Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic Martin Sklenár commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the withdrawal of the occupying troops of the Soviet army from Czechoslovakia at the military base in Sliač. It was on 21 June 1991 that the last of more than 900 transports left Slovakia’s territory. He also recalled that in addition to the loss of sovereignty, the restriction of freedoms and ecological damage, the Soviet occupation also caused the loss of the most precious thing - human lives.
"The withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia was the culmination of the events of the Velvet Revolution - it definitively confirmed that the Czechs and Slovaks had achieved the opportunity to follow their own, free and democratic path. The courage of the people and the impact of their actions during November 1989 can only be fully realized when we look at the figures representing the strength of the oppression that Soviet troops had been inflicting for almost 23 years - 73 500 Soviet officers and soldiers, almost 40 000 family members, 1 220 tanks, 2 500 infantry fighting vehicles, more than 100 aircraft, almost two hundred helicopters and 95 000 tons of ammunition. The Velvet Revolution took place under the eyes of this huge army, in suspense as to whether it would not intervene against the assembled citizens," stressed the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Martin Sklenár. (iba web)
Soviet troops were stationed on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia from the night of August 20 to 21, 1968, when the armies of the five Warsaw Pact states crossed the border and began the occupation of Czechoslovakia. The so-called temporary stay of Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia was legalized by the treaty of October 16, 1968, which was approved two days later by the National Assembly. 228 MPs supported the document, ten abstained and four voted against.
In the first weeks of the occupation, at least 135 people lost their lives, of which 40 died in Slovakia or came from Slovakia. The occupation stopped the process of democratization of society and started normalization, which cancelled all the gains of the so-called socialism with a human face, an attempt to democratize the country in the 1960s.
Over the months following the beginning of the occupation, the armies of the Warsaw pact states were leaving Czechoslovakia but a large presence of Soviet soldiers remained in the country for years to come. The demand for the departure of the Soviet army became one of the priorities of Czechoslovak foreign policy right after the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. The heads of diplomacy of both countries signed an international agreement on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia on February 26, 1990. The evacuation took place in three stages during 16 months. The last transport crossed the eastern border of Slovakia on June 21, 1991.
The process of the withdrawal of the Soviet occupation troops was de jure completed by the Protocol on the Termination of Deportation. The document was signed on June 25, 1991 by General Rudolf Ducháček and the commander of the Soviet armed forces in Czechoslovakia, Eduard Vorobjev.
Source: TASR
