Twenty-five years on from the Velvet Revolution

Havel navždy - Havel forever. © Ricky Yates
Havel navždy – Havel forever. © Ricky Yates

I had originally planned to write a blog post on this topic back in November 2014, immediately following the ‘Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day’ public holiday on Monday 17th November, which officially marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution on 17th November 1989. But rather than write an immediate reaction, I eventually decided that it was better to wait somewhat longer and give myself a little more time for both research and for reflection.

For although the events of 17th November 1989 were what initially triggered the Velvet Revolution, it took several weeks before on 29th December 1989, the previously Communist Party controlled rubber stamp Czechoslovak parliament, voted dissident playwright Václav Havel, to be the new President of Czechoslovakia with the promise of holding truly democratic parliamentary elections in the following year.

Therefore over the past two months, not only has the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution been commemorated, but also the twenty-fifth anniversary of Havel’s election as President, and in-between on 18th December, the third anniversary of the death of Václav Havel on 18th December 2011.

Placard from 17th November 2014 © Ricky Yates
Placard from 17th November 2014 © Ricky Yates

With all these anniversaries, there has been an outpouring of appreciation for the late Václav Havel, well-illustrated by the large poster displayed on the front of the National Museum overlooking the top end of Václavské námestí / Wenceslas Square, and by this placard that I photographed on Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day. Much has been written in praise of his role in leading the dissident movement and bringing about a peaceful end to the Communist regime. Then as to how well as President, he represented the nation of Czechoslovakia 1989-1992; the Czech Republic 1993-2003.

The way Havel represented the nation, has been sharply contrasted with the behaviour of the current President, Miloš Zeman. Despite receiving just under 55% of the total vote in the presidential election held only two years ago, his level of support and popularity has since dropped considerably. In recent times, he has made statements questioning the economic sanctions being imposed on Russia for its military activity in Ukraine. He gave a live radio interview on Czech Radio in which he used foul language. Then in the days just before the Velvet Revolution anniversary, he tried to downplay the level of violence used by the riot police against the student demonstrators in 1989.

As a consequence, one of the major events on 17th November, was a protest march to Prague Castle with the demonstrators waving red cards, calling for President Zeman to be ‘sent off!’ It should be noted that this demonstration took place in Prague where Zeman did not gain a majority of the votes cast in the 2013 presidential election. But even many of those who voted for him are now expressing considerable disappointment with his words and actions and his complete unwillingness to apologise for them. A majority of the population now see him as an embarrassment for the Czech nation, in stark contrast to the late President Havel.

With these anniversaries, many people have been looking back and reflecting on how much has changed here in the Czech Republic, from the situation that existed twenty-five years ago. One very obvious change is that the demonstration against the current President took place without being attacked by riot police! Expressing an opinion that differs from those in authority is now possible.

I have often read that Czech people always talk quietly, can be unfriendly towards foreigners and are difficult to get to know. The experience of myself and Sybille over the past six-plus years is that this generalisation is far from the truth. Where it may apply to some extent, is amongst older Czech people who experienced living under the Communist regime. You spoke quietly because you didn’t know who was listening. You didn’t make friends easily because you were never sure who was an informer. And for most of that generation, the only language they have is Czech, together with the Russian they were forced to learn and which most have since done their utmost to forget 🙂

However the reality now is, that every Czech aged thirty or under, has no recollection or personal experience of living under a Communist regime. Therefore a group of young Czechs together are likely to talk somewhat loudly, especially if they are enjoying a few beers at the same time! They also easily make friends with each other and are often friendly towards foreigners. This is helped by most educated younger Czechs being able to speak English and many of them being very keen to practice their English language skills.

All of this was clearly brought home to me once again last week and is what has prompted me to finally compile this blog post. Last Monday, Sybille and I visited Bar- Restaurant U Topolu, a favourite of ours as it is with many of the students from the nearby technical university. With no table being free, we asked three young ladies if we could share the free end of their table. Upon hearing us speaking to each other in English, they spoke to us in English. Having discovered that we were not tourists but lived here, they were more than happy to converse with us.

All three were in their final year at the technical university, studying architecture. They were out celebrating together, having each completed an important assignment which they had handed in that day. Judging by the number of ‘blades of grass’ * they would eventually need to cut, they had been celebrating for some time 🙂

They spoke freely about themselves, where they were from and what their aspirations were. They were keen to know about us, where we were from and whether we liked living here. When we said that our only real complaint is our difficulties with the Czech language, Lenka, (the most talkative of the three), admitted that even she struggled sometimes with getting her Czech right! This rather confirmed the complaint I’ve heard from a few older Czech people, that many younger Czechs don’t always speak their own language correctly.

These three young ladies are part of the new post-Velvet Revolution generation making the most of the educational and other opportunities that they now have and also knowing how to enjoy themselves at the same time. Open and friendly towards each other and even with English-speaking foreigners living among them.

* See this previous post and the comment on it by Sean.

2014 – The year ahead

Prague Castle from Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates
Prague Castle from Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates

On the first day of 2014, it seems good to think and write about the year ahead and what it might have in store for Sybille and I, for the Anglican congregations in Prague and Brno that I lead, and for the wider Czech Republic. What follows is what I’m currently contemplating, but as always, God might have other ideas 🙂

New leadership of State and Church

It does appear that, more than two months after elections at the end of October, the Czech Republic will once again, shortly have a properly functioning government which is able to command a majority in the lower house of parliament. It will be a three-party coalition, with Bohuslav Sobotka, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), as Prime Minister.

