Existing comment:
STUDENTS START THE REVOLUTION
Developments in Czechoslovakia from mid-1989 were influenced by the domino effect of communist regimes falling in neighboring countries. Social tensions were further fueled by the 50th anniversary of Jan Opletal's death-the student killed by invading Nazis in Prague on November 17, 1939. University students had long held dissenting views of the ruling regime-some participated in 'secret church' activities, distributed 'samizdat' literature, and spread Western culture. The idea of a demonstration in Bratislava took hold among the city's college community. On November 16, 1989, the evening before International Students' Day-about 250 students created a human chain by holding hands in front of the Comenius University's Philosophy Faculty and then marched towards the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Socialist Republic. All the while they sang the student and national anthems and chanted "We want freedom" and "We want democracy". Once at the ministry building, the students called for educational reform and social change. The march was closely monitored by the Public
Security (VB) and the State Security (ŠtB), and Czechoslovak Television's evening news covered the event.
On November 17, 1989 a commemoration ceremony was held in Prague to mark International Students' Day and the fiftieth anniversary of the Nazis suppressing a student demonstration in the city. Podium speakers spoke openly and courageously before the march continued to central Prague with slogans chanted against Communist Party policies and for social change. Security forces on Národní třída Avenue responded brutally with baton charges, leading to 500 injuries and numerous arrests. The population was also mobilized against the ruling regime by a false report of a student's death. The security forces' violent response in Prague lit the match to ignite for subsequent events. Prague university students' protests were then supported by Bratislava students, who had been emboldened by the events of November 16. Slovakia's first university strike committee was established on November 20 in Bratislava, followed across the country in Trnava, Žilina, Nitra, Banská Bystrica and Košice. The Velvet Revolution's initial spark had been lit. |