Today, Thursday the 21st of August, Slovakia marks 57 years since Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia, abruptly ending the Prague Spring reforms led by Alexander Dubček. The invasion claimed dozens of lives in Slovakia, including students and civilians caught in the violence.
Slovakia commemorates this day as the Memorial Day for the Victims of the Occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, honouring all those who suffered under the occupation and the subsequent normalisation period.
President Peter Pellegrini marked the anniversary on social media, calling it a tragic event that shaped the lives of an entire generation. He stressed that building Slovakia’s statehood within democratic alliances such as the European Union and NATO is crucial to prevent history from repeating.
Source: TASR, www.21august1968.sk, www.mok.sk
