Thousands of people filled the center of Košice on Monday eveningwho took part in a civic gathering on the occasion of the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, entitled November 17 – Freedom is not a given.
Students and personalities of November ’89 gave their speeches in the program. Among them, one of the faces of the Gentle Revolution in Košice, Ľubica Blaškovičová, the charter member and founder of the Košice Public against Violence (VPN) Ľubomír Badiar and Pavol Cacara from the strike committee of the then Technical University. The crowd was also addressed by the former minister of culture of the official government and culture manager Silvia Hroncová, the father of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak and the mother of his fiancee Martina Kušnírováas well as a member of the former VPN coordination center and preacher Daniel Pastirčák.
The appeal for the protection of democracy and freedom was repeated in the speeches. Speakers talked about the return of authoritarianism, corruption, manipulation, impunity and the division of society. The crowd responded positively to criticism of the current government by chanting or rattling keys.
“We don’t get answers to our questions. Scientists, artists, conservationists, doctors, journalists – we are all just ridiculed, insulted and humiliated in the disdainful monologues of government representatives and its prime minister. It is unbelievable that after 36 years since the Gentle Revolution, fear reigns here again,” said Blaškovičová, according to whom civil society platforms are also questioned or intimidated.
The speakers recalled that students played a key role in the struggle for freedom and democracy in the past. They showed support for current student activism. The term “chalk revolution” was also used several times, which refers to the chalk inscriptions that appear on the sidewalks after the incident in front of the Dominika Tatarka Gymnasium in Poprad. “Responsibility has not disappeared. Today the students are convincing us of this again. I am glad that young people are coming with the initiative. Maybe it is a signal that the coming generations will find a way to fix this system,” Cacara stated in his speech.
The Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy has been celebrated in Slovakia since 2001. It refers to the Gentle Revolution. After the new day, it is no longer a day of work peace, which caused a wave of criticism.
