EUROPEAN VERDICT ON HUMPHREY -- PERSONA NON GRATA
Brussels
Vice-president Humphrey's tour of Europe is still being weighed in the various capitals that were granted the dubious honor of serving as his host.
The outstanding fact wherever he appeared was the vigorous protests directed against him besides many other indications of popular dislike for the Johnson administration, which he was attempting to "sell" to the European public.
The press in most cities has recognized that these barometers accurately reflect the prevailing attitude toward U.S. aggression in Vietnam.
The reception given Humphrey in this city April 9 was typical.
The crowds that turned out to see Johnson's emissary pass by in a limousine were thin. They were heavily reinforced by riot police and mobile gendarmes.
Still there were not enough of them to block rather active demonstrators from shouting anti-Johnson slogans and emphasizing them with eggs and tomatoes.
At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
the audience was very small, appearing to
be mostly employees of American firms.
As Humphrey's limousine drew up,
he was greeted with antiwar slogans and
protests against the U.S. role in Vietnam.
The Belgian component of the crowd
turned out to be largely composed of
plainclothesmen, who collaborated with
the police in moving in and clubbing the
demonstrators. Fifty-one arrests were
made.
Among those arrested were leaders
of the National Federation of Young Guard
Socialists and activists of the pro-
Maoist Communist party headed by Jacques
Grippa. The pro-Moscow Communist party
stayed away from the scene, holding a
small protest meeting in another part of
the town.
The viciousness of the police was
thought to reflect the extreme nervous-
ness of the authorities over Humphrey's
visit short as it was. Humphrey's own
entourage was not exactly as calm as the
former darling of the American liberals
would like to have appeared. Near panic
developed among them when the time came
to leave with the customary flourish in
the fancy limousine. The chauffeur
couldn't get it started, having dropped
the keys.