NATION : Czechs Cutting Border Fence
Soldiers with trucks, machine shovels and wire cutters toiled in freezing weather today as Czechoslovakia started to dismantle part of its “Iron Curtain” frontier with the West.
Work on a five-mile section along the confluence of the Morava and Danube rivers dividing Czechoslovakia from Austria began at 7 a.m., the commander of a border guard unit said.
“The damned thing is going at last,” said a member of the army engineering unit engaged in the work.
Czechoslovakia announced Nov. 30 that it would dismantle barriers on its 240-mile southern frontier.
In Prague, a joyous cacophony of bells and whistles today heralded a popular victory over the Communists, and Czechoslovaks settled down to choosing a new president to replace Gustav Husak, who resigned last week. Parliament, which meets Tuesday, has two weeks to elect a president, but the choice could be made in days.
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