Former president, dissident gets cheers from the crowd

The former Czech president and dissident leader Václav Havel was met with a round of applause from the crowd and shouts of “long live Havel” as he made an appearance at the Narodní trida memorial to light a candle and lay flowers. Mr. Havel said he was far less disturbed by the presence of the communists in Czech politics, than he was by the signals indicating close links between the underworld and people in high office. Mr. Havel also criticized opponents of the US radar, saying that defense issues were not a matter to be debated out in the streets. He said it would be good to ask the older protesters why they had not come out in force to demonstrate against the presence of Soviet troops in the country twenty-five years ago.