Politics
A week-long photo exhibition to commemorate 30-years of freedom and democracy in Czech Republic has opened in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the opening ceremony of the event organised by Embassy of Czech Republic held on Thursday at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre.
The exhibition captioned “1989 as seen by Photographers”, is a collection of photos that chronicle the historic Velvet Revolution of 1989 as citizens struggled to overthrow dictatorial communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
It features protests, persons oppressed by the communists and the acclaimed Lennon Wall, among other significant occurrences and monuments.
It also highlight the Charter 77 movement, led by Vaclav Havel, playwright and last President of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until its dissolution, and then first President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.
The opening ceremony was attended by Nigerian government functionaries, heads of institutions and members of the diplomatic community.
In his opening address, Mr Marek Skolil, Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria, said the exhibition was to illustrate and reflect on the courage, sacrifices and examples of those who chose to resist dictatorship in non-violent manner.
He added that the celebration of the country’s three decades of democracy would further resonates peaceful calls and aspirations for freedom and good leadership across the world.
“Another part of the exhibition reminds us of the exodus of Germans from Eastern Germany, which took place few months before the Velvet Revolution.
“It was a sign that after 40 years, the communist empire in Eastern Europe was definitely crumbling.
“After 30 years, there is no doubt that the events of 1989 in Czechoslovakia and in the rest of central and Eastern Europe changed our continent for good.
“Another message for everyone is that you should never give up, and whenever people feel they are not happy about a situation, they should do something about it in non-violent ways,” he said.
NAN reports that the Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia that occurred from Nov. 17 to Dec. 29, 1989.
Dissidents, including students, held popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
The protest brought about 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.
In June 1990, Czechoslovakia held democratic elections after four decades of dictatorial communism and on Jan. 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
NAN
– Oct 25, 2019 @ 10:50 GMT |
Tags: Photo exhibition commemorating 30-years of Democracy in Czech Republic debuts in Abuja
