“This was something new” – Palach Week 1989, when thousands first took to the streets to protest communism

The 20th anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation brought many
thousands onto the streets for protests that had no precedent in communist
Czechoslovakia. Palach Week, as it became known, began on January 15 1989
and saw running battles between demonstrators and riot police. Hundreds
were arrested, among them top dissidents such as Václav Havel, and the
events are seen by some as foreshadowing the Velvet Revolution, 10 months
later.