On Monday, Slovaks remember 30 years since passing of one of the most famous Slovak politicians Alexander Dubček. "As an advocate of political dialogue, he became a symbol of the revival process and a failed attempt to create so-called socialism with a human face. Dubček's efforts were halted by the tanks and troops of the Warsaw Pact in August 1968," said Foreign Affairs Minister Rastislav Káčer, adding that building a regime without freedom and democracy is always a tragic experience. This is also why Dubcek became one of the main characters of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Alexander Dubcek is considered to be one of the most important Slovak politicians because he served as first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from January 1968 to April 1969, and became a symbol of the reforms known as the Prague Spring, which was forcibly ended by a military invasion by forces of the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries in August 1968. Dubcek had to leave his post under pressure from the Kremlin. Historians regard this as the beginning of the normalisation process in the former Czechoslovakia. After the Velvet Revolution, Dubcek became speaker of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia in December 1989.
Source: TASR
