The institute is proposing that the Slovak president bestow a special honour, such as the Ludovít Štúr Order or the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross, on the victims of the occupation, the TASR news agency reported.
The UPN also wants to the state to initiate and maintain an occupation victims' Memorial. "I hope the state will take responsibility for the victims of its own capitulation," said UPN Director Ján Langoš.
Langoš suggests that families of the victims should be entitled to compensation. To that end, the UPN director wants the Slovak government to start negotiations with Russia.
A force of 23 Soviet Army divisions entered Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968, including one Hungarian, two East German and two Polish divisions, along with one Bulgarian brigade. (Romania refused to contribute troops. East Germany did not enter Czechoslovakia, as pact commanders did not want the Czechs drawing parallels to the Nazi invasion.)
In the coming months, the UPN intends to focus on those people responsible for repression in Czechoslovakia during the so-called “normalisation period” after 1969.
