【明報專訊】Despite the bloody crackdown in Beijing, 1989 was overall a year of triumph for the cause of democracy. Across Eastern Europe dictatorships crumbled like houses of cards. Today in 1989, in particular, a student demonstration in Prague (布拉格) was brutally beaten back by riot police, but later that year it culminated in a peaceful, bloodless transfer of power to the people — the Velvet Revolution (天鵝絨革命).

1. Czechoslovakia

as a one-party dictatorship

The now-defunct Czechoslovakia (捷克斯洛伐克) occupied what is now the territory of the Czech Republic and that of Slovakia. Annexed (吞併) by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, it became a Communist (共產主義) state in 1948 with a centrally planned economy (計劃經濟) and a one-party dictatorship (一黨專政). Freedoms and human rights were largely restricted.

There had been several attempts to achieve democracy before the success of the Velvet Revolution. In 1968 reformist Alexander Dubcek (杜布切克) was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the country's ruling party. During what is called the "Prague Spring" (布拉格之春), he attempted to reform the country and grant basic rights to citizens. Restrictions on the media, speech and travel were loosened. The reforms were short-lived, however, because the Soviet Union, the country in virtual control of Czechoslovakia, sent in tanks to bring down Dubcek's government and reversed the reforms.

2. Student protests in 1989

On the eve of International Students Day (November 17) that year, high school and university students staged a peaceful demonstration in the centre of Bratislava (布拉迪斯拉發), now the capital of Slovakia. The next day riot police suppressed a big student demonstration in Prague. That sparked a series of demonstrations on November 19. They continued until late December.

On November 24, the entire top leadership of the Communist Party, including General Secretary Milos Jakes (雅克什), resigned. On November 27 a two-hour general strike was held involving all Czechoslovakians. The Communist Party announced on November 28 that it would relinquish (放棄) power and dismantle the one-party state. Dubcek was elected speaker of the federal parliament, while Vaclav Havel (哈維爾), who had led the negotiations with the communist government, became President. Havel was one of the initiators of Charter 77* (七七憲章).

In June 1990, Czechoslovakia saw its first democratic elections since 1946. The event, known as the Velvet Revolution for its bloodlessness, has continued to inspire people worldwide striving for the cause of democracy. Charter 08 (零八憲章), a manifesto initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists (including Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波)), is believed to have been inspired by Charter 77.

*Note: In 1977, a group of Czechoslovak dissidents drafted and published the Charter 77 manifesto, which called on the communist government to respect human rights. Many of the signatories (簽署者) were harassed and imprisoned by the secret police for daring to challenge communist rule.

3. The Velvet Divorce

Czechoslovakia was a state of two ethnic groups: the Slovaks and the Czechs. Separatist sentiments emerged among the Slovaks after the collapse of Communist rule. In 1992 the Czechs and Slovaks agreed to break up their federated state. On 1 January 1993, the Czechoslovakian republic was peacefully dissolved in what is known as the "Velvet Divorce" and replaced by two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.