The Candle Demonstration (in Slovak sviečková demonštrácia) on 25 March 1988 in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia was the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against communist regime in Czechoslovakia. March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bratislava (until 1919: PreÅ¡porok in Slovak and Pressburg in German and English; Pozsony in Hungarian) is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 500,000. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with History of communism. ...

The Demostration was organized by Roman Catholic dissent groups which asked for religious freedom in Czechoslovakia. The peaceful Candle Demonstration of ten thousand believers was brutally suppressed by the police. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... For the political magazine, see Dissent Magazine For the G8 protest group, see Dissent (network) Dissent is the sentiment of non-agreement with the majority, or the leader, of a group to which the dissenter is supposed to belong or to obey. ... Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. ...

The Catholic activist František Mikloško initiated a request for a permit to demonstrate, but his proposal was rejected by the authorities. Information about the event was propagated through Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America by Anton Hlinka. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a radio and communications organization which is funded by the United States Congress. ... The Voice of America (VOA) is the official broadcasting service of the United States government. ...

The demonstration was the first important step towards destroying the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. 3000 Slovaks protested on the Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava with candles in their hands, and further thousands in adjacent streets, while the main entrance to the square was blocked by secret police. Police used water cannons against protesters and they ran their sirens and yelled to protestors to get away from the square. Then the police pounded the protesters with batons and sticks. ... Baton is the name of one of two leaders of the Illyrian uprising against the Romans in Pannonia in 6 AD. The term baton refers to any of several types of cylindrical or tapered instruments composed of a wide variety of materials, and of differing functions: A baton (billy, billy...

Interestingly, leading Communist functionaries (e. g. the Slovak prime minister, minister of the interior, minister of culture) were observing the whole "operation" from inside of the Carlton Hotel situated at the Hviezdoslav square.