Hundreds of riot police swinging nightsticks Saturday broke up a protest by more than 10,000 people demanding the removal of Czechoslovakia's orthodox Communist leader Milos Jakes and chanting, "We want another government."
It was the largest demonstration in the country since 1969, when at least 100,000 people protested on the first anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion that crushed the "Prague Spring" reform movement.Hundreds of helmeted riot police with nightsticks moved into Prague's central Wenceslas Square, where the crowd had gathered to mark the 71st anniversary of national independence.
Swinging their nightsticks, the police forced the demonstrators down the length of the vast square. The state news agency CTK said 120 people were detained.
Two ambulances rushed to the square to treat the injured. Police rapidly cleared the area, but demonstrators regrouped in side streets and other squares, chanting "No violence!"
The protesters, who also chanted "We don't want Jakes" and "Dialogue, dialogue," called for the release of political prisoners.
Another 4,000 people staged a peaceful protest in the provincial city of Brno against the hard-line leadership, witnesses said. Hundreds of police were on hand but did not intervene.
The demonstrations were called by the Charter 77 human rights movement and four independent political groups.
The organizers were encouraged by developments in East Germany where street protests have forced the government to start talks with the New Forum opposition group.
Czechoslovak party chief Jakes, who oversaw the purge of half a million communists after the 1968 invasion, has refused demands for talks with opposition groups.
The Prague crowd roared its approval of Charter 77 and its co-founder, banned playwright Vaclav Havel, who was denounced last week by Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec as an "absolute zero."
"Long Live Havel!" they cheered, many waving the red, blue and white Czechoslovak flag.
About two dozen supporters gathered outside the hospital where Havel is believed to be undergoing treatment for respiratory problems.
Police detained Havel on Thursday to prevent him attending the demonstration but he was released after he demanded to see a doctor.
On Friday, Prague's Realistic Theater performed parts of Havel's "The Garden Party," a production dedicated to the anniversary. It was the first time his work has appeared on an official stage in 20 years.
Human rights sources said other leading dissidents also were detained, including Charter activists Vaclav Maly, Jan Ruml and Eva Kanturkova.
The protest started at the top of the square when a group unfurled a large banner proclaiming, "We won't allow the republic to be disrupted," a phrase frequently invoked by authorities who denounce critics as enemies of the state.
Another large banner declared "Truth will prevail," the slogan of Czechoslovakia's founding president, Tomas Masaryk.
The U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, Shirley Temple Black, watched from the sidelines. In a speech at the U.S. Embassy Friday, she praised Masaryk's devotion to individual liberty and said it must not be forgotten.
Czechoslovakia was founded on Oct. 28, 1918, out of territory which was formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was a multiparty democracy until the Nazi German occupation during World War II.
The Communists took power in 1948.