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Current AffairsVaclav Havel to have his own library
The playwright and former president and dissident Vaclav Havel is to have
his own library. On Friday the project was presented to the press, and its
director Vaclav Bartuska said it was in the American tradition of libraries
devoted to the work of former US presidents. Given Vaclav Havel's key role
both as a dissident and then as the longest-serving head-of-state in the
years after the fall of communism, the library promises to be a mine of
information. David Vaughan reports.
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Current AffairsWorld experts gather in Prague to tackle the problems of civil society in globalized word
Eli Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Shimon Perez, Frederik Wilhelm de
Klerk or Henry Kissinger - these are only a few names from the list of
participants that have taken part in Prague's annual Forum 2000 conference
in the past. The conference was initiated in 1997 by then Czech president
Vaclav Havel who invited well known politicians, scholars and other
decision-makers to tackle the major problems of our world at the turn of
the millennium. On Sunday the eight year of Forum 2000 opened, this time
focusing on civil society in a globalized world. More
Current AffairsKlaus, Havel divided over 'authoritarian' tendencies of Russia's president in wake of Beslan tragedy
Former Czech President Vaclav Havel and 100 international figures sent an
open letter to the heads of all European Union and NATO states this week
criticizing President Vladimir Putin for allegedly using the Beslan school
tragedy to "further undermine" democracy in Russia. The current
Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, has taken a very different stance and in
fact came to his Russian counterpart's defense, saying there is no proof
that Mr Putin is jailing his political opponents or systematically
suppressing freedoms. More
Current AffairsBelarusians in EU states hope to join forces and battle for change in their homeland
Belarus gained independence in 1991 after being part of the Soviet Union
for some seventy years. In two years time, the second term of the
country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko will come to an
end. But Lukashenko, who is widely accused of human rights abuses and has
also clamped down on the use of the Belarusian language in favour of
Russian, now hopes to have the constitution revised by national referendum
to give him a third term as head of state. There is a growing diaspora in
Europe of Belarusians opposed to the regime, who have left the country,
and one of the centres of the country's opposition in exile is Prague. Now
the Belarusian community in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and the Czech
Republic has come together to battle for change in their homeland.
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Czech BooksThe implications of an atomic hair-polisher - a discussion about Vaclav Havel's 'Guardian Angel' - to be premiered on Radio Prague on Tuesday
This coming Tuesday we are broadcasting a world premiere here on Radio
Prague, the first ever English-language production of Vaclav Havel's
Guardian Angel, a radio play, which he wrote in 1968. I'm joined by three
people who have a connection with Havel or with the play. Firstly Barbara
Day, who was in Prague in the 1960s, knew Havel then and also wrote her
dissertation on the work of the Theatre on the Balustrade, where Havel was
working at the time. I'm also joined by Paul Wilson, who translated the
play for us, and by Gerry Turner, who is one of the actors in our
production, has lived in Prague for many years, and has also translated
works of Havel in the past.
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