NATION : Czechs Cutting Border Fence
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BRATISLAVA, Czechoslovakia — 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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