Signatories of human right movement Charta 77 met in Prague

Signatories and supporters of Charta 77 met in St Anne’s church in Prague yesterday to celebrate 30th anniversary from the appearance of Charta 77 and to remember Jan Patocka, the spokesman of Charta 77 and philosopher, who died after State Security’s interrogation that took several hours.

Charta 77 was an initiative that was against the government and its violation of human rights. It was named after a document, a manifesto, that was signed by many people. One of the founding members was also the ex-president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel. The signatories of Charta 77 were described by the government as traitors and were treated that way.

Vaclav Havel said yesterday that Charta 77 can still inspire people these days. The Czech Republic should point out violation of human rights in other countries, regardless economical interests.

International scientific conference on the 30th anniversary of Charta 77 will be held in Prague from 21st to 23rd March 2007. Official languages of the conference will be Czech, Slovak, English and German. For more information click here