August 21 march in Prague will mark 50 years since Czechoslovak forces fired on their own citizens

So far, only 2,200 people on Facebook have said they will attend the August 21 march, Freedom and Democracy.

The group adds that in addition to reminding people of past events, they also want to inform people about current issues.

“We are concerned that the President of the Republic deliberately divides society, and 8,500 said they are interested, but more are likely to show up.

Babiš denies allegations that he cooperated with the Czechoslovak security police (StB) in the communist era, but a Slovak court definitively ruled against him in 2018.

“We are no longer
threatened by Russian tanks. Yet Russia is waging an effective
information war against us. Today, we do not face the violent
suppression of civil protests (as is still the case in Russia).
However, we are at risk of indifference and gradual disintegration of
democracy. We want to show that we are here and that we are ready to
defend democracy and its institutions.” the Facebook post inviting
people to the march states.

Mass protests began August 19, 1969, with people in Prague, Liberec, Brno, České Budějovice, Ostrava and other cities voicing opposition to the Normalization policies of the new communist leadership that took over after the Warsaw Pact invasion a year earlier.

Many historians see the events of August 1969 as a bigger tragedy than those of 1968 because in 1969 it was Czechoslovak forces, and not invaders, that fired on the Czechoslovak people.

Protests against the
occupation had been taking place fairly regularly since the invasion,
but the response to the August 21 protest was different, with police
and other security forces in Prague aggressively arresting
protesters.

This led to fighting in the streets, with protesters building barricades and throwing

The fatalities have
been attributed to the People’s Militias. Officials, though,
claimed they were forced to fire out of fear for their lives. The
names of the militia members who fired into the crowds has never been
released.

Million Moments for Democracy plans another large demonstration at Letná for November 16, the day before the commemoration of the Day of the Struggle for

advocates the interests of Russia and China, grossly violates the Constitution of the Czech Republic and inappropriately interferes with the composition of the government. We are concerned that the government is kept alive only by the votes of the Communists. We are concerned that the Prime Minister — a prosecuted former StB agent — is hurting our country with a huge conflict of interest. We are concerned that this weak prime minister is not able to confront the president’s arbitrariness,” the group adds.

stones. The police responded with tear gas and eventually live bullets. Tanks were called in to break the protests.