August 21, 1968
The Czechoslovakian people spontaneously, nonviolently and ultimately unsuccessfully resisted invasion of their country of 14 million by hundreds of thousands of troops and 5,000+ tanks from the Soviet Union and four other Warsaw Pact countries. The troops were enforcing the overthrow and arrest of Alexander Dubček and his government, who had been implementing significant democratic reforms known collectively as “socialism with a human face,” or the Prague Spring.
August 21, 1983
Exiled popular Philippine political leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated by soldiers of the Aviation Security Command as he crossed the tarmac at Manila International Airport. He had spent three years of asylum in the U.S. Upon his return, he intended to lead the political opposition to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and the martial law he had imposed. The Aquino funeral drew millions and gave impetus to the broad-based People’s Power movement which eventually forced Marcos from power.
