The two-hour general strike that took place on November 27, 1989 was one of the key events that helped to overthrow the totalitarian regime of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia in November 1989. This strike took place throughout Czechoslovakia between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. in all cities and towns , in most factories, businesses and institutions. According to a survey by the Institute for Public Opinion Research, 75 percent of citizens took part in it.
In 1989, dissatisfaction with the ruling Communist Party regime grew in Czechoslovakia, and the opposition managed to extend its influence beyond the area of dissent. The international situation also played its role – changes in Poland and Hungary, the collapse of the regime in the German Democratic Republic and, above all, the “loosing of the reins” by the Soviet Union led by Mikhail Gorbachev. The ruling communists were unable to react to the change in the situation, on the contrary, their leadership led by Miloš Jakeš tried to stay in power by force. Evidence was also provided by harsh police interventions against unauthorized demonstrations.
The beginning of the so-called Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia is considered to be a permitted memorial gathering on November 17 of about 15,000 mostly young people to honor the memory of Jan Opletal, murdered by the Nazis in 1939, which grew into a demonstration demanding political reforms, which the police harshly repressed. Other events were not long in coming. The next day, the actors of Prague theaters and students of Prague universities announced their participation in a weekly protest strike and called on the public to participate in the general strike announced for November 27. Subsequently, the Civic Forum (OF) movement was established in the Prague Drama Club, whose informal leader was the dissident Václav Havel.
Until then, Czechoslovakia had experienced a general strike for the last time in February 1948. On the day of the strike, November 27, the Ministry of Culture decided that previously inaccessible literature in library funds would be released to the public. Representatives of university students also met, who accepted the call, in which they characterized the general strike as a manifestation of the citizens’ attitude to the current situation. The Coordinating Student Strike Committee issued a statement entitled Why? Proto!, which stated that some requirements had not yet been met, such as that the compromised officials still remain members of parliament.
During the two-hour general strike, the first public demands for the abolition of the leading role of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic were heard, and the main motto of the strike was “End of one-party rule”. The demands of the strikers also included an investigation into the intervention on November 17 and the calling of free elections. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. Businesses that had to operate continuously expressed their solidarity with the strikers. Demonstrations were held in squares all over the country, mostly organized by local OF cells. In Prague, the subway stopped running and its stations were closed, about 300,000 people gathered on Wenceslas Square with banners and flags. The Prague ČKD plant also expressed its support for OF, the workers proposed the director of the Prognostic Institute, Valtra Komárek, as Prime Minister.
Over 10,000 Škoda Plzeň employees also took part in the strike at Republiky Square in Pilsen, while in Pardubice, on the other hand, employees of the Prior department store refused to strike because they wanted to meet the set annual turnover plan. Over 20,000 people gathered at the then People’s Militia Square in Ostrava, which was more people than when the Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed in 1918. However, in Ostrava two days later, the city committee of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic organized a counter-demonstration, one of which was attended by approximately 8,000 people.
A dialogue between the leaders of the regime and the opposition was started the day before the strike, and then on November 29, an extraordinary meeting of the Federal Assembly approved changes to the Constitution of the Czechoslovakia. The articles on the leading role of the Communist Party in society and in the National Front and on Marxism-Leninism as a state ideology were cancelled. On December 10th, a “government of national understanding” headed by Marián Čalfa was formed, and at the very end of 1989, Václav Havel was elected president. The first free elections were held in June 1990.
Source: www.tyden.cz
