Gov't for proposal to name Jan 16 Palach commemorative day

Prague, Jan 9 (CTK) - The Czech government Wednesday supported a lawmakers' proposal that January 16 be declared Jan Palach Commemorative Day and that it be added to the current significant days.

Palach, then faculty of Arts of Charles University student, set himself on fire in Prague in protest at the emerging "normalisation" period following the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops.

He succumbed to his injuries three days later, aged 20.

The occupation crushed the communist-led reform movement, known as Prague Spring, in August 1968. The normalisation period was characterised by the return of hardline communists to power.

"The inclusion of Jan Palach Commemorative Day in the list of Czech significant days is an expression of respect for the heroic deed of the young student in the struggle against the totalitarian regime and for national sovereignty of a state occupied by a foreign power," the authors of the draft amendment wrote.

The decision will be made by the Chamber of Deputies.

The amendment authors recalled that Palach's funeral was one of the last large events in which the citizens of then Czechoslovakia demonstrated their disagreement with the political reality.

Significant days are regular work days unlike national holidays and their importance is rather symbolical.

The proposed date on which the amendment would take effect, August 11, 2013, is also symbolical. It is Palach's birthday.