However, one can never be sure, especially as all ministerial appointments have to be approved by President Miloš Zeman. Whilst the three political parties who will form the coalition have agreed on the number of ministries they will each control, the names of those proposed as ministers have yet to be made public. Several likely ministerial candidates from the CSSD are people Zeman fell out with before leaving the CSSD some ten years ago. Apparently, according to press reports, the President has indicated that he might refuse to formally appoint some of these individuals, should they be nominated.

If this happens, the matter will probably end up with a complaint to the Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling as to the extent of presidential powers. I do hope that all sides will see common sense and put the well-being of the country ahead of settling old personal and political scores.

It also does appear, that sometime in the coming Spring, the name of the next Anglican Bishop of the Diocese in Europe, will be announced. He, (sadly no chance of ‘she’ just yet), will succeed Rt Rev’d Dr Geoffrey Rowell, who retired in early November 2013. If you want to know more about what lies ahead for my next Bishop, see this link to the ‘Description of the Diocese and Statement of Needs‘.

I do find it absurd that, having known since early 2013, the date of Bishop Geoffrey’s retirement, it is only now that the process of appointing his successor is underway. What other major organisation, knowing the date of the forthcoming retirement of its CEO, would not have appointed their successor and had them ready to take over straight-away, thus ensuring a smooth transition? I do think that this is where the Church of England does need a complete rethink. I experienced a very similar situation previously in the Diocese of Oxford where we were without a Diocesan Bishop for around eighteen months.

Calvary on Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates
Calvary on Charles Bridge © Ricky Yates

The Liturgical Year ahead

This year, Easter Day is quite late, falling on Sunday 20th April. This is vastly preferable as far as I’m concerned, in comparison to 2013 when Easter Day was 31st March, the clocks went forward one hour overnight the night before, and there was snow on the ground in Brno.

What it also means is that there is a far longer period of ‘Ordinary Time’, between the end of the Epiphany season on 2nd February, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, which with Easter Day being late, in 2014 falls on Wednesday 5th March.

Therefore, with now being in Year A of the three-year cycle of readings from the Revised Common Lectionary when the Gospel of Matthew predominates, throughout February, the Sunday readings focus on sections of the Sermon on the Mount. This should certainly make for interesting preaching material!

However, I note that during Lent, we also get several large chunks of the Gospel of John each Sunday. Appropriate Lenten penance, both in the time it takes to read the passages as well as then trying to expound them 🙂

Family, holidays and travel

I am looking forward to my son Phillip and his girlfriend Lisa, coming to Prague for a long weekend visit at the end of February. The dates of their visit were partly governed by when jet2.com are scheduled to resume their East Midlands Airport – Prague flights after a post-Christmas/New Year hiatus of seven weeks.

Phillip & Lisa during their previous visit in January 2013 © Ricky Yates
Phillip & Lisa during their previous visit in January 2013 © Ricky Yates

But I’ve since discovered that the weekend they are here, is when the Czech Gambrinus Football League resumes matches following their current mid-winter break. It means that Phillip and I can go and see Dukla Praha play in their stadium which lies directly behind where the Chaplaincy Flat is located, something we’ve talked about doing for the past four years. Dukla will be home to FK Teplice – a fourth versus third-in-the-table clash, which should be most enjoyable. Sybille has promised to take Lisa for a ‘Girls night out’ 🙂

After last year’s Intercontinental Church Society (ICS) Chaplains and Families Conference being held in Switzerland, this year the ICS conference will be in the UK, between Monday 12th – Friday 16th May, in a Conference Centre on the Leicestershire-Northamptonshire border, near Market Harborough. As this location lies almost equidistant between my daughter and son-in-law’s home in Daventry, and Phillip’s home in Nottingham, my plan is to take a week of annual leave following the conference, and spend time with both of them.

I have also been doing some price comparisons and have decided that probably the cheapest, and certainly the most convenient way to travel, will be to drive back to the UK, meaning the first time my right-hand-drive car, will have been driven on the left side of the road, for nearly six years. This will allow me easy movement around the UK which will hopefully also include a trip to the south coast to see one or both of my sisters.

The other big family news I hinted at, in reply to a comment on an earlier post about ‘Discovering the Way of St. James in the Czech Republic‘. Probably starting in late May/early June, Sybille is planning to make a long distance pilgrimage and walk from Prague, all the way to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. We reckon that she will need somewhere in the region of four months to complete the journey, meaning that she will not be back in Prague until probably early October.

Provisionally, I am planning to take a couple of weeks of annual leave in July-August, and walk with her through part of France. I may well be able to bring back some things she will not require in Spain, thus lightening her load.

Eastern Archdeaconry Synod

Further ahead, at the end of September, there will be the annual meeting of the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod which in 2014, as I previously indicated, is being hosted by the Prague Anglican congregation. I’m very much looking forward to it, especially if we by then, finally have a Diocesan Bishop who is able to join us. But there is a lot of planning and organisational work to undertake in the meantime.