Struggle For Human Rights Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Slovakia

Every year on March 25, we recognise Struggle For Human Rights Day. It commemorates the flame demonstration that occurred on March 25, 1988 in Slovakia. Marián tastn, the Executive Vice President of the Slovakia World Congress, planned the candle demonstration to struggle for religious freedom in the country. Approximately 5,000 Slovaks demonstrated in Hviezdoslav Square, and thousands more demonstrated in the surrounding streets. The demonstration was in opposition to the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and can be viewed as an essential first step towards the regime’s demise.

The background of Struggle For Human Rights Day

In the sixth century, Slavic Slovaks settled in the present-day territory of Slovakia. In the ninth century, Slovakia was politically united with the Moravian empire, but in 907 the Germans and Magyars conquered the Moravian state. In 1918, following World War I, the Hapsburg empire collapsed, and the Slovaks joined the Czech lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and a portion of Silesia to create the new state of Czechoslovakia.

In 1939, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, established a German protectorate and proxy state in Slovakia, and appointed Monsignor Josef Tiso as prime minister. The Soviet army liberated Slovakia from the Germans in 1945, and the state reverted to its pre-war status and rejoined the new Czechoslovak state. In 1948, however, the Communist Party came to power, and Slovakia was once again ruled by a centralised Czech administration. This weakened the relationship between the two republics.

In 1969, the nation changed its name to the Slovak Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia. On March 25, 1988, Roman Catholic dissenting organisations held a candle demonstration on Hviezdoslav Street to demand religious freedom in Czechoslovakia. This was the first large-scale demonstration after 1969, and it was a crucial step towards the overthrow of the communist regime.

On January 1, 1993, the Slovak Republic was established, and Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia, and democratic political reform began.

International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims 2023: Date, History, Facts