Today, the Czech Republic will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution with concerts, memorial events, happenings and demonstrations, and people will also remember the events of 1939. Celebrations of the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy and the International Student Day will take place in Prague and other Czech cities.
The main commemorative events traditionally take place in front of the memorial plaque on Prague’s Národní třída, where in 1989 the communist police violently suppressed a student procession. Politicians and ordinary citizens will come to lay flowers and light a candle. The Korzo national student festival will also be held in the street throughout the day. At 5:11 p.m., a symbolic prayer for Martha will be heard, followed by a short film projection.
The events leading to the closing of Czech universities by the Nazis in 1939 will be remembered especially by the participants of the morning assembly in front of Hlávková Dormitory in Prague. In the early evening, the Concert for the Future will take place on Wenceslas Square. In the evening, opponents of totalitarianism will receive the National Memory Awards, which are awarded by the Post Bellum Society, at the National Theatre.
There will be a protest against the government in the afternoon on Wenceslas Square, a march to the Czech Television building is planned. The Milion chvilek association will organize a meeting on the Old Town Square.
Commemorative events were prepared in dozens of cities by local governments and associations. From the events associated with the Freedom Festival, people will be able to take linden seeds all over the Czech Republic to grow seedlings. 58,000 bags of 17 seeds will be available in the project called Linden for the future. At 17:11, some municipalities will play Marta Kubišová’s composition Modlitba pro Marta from local radio stations. Regional and national radio stations will also join.
Student protests also continue in Prague, Brno and Olomouc. The weekly action of the University Strikes for Climate began on Wednesday afternoon. It includes, among other things, lectures and debates. This year, students are drawing attention to the high cost of living and unaffordable housing, which they say contrasts with the profits of fossil fuel billionaires. In Prague today, protesters will go on a march called The End of Oligarchy in Bohemia, which will be followed by a festival in Magdalena Rettigová Street.
Source: www.tyden.cz
