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Events commemorating the November 17 student demonstration which sparked the Velvet Revolution will be largely in the hands of civic initiatives. The Office of the Government and the Office of the President have not planned any special events on the occasion, although President Klaus and Prime Minister Fischer will lay flowers and light candles on Národni street where communist police effected a brutal crack down on a student demonstration sparking a wave of public protests that led to the overthrow of the communist regime. Several thousand people are expected to take part in a procession which will follow in the footsteps of the 1989 student march. Among the guest speakers at the event will be Chinese journalist Kao Ju, jailed for writing about the brutal crack-down on human rights activists on Tiananmen Square in 1989 and Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov.

US president Barack Obama, German Chacellor Angela Merkel, the Dalai Lama and the former Soviet president Michail Gorbachov sent the Czech people video-greetings screened during the concert, congratulating them on twenty years of freedom and democracy. President Obama said the Velvet Revolution was an inspiration to those who are still striving for freedom. Chancellor Merkel thanked Czechs for having helped East German refugees on their flight to freedom in 1989 and the former Soviet leader Michail Gorbachov called Václav Havel a dear friend for whom he had great respect. The Dalai Lama expressed the hope that Czechs and Slovaks would preserve their courageous spirit.

Saturday’s events commemorating the Velvet Revolution were organized by the Dagmar and Václav Havel foundation. They included a panel debate with students and VIP guests such as the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, French philosopher Andre Glucksman, British writer Tom Stoppard and Polish historian and journalist Adam Michnik. The day culminated with a concert on Saturday night to which Mr. Havel invited guest performers close to his heart – Lou Reed, Joan Baez, Suzanne Vega and Renee Fleming. The show was titled “It’s finally happening” – the slogan that tens of thousands of Czechs chanted in the streets during the Velvet Revolution. President Klaus who was sitting in the first row had high praise for the event saying it was just right – emotionally charged but not opulent.

In a speech to the assembly at Charles University, Mr. Havel warned against new forms of totalitarianism, which he said were more sophisticated than those of the 20th century and it was important for people to realize this and be on their guard. In this connection, the former Czech president criticized the state of affairs in present-day Russia. As a former dissident who received moral support from the West, Mr. Havel has frequently emphasized the Czech Republic’s duty to help others who still live in totalitarian regimes around the world.

The hero of the Velvet Revolution, former president Václav Havel is at the centre of events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism. Among the VIP guests who attended a panel debate with students at Charles University were former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, French philosopher Andre Glucksman, British writer Tom Stoppard and Polish historian and journalist Adam Michnik. The celebrations will culminate with a concert on Saturday night to which Mr. Havel has invited world artists close to his heart – Lou Reed, Joan Baez, Susan Vega and Renee Fleming. The show is titled “It’s finally happening” – the slogan that tens of thousands of Czechs chanted in the streets during the Velvet Revolution.

Writers were at the forefront of the Velvet Revolution. But when the dust settled on the political changes they found a fast changing publishing revolution underway that left some of them sidelined. We look at the changes in the publishing and literary world over the last two decades.

Czech-Japanese entrepreneur Tomio Okamura is a household name in the Czech Republic, both for running a successful tourist business to representing one of the country’s largest tourist associations. As an expert in his field, Tomio makes numerous appearances on TV and radio and is also jury member on a well-known business reality programme. His success, in a way he says, is linked to one thing: the Velvet Revolution. Ahead of the upcoming 20th anniversary, Tomio agreed to come in to the studio to discuss how the fall off Communism changed his life.

The fall of communism turned around the lives of millions of people. In a special edition of Czechs Today we talk to a father and son of the same name about how this dramatic change affected their lives. Petr Cibulka senior was born in Opava and moved to Prague in August of 1989 –less than three months before the Velvet Revolution broke out. He now owns a hotel in Lednice, Moravia. His son Petr Cibulka junior belongs to the generation which was barely touched by the communist regime. He moved to Prague at the age of 15, later went for a study stay

President Václav Klaus is making his own contribution to the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The Czech president has penned his own assessment of how and why Communism collapsed and how the new leadership, including himself, dealt with the challenges in a book that has just been released.

November 17 is the anniversary of the start of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution. But what is less well known is that six days earlier it was preceded by what has been described as the “smog revolution”, when hundreds of people – angered by the appalling state of the local environment – took to the streets in the north Bohemian city of Teplice.

The small patch of green outside Malostranská metro station in the centre of Prague has been hosting a bizarre outdoor display this month. Besides a monument to Czech WWII resistance fighters that was installed there in 2006, two new temporary memorials have been added recently to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. A wooden watchtower from a communist-era labour camp was raised there a couple of weeks ago and this past Sunday saw the unveiling of a most bizarre sculpture...