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People meet in Prague to commemorate student Palach

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Prague, Jan 19 (CTK) – About 20 people met in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Thursday to commemorate students Jan Palach and Jan Zajic, who immolated themselves in 1969 in protest against the developments after the August 21, 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops.

Yesterday was the 48th death anniversary of Palach, who set himself on fire in the upper Wenceslas Square on January 16, 1969 and succumbed to fatal burns three days later.

Students read his farewell letter at the meeting near the Palach monument on Thursday.

People could light candles here using the fire from a lantern that activists from the Without the Communists group previously lit in Palach’s native house in Vsetaty near Prague.

At the close of the meeting, the participants sang the Czech anthem.

Following Palach’s example, Zajic immolated himself on February 25, 1969.

Rut Kolinska, founder of the Czech maternity centres who was among the participants on Thursday, told CTK that people should remember the two students’ courage and translate it into their own courageous steps as required by everyday life.

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