Dukla-Lidice relay run will commemorate end of WWII

Slovaks and Czechs will commemorate this year's 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War with a relay run from Dukla (Prešov region) to Lidice (the Czech Republic) this week, Michaela Bučeková from the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica told TASR on Saturday. The international run will also be dedicated to the 73rd anniversary of the tragic burning of Czech village Lidice and the extermination of the settlement of Ležáky. The event takes place under the patronage of Slovak President Andrej Kiska and his Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman, who'll also meet as part of the run to recall the common history of the two countries. "The actual run will start at 08.00 a.m. on June 10 at the war memorial at Dukla. The route leads through Poprad (Prešov region), Banská Bystrica, Považská Bystrica (Trenčín region), the Czech areas of Zákřov, Javoříčko and Ležáky to Lidice. Participants of the run are expected to reach the final destination on June 13 at about 9.45 a.m, and together with other participants of the commemorative event in Lidice they should lay a wreath in memory of the burning of the village", said Bučeková. In Banská Bystrica the run will be held under the auspices of Mayor Ján Nosko, who'll join the relay for an approximately five-kilometre stretch on his bicycle.