7:45 – The European Commissioner for the YES movement also commemorated the anniversary on Twitter Věra Jourová.
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‘The natural disadvantage of democracy is that it ties its hands immensely to those who mean it honestly, while it allows almost everything to those who do not take it seriously.’ We must remember these words of Václav Havel.
Let us not take democracy for granted.
#17listopad #VelvetRevolution pic.twitter.com/V7lIvlzW7f– Vera Jourova (@VeraJourova) November 17, 2021
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7:25 – “We came to Národní třída earlier, because the head of our security told us that the demonstrators were going to throw eggs at us, so we wanted to avoid them,” Andrej Babiš told Czech Television.
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Andrej Babiš (middle), Alena Schillerová on the right, Karel Havlíček on the right.
7:15 – A long-standing member of the European Parliament and a member of the ODS also commented on 17 November Jan Zahradil.
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November 17, 1939.
9 students executed.
1200 students sent to a concentration camp.
Czech universities permanently closed.
Let’s not forget. pic.twitter.com/MWVF4lt5kH– Jan Zahradil (@ZahradilJan) November 17, 2021
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7:05 – “We commemorate the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution every year,” the nurse of the Order of St. told Czech Television. Voršily Marta Šmídová. It was at the ramparts that the protesters hid from the armed forces. In the church, which is located next to the National Theater, you will hear a sound installation composed of the testimonies of the voršilky sisters throughout the day.
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6:50 – Early in the morning, a new deputy for KDU-ČSL laid flowers at the memorial Hayato Okamura.
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DAR SVOBODY
On the eve of 17.11. on Národní třída in Prague. It will be 32 years. Freedom requires responsibility – and the willingness of people to participate in public affairs. pic.twitter.com/7EPTmEwGK6— Hayato Okamura (@HayatoOkamura) November 16, 2021
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6:35 – Hundreds of people gather at the memorial this early morning.
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6:00 – Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is now laying flowers on Národní třída. The Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová and the Minister of Transport and Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček also do the same with him.
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Andrej Babiš on Národní třída
The events of the end of the 41-year rule of communism are commemorated by Czechs throughout the country over the weekend.
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They recall both the tragic events of November 1939, when the occupiers mortally wounded student Jan Opletal during an anti-Nazi demonstration, and the beginnings of the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
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During the day, for example, people can place candles and flowers at a place of reverence on Národní třída, where a rich accompanying program will take place as part of the Korzo Národní event.
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| November 17, 1939: After previous anti-Nazi protests, the Nazis closed Czech universities on November 17, which was accompanied by extensive arrests. The Nazis executed nine student leaders and transported more than a thousand more students to concentration camps. |
| November 17, 1989: The allowed Prague demonstration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the closure of Czech universities after the official end continued with a march of some demonstrators to the city center, where participants wanted to express their disagreement with the then communist regime. Police gradually surrounded the peaceful demonstrators on Národní třída and brutally beat them. Reports of brutal intervention started the so-called Velvet Revolution, which led to the fall of the totalitarian regime. |
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In the early evening, the holiday will end with the Nation’s Memory Awards, broadcast live from the National Theater, and a Concert for the Future on Wenceslas Square. This year, the national holiday will also be used by associations and organizations for mass events and demonstrations.
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