On Friday, the Czech Republic marks the 35th anniversary of the self-immolation of student Jan Palach who set himself alight in protest at the growing lethargy in society to the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.
In the afternoon of January 16, 1969, the twenty-year old history student walked to the top of Wenceslas Square and set himself on fire. He died in hospital three days later of severe burns. In a letter left at the scene, Jan called on the Czechoslovak people to preserve what remained of democracy in the country and demanded that censorship be abolished. His funeral, attended by thousands of people, turned into a spontaneous demonstration in support of freedom and Jan Palach's grave in a Prague cemetery became a symbol of resistance. Two other men, Jan Zajic and Evzen Plocek, followed Jan Palach's example in early 1969 - despite his protestations for them not to - sacrificing their lives in protest against the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact troops.
