Memory of Jan Palach honoured

About 50 people turned out on Saturday to honour the memory of Jan Palach, a student who burnt himself to death 36 years ago in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Palach, a student at Charles University, set himself on fire in Prague's Wenceslas Square on January 16, 1969. He died of the burns a few days later. Palach was only 20 years old. His funeral at the Oslanske cemetery became a huge manifestation in support of freedom and democracy.

Author: Brian Kenety