Wisdom and humanity should be Slovakia's values, said Interior Minister Denisa Saková (Smer-SD) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Troops' invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968. For Saková, the events of August 1968 are connected with the name of Alexander Dubček. "I perceive him through his ideas as an honest man and a great Slovak who brought much-needed decency and humanity into politics," Saková posted on a social network, adding that this was why he was mentioned as a potential president in the early 90s.
Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Informatisation Richard Raši (Smer-SD) also commemorated the occupation. "During the occupation at least 38 people were killed in Slovakia, hundreds more injured and additional tens of thousands faced a subsequent normalisation. These are facts we mustn't forget, and we must remind our children of them, too," stressed the deputy prime minister.
"The victims we are commemorating today decided not to retreat 50 years ago. In decisive moments, realising the threat of death, they defended our country and society with their own bodies. They will always have our thanks and admiration for this. Let's honour their memory, we'll never forget," said Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (Slovak National Party/SNS).
Béla Bugár, Parliamentary Vice-chair and leader of the smallest ruling coalition party, Most-Híd, stated on a social network that the Russian Federation justifies the invasion to this day, with Russia not considering it an occupation at all. "Even decades later, the Russian media - associated with the state institutions - are talking about it as brotherly help. We can't afford not to notice this. Falsifying history and distorting historical facts can't be justified and has an impact on our relations with this country," he stressed.
The opposition party OĽANO shared a similar sentiment, with MP Veronika Remišová stating, "The invasion of the Soviet troops destroyed people's hopes and the fundamental right to decide the fate of their own country. The occupation was followed by normalisation when often incompetent people, who were, however, conforming with the new regime, were given important posts in the state. The whole country suffered the consequences of this." Freedom and Solidarity, another Opposition party, similarly wrote on their social network profile, "Our parents, fifty years ago, had no idea that freedom could disappear from the night until the morning. And that its return would take decades."
The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies took place on August 21, 1968, following the announcement by the First Secretary of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubček, of a liberal "Action Program," promising freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the abolition of censorship, eliminating travel restrictions and promising democratic elections, fuelling the liberal 'Prague Spring' which was underway.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev warned Dubček to stop the reforms at once, but the warnings were dismissed. After much debate, Moscow decided to intervene and establish a more conservative and pro-Soviet government by force. This culminated in approximately 250,000 troops and two thousand tanks entering Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968, with thousands more to follow. Subsequently, hard-line communists were installed into key government positions and Dubček was replaced by Gustáv Husák, with a new wave of 'normalisation' beginning, involving government crackdowns, secret police and repression.
