Image: Celebrations of the “Christ years” of democracy were colorful in the metropolis
The 33rd anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Prague attracted crowds of people to Národní tříd and the surrounding area. Among them was a witness of the revolutionary days of 1989, the then forty-three-year-old Mrs. Alena. “The news that something important was happening reached us in Ohrad while we were returning from the countryside. We dropped off our already elderly parents and younger daughter at home. My husband and older son and I then hit the streets. And in the following days, we were at all the larger demonstrations, including Letná,” Alena recalled.
Click to enlarge
On Národní třída, even shortly before midnight, people went to light a candle at the November 17 memorial.
| Photo: Deník/Radek Cihla
“Even if everything has not been great in those 33 years, the basic fact that we live in a free country is a very important thing. I understand that people outside of Prague may be more affected by the crisis. I myself am a pensioner and I feel the rising cost of energy and the like. But so far it’s nothing dramatic. And given the situation in the world, it seems logical to me that we all need to tighten our belts a little,” added Alena.
Vanda and Ema are high school students and were born long after the eventful November 1989. “Freedom is important. It means we can say what we want, travel, make decisions about everything. And also express an opinion. I don’t take the opinion of opponents of the government either. Certainly, the government has failed to help people many times in the past, although it could have. However, current aid for Ukraine is undoubtedly necessary and important. Our country also needed support from the outside before and got it,” the complementary high school girls told Pražský deník.
November 17 in Prague: The prayer for Marta sounded on Národní třída
In the lower part of Wenceslas Square, supporters of closer European integration, the adoption of the Euro in the Czech Republic, or organizations warning of government repression in Iran promoted their ideas. “Because our freedom is not just about us. A free Czechia will only survive in a democratic and united Europe and the free world,” commented the awareness campaign of the Pulse of Europe association.
In addition to the all-day program Korzo Národní, where, among other things, Radiožurnál and Český rozhlas plus reconstructed a 33-year-old era including
“everyday”, a traditional satirical procession of masks called the Velvet Illumination passed through the center of Prague. The upper part of Wenceslas Square was also resounded by the traditional Concert for the Future with the main attraction in the form of the Russian anti-regime group Pussy Riot (on the program after 8 p.m.).
Vrabel’s “Nonviolent Revolution”. Thousands of protesters demand the resignation of the government
The Post Bellum organization presented the annual Memory of the Nation Awards at the National Theatre. This year they were taken over by Pavel Eli Vago and Anna Šestáková, who were deprived of their home and loved ones. The prize was also given to Marie Susedková and Marie Henzlová, who bravely faced communist persecution. This year, unusually, one award will also go to Ukraine.
Václav Havel’s new bench was also ceremoniously unveiled in the presence of Mrs. Dagmar Havel on the Hollar embankment, right near Václav Havel’s most popular cafe, Slavia. It is the completion of a joint project of the Municipal District of Prague 1 and the state enterprise Povodí Vltava to honor and preserve the spiritual legacy of Václav Havel.