President: Warsaw Pact Invasion Had Long-lasting Impact on Political Life

Bratislava, 21 August (TASR) - The invasion by Warsaw Pact troops in 1968 remains a sad chapter in our history and had a long-lasting impact on the country's political life and the destinies of people in the then Czechoslovakia, President Peter Pellegrini posted on a social network on Thursday to mark the 57th anniversary of the aforementioned military invasion. Pellegrini recalled that the reform process led by Alexander Dubcek [the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, de facto leader of the country - ed. note] embodied people's desire to change a rigid regime and to build a welfare state based on respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. "However, these historical events are also a story about the character of those who held firm to their beliefs, despite facing immense political and military pressure," the president stated. Even though the reform process was halted by the invasion and subsequent 'normalisation' that affected an entire generation, the desire for freedom remained and was later transformed into values that guided the Velvet Revolution, he added. Today, according to the head of state, the world around us is changing. To prevent history from repeating itself in such a cruel form, it's important to build our statehood within the family of democratic nations that make up the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. "Let us strengthen the international standing of the Slovak Republic in a way that such a violent act of power - when the fate of an entire country and its people is decided upon based on the sphere of influence of a single superpower – will never happen again," said Pellegrini. jrg/df/ko