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"The Palach Week 1989"
In January 1989 the anniversary of Jan Palach's sacrifice was remembered in Czechoslovakia more than in other years. The anniversary was preceded on 10th December 1988 by a public meeting on Prague's Skroupa Square, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Participants reminded the communist state organs of the commitments they had made in the Declaration.
From Monday 16th January until Friday 20th there were mass demonstrations every afternoon on Wenceslas Square in Prague. Mainly young people gathered to remember Jan Palach's sacrifice and to call for greater freedom and respect for human rights in Czechoslovakia. The police and communist "militias" used truncheons, water cannon, tear gas and dogs to break up the demonstrations; many people were injured and over 1400 were detained. Communist Party bosses and state representatives claimed that the demonstrations had been organised abroad and that the "Jan Palach case" and everything connected with it would have been forgotten, had it not been stirred up by "enemies of socialism".
At the same time as the January events Austria was hosting a session of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which brought together 35 countries. Czechoslovakia, the GDR and Romania were repeatedly accused of breaking the Helsinki Accord in their human rights record. The events in Czechoslovakia called the country's sincerity in its commitment to human rights into serious question.
On 14th January 1989 the communist daily Rude pravo for the first time printed a letter from the banned Charter 77, warning people not to repeat Jan Palach's act of 20 years earlier by setting themselves alight in protest against the regime. Charter 77 and the official council for the protection of human rights received an anonymous letter, stating that a further student was planning to set himself alight on Wenceslas Square on Sunday 15th. The Czechoslovak authorities took exceptional security precautions on the eve of the ceremony of commemoration planned by Charter 77.
On Sunday 15th January, the eve of the 20th anniversary of Jan Palach's act, members of five human rights groups announced a demonstration, or rather memorial ceremony, on Wenceslas Square. Permission was not granted and the police along with the militias were put on alert. The 13 representatives of the five groups were prevented from attending. At 13.45 between 800 and 1000 people moved towards the centre of the square. They began to sing the national anthem accompanied by cries of "Freedom". Charter 77 prepared a document (no.4/89) "In Memory of Jan Palach". It was to be read at 1400 on the square by the actress Vlasta Chadimova. This was prevented by a police intervention. While trying to lay flowers at the Saint Wenceslas statue 14 participants were detained, including Vaclav Havel, Jana Sternova, the Charter 77 spokeswoman Dana Nemcova, Sasa Vondra, J. Hajek, L. Lis, R. Battek and Eva Kanturkova. Under paragraph 156 of the criminal code they were threatened with prolonged detention. Special police units used tear gas, truncheons, dogs and water cannon to disperse the crowd and were responsible for a number of beatings. Hundreds of people were enclosed by metal barriers at the bottom of the square.
On Monday 16th January 1989 the demonstration on Wenceslas Square lasted more than three hours. There were violent clashes, which coincided with the arrival of the Czechoslovak foreign minister, J. Johanes, in Vienna to sign an East-West accord on human rights and conventional arms limitation. Hundreds of police armed with water cannon and tear gas broke up the demonstration for the second day running. In Brno around 500 people attended a church service in memory of Jan Palach.
On Tuesday 17th January, police intervened for the third day running, as people tried to lay flowers or simply pay their respects at the site of Palach's self-immolation. Using water cannon the police tried to clear the square even of chance passers-by (as witnessed by reporters from the international press). Charter 77 issued a document (no.5/89) addressed to the governments of the countries taking part in the OSCE meeting in Vienna, protesting against the use of force by the communist authorities.
On Wednesday 18th January two members of an unofficial Czechoslovak peace orgnasition met with a close associate of prime minister Ladislav Adamec, who promised to listen to their complaints of police brutality over the previous three days. Wednesday's two-hour demonstration on Wenceslas Square passed without incident and was attended by around 5000 people crying "We want to live like people". Later a group of around 1500 people gathered and began to sing the national anthem, once again crying for freedom. The crowd proceeded up and down the square for about an hour, but the police, gathered on Charles Square nearby, did not intervene.
On Thursday 19th January the police did intervene, and with greater brutality than at any previous stage. At least nine people were injured. The police tried to break up the demonstration at the very start, just after 5 pm. The demonstrators called for the release of 15 imprisoned dissidents. The injured were taken to hospital in ambulances. After clearing the square the police checked the scaffolding on surrounding buildings, looking for demonstrators who might be hiding. Tension remained high well on into the evening.
On Saturday 21st January there was a "pilgrimage" to Jan Palach's grave in his home town of Vsetaty. All the main railway stations in Prague were closely guarded, to prevent people from attending. Nonetheless many people attended, especially the young. Once again the police intervened, often using force as they tried to stop people from reaching the cemetery. However, Charter 77 representative, Stanislav Devaty, did manage to break through and place a crown of thorns on the grave.
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