The first moments of a long occupation, 1968. (source: ČTK)
Miroslav Wlachovský is Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic
Fifty-five years ago today, the world looked on as a massive military action was launched by the supposedly defensive alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Only its troops did not march in to defend an ally attacked by an "aggressive Western state".
Quite the contrary. Troops from five Warsaw Pact states instead proceeded to occupy one of the alliance’s founding members – Czechoslovakia. They did so in a cowardly and insidious manner, at night, under the false pretext of providing “brotherly help”.
Thirty years after Munich, our mothers and fathers once again witnessed their homeland invaded by occupiers. Once again, the invaders killed, destroyed and terrorised. While the occupation of 1968 is perceived as an unambiguously negative event in our country, despite the efforts of many apologists, a different situation prevails in Russia, whose Soviet regime was at the time the engineer and instigator of these events.
The opinion polling figures from Russia that we have are from five years ago, but they are still alarming. A third of those questioned at that time claimed that the Soviet Union had acted correctly in 1968 – regardless of the dead in the streets, or those left dying in hospitals. It reminded me of a 'documentary' made by Russian state television in which veterans of the occupation recalled the events of August 1968. One speaks of mysterious machine-gun fire from Prague rooftops, another of an imminent NATO invasion or secret warehouses. I could go on.
None of these people saw the devastating act of violence that was intended to suffocate our society's hopes for democratic change. There is no doubt that the invasion was primarily an attempt to preserve the Kremlin's sphere of influence and power interests. The occupiers left dozens dead, brought terror and dictatorship, including censorship and human rights restrictions, thus trampling on the aspirations of millions of people for a life of freedom.
Many Russians today still sincerely believe the false interpretation of the events of August 1968. It proves the pernicious effect that propaganda, serving up its own, in fact fabricated, 'truth' over and over again, can have on people.
But back to Slovakia. In our country, too, a survey has shown an unflattering fact – one in three of those polled under the age of 35 does not have an opinion on the occupation. They neither approve of it, nor reject it. They simply do not know whether the invasion was right or whether it was a tragic moment for the people of Czechoslovakia. This brings me to the idea of the courage of our fellow citizens. Many of them did not hesitate and not only refused to help the invaders, but directly harmed them. They pulled down road signs, slowed down the convoys, some of them lay down in front of the tanks. The stories of many who openly disagreed with the so-called “brotherly help”, who felt betrayed and humiliated and were therefore determined to act, remain unknown.
We have all seen Ladislav Bielik's footage of a man exposing his chest in front a Soviet tank . We see in it an undoubtedly daring feat. But, apparently, thousands of similar acts have been obliterated by time. Stories of personal courage, integrity, and defiance would surely be found all over Slovakia. Would we find similar ones today?
After November 1989, we decided to work to ensure that our sovereignty and the security of our citizens would never again be threatened.
It is astonishing, however, that a nation with the historical experience of the summer of 1968 should be so susceptible to accepting Russian disinformation in relation to (but not limited to) the aggression against Ukraine. It is indicative of an acute loss of historical memory.
I have long warned about the threats posed to our society by disinformation. Its aim is to break down our cohesion, to highlight the differences between us, to obscure what unites us, to undermine confidence in the state. The people who spread this propaganda would probably have told us 55 years ago not to defend ourselves and to sit at home.
I believe, however, that even today we would defend ourselves courageously. That we would do the right thing in the face of an aggressor and blatant injustice. That we would collectively reject the lies and manipulations, not succumb to misinformation, and stand up for our statehood. That we would not fail. Just as our ancestors did not fail.
It is therefore important to constantly remind ourselves of how irreplaceable and important freedom is, and of the value of democracy, the rule of law, security, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our journey to freedom has not been easy. It must therefore be our common commitment to strengthen these values. It is these that our society is built upon.
Author: Miroslav Wlachovský
