A commemorative plaque was erected on the building of the RTVS studio in Banska Bystrica in honour of the journalist Ota Plavkova. On 21 August 1968, almost all radio and television studios were occupied by Warsaw Pact troops. The studio in Banska Bystrica resisted the longest and continued broadcasting until 2 September. Ota Plavkova, the station's director at the time, was persecuted until the fall of the communist regime for criticising the occupation of Czechoslovakia.
From 1970 onwards, she was banned from publishing, publicly discriminated against and persecuted by the State Security. Despite the totalitarian state's delays, she condemned the occupation of Afghanistan and found the courage to distribute the Charter '77 at her workplace. The unveiling of the plaque was also attended by the director general of RTVS, Lubos Machaj, and Ota Plavkova's grandson, Maros Plavka, who said: “Unfortunately, it affected her and our whole family. But because of her example, we have the strength in our souls to resist the occupiers. We know that they can come at any time.”
In 1989, she enjoyed the freedom she had longed for when she was rehabilitated by the Slovak Union of Journalists. A year later, Czechoslovak Radio did the same. Ota Plavkova died in Bratislava on 1 November 2002.
Source: RTVS
