Prague – Memorial events in Prague, Mělník and other places in the Czech Republic will commemorate the 56th anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation today. A 20-year-old university student set himself on fire in protest against people’s resignation to the development of society after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968, he died of his burns three days later on January 19, 1969.
The memory of the victim Jan Palach will be honored this morning at Wenceslas Square in Prague by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09) and the Speaker of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil (ODS). In the morning, Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek (STAN) will visit the memorial service in Mělník, where Palach graduated from high school.
Palach’s memory is also traditionally remembered by students and representatives of Charles University. In the evening they will meet at reverent act in front of the memorial plaque on the Faculty of Philosophy building in the center of Prague.
On the anniversary of Palach’s death, January 19, his legacy will be commemorated in the center of Zlín with a symbolic chain of candles. Happening Světlo pro Palach will take place on Gahurova prospekt, the grassy area under the Tomáš Bata Monument.
With his actions, Jan Palach wanted to awaken the nation from resignation and incite them to resist the coming normalization. Another student, Jan Zajíc, following Palach’s example, set himself on fire in protest against normalization on February 25, 1969 – in the passage of a house in the upper part of Wenceslas Square, only tens of meters from the place where Jan Palach was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire.
For 20 years, representatives and the media of communist Czechoslovakia kept silent about Palach, and the name of Jan Zajíc was also taboo. However, people did not forget their actions. The memorial service for the 20th anniversary of Palach’s death in January 1989 unexpectedly turned into the strongest protest against the regime. Thousands of people were not afraid to repeatedly express their dissatisfaction and risk a harsh crackdown by law enforcement. The intensity of the protests surprised not only the ruling politicians, but also the opposition. A few months later, the totalitarian regime fell. Both Palach and Zajíc’s memorial could be freely commemorated only after November 1989. Since 2014, January 16 is a significant day in the Czech Republic.
CR history Palach Pietní PHOTO OPENER
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
