Rozhovor Britských listů 233. Petr Pithart: Proč byli politikové Pražského jara tak zbabělí? [Britské listy Interview 233. Petr Pithart: Why were the Prague Spring politcians such cowards?]

(This interview is in Czech with English subtitles) On the occasion of the thirty years' anniversary of the fall of communism, we broadcast three exclusive interviews with Petr Pithart, the first Prime Minister of the post-communist Czech Republic and a close collaborator of Czechoslovak President Václav Havel. In this, second, interview, Petr Pithart is - rightly - highly critical of the cowardice of Alexander Dubček and the other leaders of the Czechoslovak CP during and after the 1968 Prague Spring. Pithart testifies to the remarkable perspicacity of Zdeněk Mlynář, the main strategist of the Prague Spring and the author of the 1968 Czechoslovak CP Action Programme. Within 20 minutes of Dubček being appointed leader of the CzCP on 5th January 1968, Mlynář predicted the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Fifty years ago this month, in August 1969, Dubček brutally betrayed Czechoslovak citizens who protested against the Soviet invasion, chanting his name. He sent the army and the police to suppress them. The interview is being broadcast by the Czech cable TV station Regionalnitelevize.cz from Friday 16th August, 2019