Police Break Up Prague Rally Urging Reforms : East Bloc: The hard-line regime is denounced by 10,000 protesters in the largest demonstration since 1969.

Hundreds of club-swinging riot police on 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.”

The protesters also chanted “Dialogue, dialogue,” and called for the release of political prisoners.

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.

The riot police moved into Prague’s central Wenceslas Square, where the crowd had gathered to mark the 71st anniversary of national independence. They quickly cleared the vast square, but demonstrators regrouped in side streets and other squares, chanting: “No violence!”

Vehicles with water cannons appeared but did not hose down the crowd. Two ambulances rushed to the square to treat the injured.

Police detained 250 people, state television reported, saying police had used “mild” means to cope with the demonstration. The official news agency CTK said 3,000 people, among them “a number of provocateurs,” tried to disrupt peace and order.

Several people spread a large banner saying, “We won’t have our republic subverted”--a line often used by the Communists since the takeover in 1948 to put down dissent. It was signed by the Movement for Civil Freedom, a new opposition group.

When police tried to arrest those holding the banner, the crowd fell upon them. One officer was severely beaten, and blood streamed down his face.

City streets and most bridges across the Vltava River that runs through Prague were sealed off as sporadic demonstrations continued. Sirens wailed through the city and dozens of police vans raced through the streets.

Police seized the film of several Western photographers.

An elderly protester who overheard a Western reporter speaking English said, “You see our democracy in Czechoslovakia.”

“At the end of the 20th Century, it is terrible,” he said, making the gesture of a man in handcuffs. “But I have hope for the future.”

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.

Human rights sources said other leading dissidents also were detained.

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 multi-party democracy until the Nazi German occupation during World War II.

The Communists took power in 1948.

In an attempt to thwart Saturday’s rally, the government staged a show of military might.

A group of 1,500 soldiers paraded through Wenceslas Square, where mobile missile launchers were stationed as part of an annual ceremony for new conscripts. It was the first time since 1949 that the ceremony was held in the square.

The government forces included Interior Ministry troops who have attacked a series of anti-government demonstrations in the square over the past 14 months.

Blank cannon fire rang out when a military band played the national anthem.

“The enemies of socialism would like to exploit the difficulties that have become manifest and are trying to lead us off the tested path, but we shall not give them a chance,” National Council leader Josef Kempny told the soldiers.