freedom of expression, which is recognized and ratified by the Constitutions of the Socialist Countries, but which have practically never been applied, as proved by the recent arrests, in Moscow, of Litvinov and of the wife of the writer Yuri Daniel; such measure would represent a first step for the development of the de-Stalinization process.