Wednesday marks 39th anniversary of Jan Palach’s death

Wednesday marks the 39th anniversary of the death of Jan Palach, a Prague student, who set himself alight on Prague’s Wenceslas Square in protest of the general apathy that followed the Soviet led invasion in Czechoslovakia in 1968. His funeral was attended by thousands of people and he became a symbol of Czechoslovak resistance. Students and politicians, including Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, gathered outside the Philosophical Faculty on Wednesday to commemorate Jan Palach’s sacrifice. The faculty has also presented its projects for next year’s 40th anniversary of Palach’s death.