30th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution
Slovakia commemorated the 30th anniversary of the events of November 1989. The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice in cooperation with the Technical University of Košice and the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice prepared a series of events for International Student Day and the Day of Fight for Freedom and Democracy.
The Velvet Revolution (czech: sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution (slovak: nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 29 December 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia included students and older dissidents. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the command economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic.
On 17 November 1989 (International Students´ Day), riot police suppressed a student demonstration in Prague. The event marked the 50th anniversary of a violently suppressed demonstration against the Nazi storming of Prague University in 1939 where 1,200 students were arrested and 9 killed. The 1989 event sparked a series of demonstrations from 17 November to late December and turned into an anti-communist demonstration. On 20 November, the number of protesters assembled in Prague grew from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated 500,000. The entire top leadership of the Communist Party, including General Secretary Miloš Jakeš, resigned on 24 November. On 27 November, a two-hour general strike involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia was held.
In response to the collapse of other Warsaw Pact governments and the increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on 28 November that it would relinquish power and end the one-party state. Two days later, the federal parliament formally deleted the sections of the Constitution giving the Communist Party a monopoly of power. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On 10 December, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989.
In June 1990, Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries — the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Košice Students' Day from 1989 to 2019 - series of events of three Košice universities
UVLF will go back in time - a day of remembrance on UVMP
Heroes of the time - some of the personalities associated with the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice recall the events 30 years ago
Look back in time - the students prepared a commemorative ceremony with posters, striking keys and candles.
Award for seven of our students - three rectors met with selected students and praised them