An Irresistible Tide

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In the ebb and flow of history, there is sometimes a tide that can sweep in the most profound changes. The people of Eastern Europe sense just such a tide washing over them now, a political swell that has already propelled Solidarity to power in Poland, transformed Communism to socialism in Hungary and punched through the Wall in Berlin. Last week the irresistible tide reached Bulgaria and even pounded at the entrenched Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Men and women across the full breadth of the East bloc were attempting to catch the wave, aware that it must be done before a historic opportunity is lost.

-- In Bulgaria at least 50,000 people marched peacefully through central Sofia, chanting "Democracy!" and "Free elections!" and demanding that Todor Zhivkov, the autocratic hard-liner who had been ousted only a week earlier after 35 years in power, be put on trial. Although the unthinkable has become a daily happening in Eastern Europe, there was still something astonishing in the sight of street demonstrations in this quiescent land. The marches even had the blessing of the week-old reformist government of Petar Mladenov, 53, which has been moving rapidly to harness the country's desire for change. For the first time ever, Bulgarians watched live television coverage of their National Assembly -- and listened to vicious denunciations of Zhivkov. After installing Mladenov as head of state, the legislature revoked the law that made it an offense to utter words "of a character to create dissatisfaction with the government." Mladenov seemed to be pushing Bulgaria further down the road to political reform when he declared that "personally, I am for free elections."

-- In Czechoslovakia more than 15,000 students in Prague last week staged the largest protest rally in two decades. "This is better than in 1969 because the atmosphere is much better," said Karel Srp, head of the dissident group Jazz Section, recalling the way an angry populace had reacted after the defeat of its brief fling with liberalization in the spring of 1968. "Now we know we can win. This is unstoppable."

Maybe -- and maybe not. Instead of co-opting the protests, the Communist government of Milos Jakes beat them down. Riot police armed with long white clubs and plastic shields put an end to the five-hour march with tear gas and truncheon attacks, injuring dozens of protesters and arresting about 100.

Still, the once monolithic regime seemed to be of two minds about political reform. Rude Pravo, the official party daily, revealed last week that Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec had urged that "we now need political reforms to go even faster" than economic changes. Adamec added, "The country can be ruled only on condition that its people feel confident about the government." It was a direct contradiction of Jakes' doctrine that economic opiates -- adequate housing, food and clothing -- would numb the populace to the desire for political liberalization. So strong was the whiff of reform in Prague last week that hard-line officials went out of their way to deny Western reports that they had received telexes from Moscow urging democratization.