Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to be able to speak to the audience that has gathered in the Slovak National Theatre tonight.
I can see the faces of people whom I remember from 30 years ago, when I, as a student, followed the events of November 1989. I remember you from your public speeches, I saw you on pictures from those frosty days. I am pleased that I can say November was the merit of the personalities gathered here tonight.
Yes, the fall of the regime introduced by a Communist coup and that only remained in power thanks to the tanks that arrived in August 1968 is also thanks to you. And even though the regime made a tragicomic impression at the end of its days, we should never forget the fact that it took the lives of more than 5,000 people in Czechoslovakia.
