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Remembrance of Candle Demonstration

The European Parliament has remembered the Bratislava Candle Demonstration of 25 March 1988. The event was organised by Anna Záborská MEP (EPP-ED, Slovakia).

Among the speakers of the event was František Mikloško MP, former President of the Slovakian Parliament and organisator of the Demonstration in 1988. The Bratislava Candle Demonstration of 25 March 1988 was one of the most significant public expressions of resistance against the Communist regime in former Czechoslovakia. The mass meeting was a precursor to the Velvet Revolution of 17 November 1989 that led to the collapse of the forty-year totalitarian rule and the onset of democracy.

The Demonstration for religious freedom and human rights was organised two decades ago by people from secret Catholic groups that were being persecuted by the governing power of the time. The Demonstration organisers requested the nomination of Catholic bishops for the vacant Slovak dioceses, full religious freedom and the respect of human rights. These requests meant that the originally religious event gained wider civil scope.

Around 2000 people attended the half-hour Demonstration on Hviezdoslav Square in Bratislava; thousands of others were in adjacent streets. No speeches were made during the Demonstration - the people that took part expressed their resistance with burning candles and prayers. The state police reacted with violence - they used truncheons and water cannons against the manifestants. Tens of people, including those that happened to be in the Bratislava centre by chance, were arrested and cross-examined for hours on end.

The main organisers - Ján Čarnogurský, Vladimír Jukl and others - were detained the entire day that Friday so as to prevent them from joining the meeting. František Mikloško was released only after 48 hours. Bishop Ján Korec and Silvester Krčméry were guarded at home by the police.

The aggressive intervention against the quiet prayer Demonstration met with adverse reactions in the democratic world. News of the Bratislava event was broadcasted by the BBC, the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the Vatican Radio. The domestic state propaganda, on the other hand, had a news item published on what it alleged was an unsuccessful attempt of some individuals to abuse people's faith and religious feeling.

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