Velvet Revolution’s 25th Anniversary Celebrated With New Wave of Protests
Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which brought the end of communism in the formerly unified countries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
On November 17, 1989, students marched on the streets of the Czechoslovak capital of Prague to commemorate International Students’ Day, which turned into a peaceful demonstration against the Soviet-style communist government, spurred on in part by the fall of the Berlin Wall 8 days earlier. The demonstration ended in violence when riot police blocked off the streets and violently beat student demonstrators, injuring hundreds. The crowds grew in the following days, and popular protests happened almost daily in cities across the country, culminating in the resignation of the Czechoslovak Communist Party and the appointment of the country’s first non-communist government in four decades. The Federal Assembly made playwright-turned-dissident Václav Havel the president of this new government, and he became a champion of human rights and a beloved leader. After the split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as the Velvet Divorce, Havel became the first president of the Czech Republic.
In honor of the 25th anniversary, people took to the streets last Monday to celebrate the event as well as protest against the current Czech president, Milos Zeman, thought by many to have strayed from the legacy of Václav Havel, who passed away in 2011. He has supported Russia in regards to Ukraine, and praised Chinese leaders, reminding many citizens of the days of communism they fought to leave behind. He also called the group Pussy Riot, who was jailed for denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin, a pornographic band whose members should not be considered political prisoners. Many have seen this insult and his other actions as betraying the spirit of the Velvet Revolution.
Many of the thousands of protesters came out after a Facebook page told citizens to bring soccer-style “red cards” to the location of the 1989 protests, calling for the president’s resignation. “We are saying that President Zeman should be given the red card and thrown out of the game,” said the creator of the page, Martin Prikryl. Quite a number of the protesters present had also been there 25 years previous, but most of the others were too young to recall the communist era, nonetheless determined to defend their democracy. The general atmosphere on Monday was festive, however, with a free rock concert hosted by the non-profit group Opona, food stalls, and a chalkboard where people could write thank you notes to the heroes of the revolution.
Previous Czech presidents have lit candles at the official memorial to the Velvet Revolution, but President Zeman invited the presidents of Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia to the unveiling of a new memorial at the university campus of Albertov, where some of the initial protests occurred. In the crowd were hundreds of protesters, many holding red cards, and the noise of their jeers and whistles almost drowned out Zeman’s speech. Security had to hold open umbrellas to protect the president from eggs pelted by members of the crowd. German President Joachim Gauk suffered an egg to the head, a fate likely intended for Zeman. When Zeman finally unveiled the memorial, the crowd chanted, “Don’t let him touch it!” The new memorial was the main government-organized event in honor of the celebration, and many have commented on the stark contrast between this event and the jubilant celebration the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany two weeks ago, which hosted 10,000 people and included the government-organized release of some 8,000 balloons. Most events in the Czech Republic, by contrast, were organized by civic groups such as Opona rather than the state, raising questions about why the government did not sponsor more official events.
The United States also celebrated the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by unveiling a bust of Václav Havel in the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) led the unveiling ceremony, and Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was in attendance. “By unveiling the bust of Vaclav Havel we do not only pay homage to him, but as he befittingly described it, to each and every one who did not bend down before pressure and fought for freedom, despite a threat of imprisonment, suffering or death, to each and everyone who raised his or her voice like the Czech writer and playwright Vaclav Havel,” said Sobotka.
Last October, Georgetown University established the Václav Havel’s Place memorial in Alumni Square in collaboration with the Václav Havel Library in Prague, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the United States, and the American Friends of the Czech Republic. The memorial’s main feature is a linden tree, the Czech Republic’s national symbol, which is planted between two chairs and surrounded by concentric circles of grass and a stone wall. In honor of the 25th anniversary, red paper hearts were tied to the branches of the tree with passages honoring the history of the revolution.