VIDEO Boris Kollár also recalls the sad events of our history: This is what he thinks about the occupation – Topka

According to Kollár, the enormous process in Czechoslovakia, which preceded the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, did not occur by accident. “It was the result of the economic failure of the socialist system, which was introduced in the republic by the Communists after the coup in 1948. But not only that. The regime was also unable to solve other social problems. Namely, the relations between Slovaks and Czechs, the place and role of intelligence in society or modern management and the emerging informatization, “ stressed.

“Today we commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the frustrating hopes of our fathers and grandfathers, which was accompanied by the frustrating lives of 38 citizens of Slovakia and 70 citizens of the Czech Republic,” said the head of parliament. As he further stated, the leaders of Czechoslovakia were at that time under strong political pressure from the civil society, which enthusiastically took democratization measures and rejected the demands to stop the reforms. “Eventually, they lost patience in Moscow and, together with the armies of the four socialist states, under the cover of darkness, militarily suppressed the hopes of the people of Czechoslovakia,” he added.

The military invasion thwarted the plans of thousands of citizens

However, the military invasion, he claims, did not only ruin the lives of these 108 people. “The plans and ideas of many thousands and millions of our citizens about their future lives in a democratized society have also been destroyed. Instead of reforms, a rigid normalization regime has prevailed, which has slowed down social, political and economic development for more than 20 years. “ he remarked.

He added that halting the reforms for more than two decades had made them much harder for the population to implement after 1989. “Recent events in the world also show that solutions using military force are not able to permanently prevent an development that is objective in nature.” added Kollár.

The Day of the Victims of the Occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 was included among the commemorative days by an amendment to the law on public holidays, non-working days and memorial days approved by parliament on November 3, 2020. The armed invasion on the night of August 20-21 as the Prague Spring. The occupation is also commemorated on June 21, the day of the departure of the occupying forces of the Soviet army in 1991.