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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, March 18, 1968
Czech press says defector aided coup
PRAGUE — (UPI) — A Czech newspaper Sunday asserted openly for the first time that Maj. Gen. Jan Sejna, who defected to the United States, planned a military coup to keep Antonin Novotny in power last December as Communist party strongman. A party official denied the article.
Josef Spacek, new party ideologist, also dismissed as "only rumors" reports that a tank division had advanced on Prague and loaded with paratrooper planes, were on the alert to intervene.
He denied persistent rumors among informed circles that 150 persons had been arrested in connection with the Sejna case.
Spaceck revealed that the voting was split five-to-five in January's crucial Central Committee meeting which brought Alexander Dubeek, 46, to power and ousted Novotny.
Speaking at a party meeting in Brno with Dubek looking on, Spacek did not explain how the deadlock was broken. He named Michael Chudik, Bohuslav Lastovicky, Jozef Lenart (also premier), Otakar Simunec and Novotny on one side. Oldrich Cernik, Jaromir Dolansky, Drahomir Kolder, Jiri Hendrych (fired as ideologist) and Dubek were on the other.
The Prague newspaper Lidova Demokracie named Sejna as one
of a group of conspirators who plotted "a determined military contribution to preserve the status quo in Czechoslovakia's political affairs with all its distortions, faults, errors and unlawfulness."
Informed sources repeatedly have told Western correspondents Sejna intended to prevent the ousting of his ally Novotny as party chief by mobilizing army units to march on Prague at the time of a decisive party session. Until now official spokesmen denied the army was to be used by Sejna for Novotny's political purposes.
The Prague newspaper openly told readers "Sejna's aim to use military power for preserving the past situation failed."
Sejna, 40-year-old head of the political section of the Czech defense ministry, fled Feb. 25 to seek asylum in the United States, the highest ranking Communist military officer ever known to defect. The Czech government last week asked the United States to extradite Sejna on grounds he was a criminal who has embezzled state funds.
Lidova Demokracie speculated Sejna was informing the United States about all he knows, calling him "the most precious refuge within the last 20 years." Earlier the Czechs had tended to minimize Sejna's value as an informer.
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People to People and
KU-Y Model UN
Friday, March 22
8:00 - 12:00 p.m.
Crystal Room Hotel Eldridge
Featuring
The CHUCK BERG Quartet
All members of People-to-People (including all international students) and Model UN delegates are cordially invited. Refreshments will be served.