Victims of 1968 Soviet-led invasion remembered at Prague ceremony

A ceremony was held at the Czech Radio building in Prague on Saturday honouring the victims of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968. Warsaw Pact troops had entered the country during the previous night, halting the liberalisation reforms of the Prague Spring. Speaking at Saturday’s memorial ceremony, the chairman of the Senate, Přemysl Sobotka, paid tribute to the Czechoslovak Radio journalists who had kept the public informed about the invasion; he said that listeners did not hear the truth again until 21 years later, when the communist regime fell. Over 100 people were killed in the violence that followed the occupation. The greatest losses were recorded at the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská St, which had become a rallying point for resistance.