Telegram No. 048 727 from the Czechoslovak Embassy, Beijing

Telegram from: Beijing

Received: June 2, 1989, 09.30 am

Prepared for distribution: June 2, 1989, 12.30 am

Secret.

Flash. For immediate distribution

No. 048 727.

In the last few days, the students' actions have been limited only to the central square. Instead of making temporary shelters, a tent city is being systematically built, which is to visually compensate the loss in the number of demonstrators on the square. It can also be an intention to keep multi-member tent crews on the square, “representing” students outside Beijing.

It is crucial that the central authorities make it expressively clear that they will not tolerate this situation on a spot that is holy for the whole nation.

Moreover, they condemn the erection of the so-called Statue of Democracy as an inadmissible intrusion of an US symbol and thus of an US concept of democracy and freedom into own Chinese democratization effort.

At the same time, on June 1, the foreign journalists were repeatedly presented with the bans, originating from the emergency laws. Those bans have not been followed until recently. From now on, the journalists can source their materials only from official sources.

This information combined with another unconfirmed information about troops moving closer to the city center /with the possibility of using the underground which is evidenced by ongoing closure of spacious buildings and a park surrounding the square, which are connected to the system of underground tunnels/ can be an evidence of the aim to clean the square in the nearest future. This important shift in the process of normalization would confirm the strength and confidence of the party leadership. /vlc, pb./.

SAUL 0270.