Secretary General of the MOD Service Office Peter Kozák commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Candle Demonstration

On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Secretary General of the MOD Service Office Peter Kozák today commemorated the 35th anniversary of the 25 March 1988 Candle Demonstration in Bratislava, a peaceful mass protest for religious and civic rights and freedoms in 'socialist' Czechoslovakia. The gathering was brutally suppressed by the Communist regime.

Secretary General of the MOD Service Office Peter Kozák said: “It is important to constantly remind ourselves of what ordinary people struggling for the values of justice and tolerance had to bear and what sacrifices they had to make. It was in Hviezdoslav Square 35 years ago that politeness, cultivation and desire for freedom triumphed over lawlessness and totalitarian brutality. The courage of those who came to voice their growing civic dissatisfaction with the then state of affairs gave hope to many who felt that a real change was within reach.”

As well as being the first public demonstration against the communist regime since 1969, the “Candle Demonstration”, also known as Bratislava's Good Friday, is a milestone in Slovakia's struggle for a more democratic society. Joining in with the civic protest, several thousand people took to the streets of Bratislava, peacefully marching and quietly holding burning candles in their hands to show their support for religious freedom and human rights.

In an attempt to suppress the protest, the repressive Communist regime mobilised its riot police and security forces and dispersed the crowds. Nevertheless, their voice reached far beyond Czechoslovakia's borders and sent shocks through the Communist regime. Its definitive fall occurred only 20 months after the Gentle Revolution of 17 November 1989.