Slovakia Party: We Thank People Who Stood Up against Regime in November 1989

Bratislava, November 17 (TASR) - The Slovakia party has commemorated the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy and the struggle for basic human rights and freedoms that were suppressed in communist Czechoslovakia, with party leader Igor Matovic thanking all the brave people in November 1989 who opposed the regime, which he called reprehensible and illegitimate. "By standing up against evil, they showed how much they cared about living in a free country without a criminal ideology that prevented people from living freely, voting, creating and professing their faith. Even today, we must try not to lose these basic human rights, because evil wins if good people do nothing," said Matovic. 'For the People' chairwoman Veronika Remisova described the Velvet Revolution as the opposite of the hateful policy of fear of the totalitarian communist regime. "People bravely, but without violence, stood up for what belongs to them - for their freedom," she stressed, noting, however, that freedom and democracy also made it possible to freely elect people who don't profess November 17 values to the helm of the state. Remisova called on people to stand up to evil, to fight for the values of democracy without fear and hatred, even in the difficult years ahead that she anticipates. am/df