Czechs donate 500 crowns each for Velvet Revolution party

A flash mob is gaining traction in Czechia: people are sending 500 crowns each to the celebration of the Velvet Revolution anniversary — exactly the amount StB agent Oto Klempíř, now the culture minister, was paid for an informant report. The idea came on Thursday morning from winemaker Oldřich Drápal on the social network X: “I’ll send at least 500 crowns then — that’s what Olda got for one denunciation. Ota betrayed his friends to the StB. We will celebrate freedom.”

The idea caught on quickly, and donations of exactly 500 crowns began to multiply on the fundraising page of the Díky, že můžem association, often with messages pointing to the minister’s past. “Olda’s rate,” one donor joked. “We’re awesome! A five-hundred note, just the way Olda likes it,” added another. Many expressed support for the organizers: “Thank you, we’re glad to support such a beautiful celebration of democracy.”

An agent since the age of 21

Klempíř was registered as an StB agent in 1984 at the age of 21, under the codename Olda. StB files show that after agreeing to cooperate he received a reward of 500 crowns, the same amount a few months later, and once more the following year.

The fundraiser goes on

The association, which holds a full-day celebration of the revolution’s anniversary every year under the name “Korzo Národní,” asked the Culture Ministry for a subsidy of 1 million crowns but was turned down only on Monday. According to the organizers, this year’s 160-item program will cost 5.5 million crowns — about a million more than last year.

The amount raised has already far exceeded the requested subsidy, but the fundraiser remains open. “The fundraiser continues because we want Korzo Národní to stay open and accessible to everyone in the years to come,” the organizers wrote on Facebook. The collection, launched on Wednesday evening, keeps growing: besides 500 crowns, amounts such as 1,711 crowns and 1,989 crowns recur, references to the anniversary date and the year of the revolution.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz