Czechs mark 30th anniversary of Velvet Revolution ****************************************************************************************** * Czechs mark 30th anniversary of Velvet Revolution ****************************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************************** * and commemorate Opletal and others killed by the Nazis in 1939 ****************************************************************************************** Across the country, Czechs have been marking the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution as commemorating student Jan Opletal and others murdered by the Nazis on the same date 50 On November 17, 1989 riot police brutally cracked down on students who had held a peaceful Albertov (the site of Charles University’s Faculty of Science) to Narodní třída in the cit commemoration of the dramatic events of the 17th that sparked the beginning of the Velvet would end more than 40 years of communist rule in Czechoslovakia) would be complete withou retracing of the students' original route from Albertov to Vyšehrad to Prague’s Narodní tř Students at Charles University organised the event at Albertov this year as part of the Sv listopad festival. Forum spoke to one of the organisers, Petr Bouška of H21, a democratic commemorating November 17 within the broader umbrella event called the Festival of Freedom We want to say that we are ready to continue the fight for democracy… democracy is somethi cherish and we have to keep freedom in our hearts. If we forget to take care of democracy, Look at the Czech Republic or even the US: societies are becoming more and more polarised, trust in liberal democracy and democratic values. We need to save democracy again. Many attendees, from university students to families with children cited current threats t from increasing populism to a disregard for democratic institutions – as current reasons t just to remember the past but send a broader message today. Democracy was not something wo that could now just be left untended, suggested actress Lenka Krobotová from Prague’s Dejv Olympic silver medal-kayaker Vavřinec Hradilek when they spoke to Forum on Sunday. LK: I think it is very important to remember the events of 30 years ago every single day. tell children and those growing up what democracy and civic society means. VH: I think it is important to think about the current situation around the world and it’s many young people in the streets. Many in attendance were carrying Czech flags or sporting pins featuring the late playwrigh Václav Havel (who was a driving force in the revolution and was later elected Czechoslovak communist president). Many were students, among them Julie Mikulová (not pictured), in her CU’s Hussite Theological Faculty in Prague: A lot of people are here and a lot of people are talking about it and it’s great that the just 30 years but also 80 years ago are not forgotten. The day brings people together and we remember and remind ourselves of what happened. I was born in 1998 so I didn’t experien first-hand. That doesn’t mean they aren't important to me: I heard about them at home from grandparents and I am grateful it was something we discussed a lot. Jakub Machek, 19, a student at the Faculty of Education at Palacký University Olomouc, ech expressed by many that over the last few years democracy has increasingly come under assau I am attending today because it is officially International Students’ Day and the Struggle Democracy Day and a state holiday commemorating the events of ’39 and ‘89. In 2019, I will will not have to fight against anything similar: I’m talking about the situation in the go at Prague Castle. Truth and facts are something that used to be accepted by broader societ challenged or manipulated at every turn. So it seems to me, there is still plenty to defen Students and millennials from Prague were not the only ones to retrace the march on Sunday Zdeňka Nikodýmová (who attended with her adult son and her sister, Jitka Schiff) said for more a look back on what happened 30 years ago – a seminal moment in Czechoslovak history changed. ZN: I couldn’t take part in this march 30 years ago because I was home with my children wh young. For me this is a commemorative act. It’s also more than that: it’s a chance to meet this route, who were here in ’89, to hear what they experienced and what it was like to ha thick of it. So new meetings and remembrance. JS: I wasn’t in Czechoslovakia at the time of the Velvet Revolution 30 years ago: I had ha communism. I was living in Australia, which was very far removed, at least when it came to only been back six years now so I wanted to experience a bit of the mood here at Albertov. grateful for what the students and the whole country achieved back then. The past week has seen hundreds of events around the country marking the 30th anniversary Revolution. At Charles University, these will culminate on Sunday with a special concert f at the university’s historic Carolinum building.