The Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN) organised three events on Monday, March 25, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Candlelit Demonstration in Bratislava, the TASR newswire wrote.
The Candlelit Demonstration, which took place in Hviezdoslav Square on March 25, 1988, is regarded as one of the most important actions by ordinary citizens and religious believers against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It was brutally repressed by the security forces.
"The ÚPN commemorates the Candlelit Demonstration from three different facets, namely: the scientific, the commemorative and the educational," said chairman of the ÚPN board of directors Ondrej Krajňák. First, the institute held a scientific conference in the morning featuring a series of discussions on issues associated with the March 1988 demonstration, its historical context and consequences. According to historian Robert Letz, who opened the conference with a speech, the peaceful rally was the first of its kind since 1969.
Organised later in the day was a discussion involving people directly related to organising the demonstration and those who took part in it, such as former head of the World Congress of Slovaks and professional ice-hockey player Marian Šťastný who organised the event from abroad; Roman Catholic priest Ladislav Stromšek; journalist and Catholic dissident Anton Selecký; MP and demonstration participant Július Brocka, and others. The third educational level is represented by an exhibition about the demonstration prepared by the institute. TASR wrote.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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