Thursday, November 18, 1999 Published at 00:45 GMT
Prague marks Velvet Revolution
Old friends: Mikhail Gorbachev is decorated by Vaclav Havel
Czech President Vaclav Havel has marked the 10th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and the end of communism with a call for continued vigilance against abuses of freedom and human rights around the world.
President Havel said: "This one small battle was won, but the war goes on."
He also acknowledged the difficulties of emerging democracies in transition from communism.
He said: "It is our duty to articulate this experience. We owe it to the world.
"All these day-to day troubles, which often make us feel hopelessly vexed, are but negligible trifles in comparison with the historic significance of the fall of communism in the world."
Praise for Havel and Walesa
The same honour was bestowed on six others, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, ex-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Lech Walesa, whose independent Solidarity union chipped away at Poland's communist regime, aiding its fall.
President Bush praised President Havel and Mr Walesa for their roles in the revolution.
"There are still heroes in this world, and I believe they helped our countries to do the right thing," said President Bush.
Truth and love
The demonstrations were copied in towns throughout the country, forcing hardline Communist General Secretary Milos Jakes to resign within a week. The Communist regime collapsed shortly afterwards.
On Prague's Narodni Trida on Wednesday, where the first demonstrators gathered, Czechs quietly laid flowers and candles at a small memorial to the students' peaceful resistance.
Czechs are greeting the anniversary with mixed feelings amid an economic downturn.
A new poll on Tuesday showed only 35% thought their lives were better than in 1989, while 29% said they were worse.
Actors dressed as communist-era police will approach citizens demanding to see their documents and know their intentions.
Citizens will also be able to apply at a booth on Wenceslas Square for special permission to travel to the West, something obtained only with great difficulty before the revolution.
On Saturday, Czech Television will wallow in nostalgia with a prime time speech by the old Communist leader Milos Jakes. Programme pauses with a camera set on wallpaper will fill voids in the schedule.
In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia which split peacefully from the Czechs in 1993, events were more subdued.
Slovak Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky - a dissident leader at the time of the Velvet Revolution - said that the Slovak people could be proud of what they had achieved in the 10 years since the fall of Communism.
He said that although people now realised it would be much more difficult to close the economic gap with the West than it had first seemed, it was still important to look forward.
"The road back is impossible, we must continue," said Mr Carnogursky.