Thousands Mark Velvet Revolution Legacy in Banska Bystrica

Banska Bystrica/Bratislava, 17 November (TASR) – Thousands of people gathered in Banska Bystrica on Monday to commemorate the events and legacy of the Velvet Revolution at a public assembly. Speakers in the park beneath the SNP Memorial recalled key figures of November 1989, praised the courage of students, and criticised statements made by members of the current government towards the younger generation. The public assembly marking the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution began in the afternoon on SNP Square in Banska Bystrica. A crowd of participants, along with organisers from the platform Not In Our Town, then marched through the city centre to the park below the SNP Memorial. Several speakers and witnesses of the events of November 1989 addressed the thousands in attendance. Peter Tatar, a co-organiser of the Velvet Revolution events, founding member of the coordinating committee of Public Against Violence and former lawmaker, told the crowd that the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy cannot be abolished by a parliamentary vote. He noted that although the country has lived in democracy for decades, its people often do not behave democratically. “Over those 36 years we have only occasionally elected a democratic government, but those brief periods were worth it. Because we are safe and comfortable within the European Union and NATO, yet we could lose that. Quite simply, cleaning up once is not enough,” Tatar said. He also highlighted the role of students in 1989 and said that thanks to the courage of today's young generation, the country is now witnessing a “chalk revolution”. The courage of students was also emphasised by Beata Hirt, a direct participant in the November events in Banska Bystrica and a member of the Not In Our Town initiative. She shared her own experience of being taken for her first interrogation by the State Security in 1980 as a grammar school student, allegedly for spreading anti-regime jokes. “I was certain that after the Velvet Revolution something like that could never happen to anyone here again. And unfortunately, it has. It is outrageous and indefensible,” Hirt said. The gathering also heard a statement by the Academic Senates of the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Matej Bel University. The senates protested against long-term verbal attacks by some politicians directed at students. “These attacks are taking place at a time when Slovakia has long been facing an outflow of talented young people abroad. This trend fundamentally weakens the country's development and its future potential,” the senates stated. mf