Czech Republic celebrates independence anniversary

The Czech Republic commemorates the 89th anniversary of the foundation of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. President Vaclav Klaus laid wreaths on Sunday to the grave of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, the founder of Czechoslovakia and its first president. A commemorative ceremony will be held on Sunday evening at Prague Castle where distinguished Czech personalities will be decorated. Among those who will receive awards are Anna Honova, an anti-communist resistance fighter, Marie Goretti Boltnarova, a member of the catholic order of Sisters of Mercy, Second World War veteran Stanislav and visual artist Oldrich Kulhanek who designed the currently used Czech banknotes.