August 21, 2008
No. 182
The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the 40th anniver rsary of the Soviet-led suppression of the Prague Spring:
"My thoughts today are with the peoples and governments of the Czech Republic and Slovakia as they pause to commemorate the t ragic events of August 21, 1968, when a bid by citizens of the former republic to achieve liberty was brutally crushed by their communist oppressors.
"All Canadians welcomed the developments which, years later, finally brought the Czech and Slovak peoples the independence and democratic freedoms they were seeking in 1968. Today, when both countries are allies of Canada's within NATO, as well as important partners in th e European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we can reflect on how far we have come.
"As we commemorate these events 40 years later, all nations must recognize that the use of force and foreign occupation cannot prevail over the peoples' inherent desire for freedom and democracy."
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613-995-1874
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