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Current AffairsWhat is the role of former dissidents in current political life?
A number of political scientists, sociologists, historians and other
academics gathered earlier this week at an international conference in
Prague to discuss what democracy means in Europe. The conference was
organized by the French Social Science Research Centre and tried to tackle
questions like: how important is it to vote? What forms of political
representation are most democratic? One of the most interesting parts of
the discussion was on the role played by former dissidents in the current
political life of those EU member countries that were previously under
totalitarian rule. More
One on OneMarek Tomin - growing up in a dissident family in communist Czechoslovakia
In today's One on One Jan's guest is Marek Tomin - a journalist, traveller,
and Greenpeace advisor who is the son of well-known dissident parents who
were
among the first to sign the human rights charter, Charter 77, in communist
Czechoslovakia. In today's programme you'll hear what it was like growing
up in a dissident family, how Marek as a child registered just "what
was going on". More
Talking PointChildren of the Underground
To mark the 15th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Nikola Brabenec set
out to speak with the now full grown children of dissidents involved in
Charter 77, the human rights declaration which brought together the
dissident movement.
More
Current AffairsAsanace - the Communists' infamous clearance operation - left indelible stain on dissidents' lives
Almost thirty years have passed since communist Czechoslovakia's secret
police first masterminded their infamous Asanace campaign - a clearance
operation that used intimidation, mental and physical abuse, even torture
- to get Czechoslovak dissidents to flee the country. In 2002, three
officials received suspended sentences for their involvement in the
campaign, while two received three-year sentences. The verdicts were later
overturned on a technicality, only to be reinstated once again by a Prague
court this week. With the jail sentences one episode may be over, but, as
Jan Velinger now reports, the case is hardly at an end. More
Current AffairsSpecial technology allows blind students to work with computers
The Charter 77 Foundation has launched an interesting new project called
Making Chances Equal; it supports computer literacy in schools for blind
students and children with locomotive disorders. Last week, the foundation
provided such schools with 108 special computer appliances, including 23
Braille terminals used to convert computer writing into Braille. This
allows blind students to read with their fingers what a sighted person can
see on the screen.
More
Press ReviewPress Review
One of the stories featuring predominantly in today's dailies is that of
embattled MP Petr Kott - the Civic Democrat who caused a scandal last week
when he failed to take part in a final reading that passed the
government's fiscal reforms, because he was allegedly drunk.
More
One on OneVrata Brabenec - Plastic Person still fighting for justice
My guest on this week's One on One is Vrata Brabenec, one of the members of
the legendary early 1970s underground band the Plastic People of the
Universe. Inspired by the Velvet Underground, the Plastics' moody,
psychedelic sound earned them a legion of fans across Communist
Czechoslovakia, but also the unwanted attention of the police. In 1976 the
authorities arrested four members - including Vrata the saxophonist - and
sentenced them to prison for "organised disturbance of the
peace." The Plastics' case caught the attention of Vaclav Havel, who
launched the "Charter 77" human rights petition to champion
their cause, and Vrata Brabenec and his fellow Plastic People played a
small but crucial role in the fall of Communism. They're still playing,
and I recently met up with Vrata in a pub in Prague. I began by asking him
where the name of the band came from.
More
Current AffairsCharter 77 Foundation hopes to raise millions for the disabled in a charity auction
For close to ten years, the Charter 77 foundation has been raising funds
under a project called "Barriers" to help the disabled in the
Czech Republic. One of their main regular fund-raising events is an
auction of works of some of the country's most renowned artists. In the
past five auctions, over 15 million Czech crowns were collected. The
foundation hopes to make another fortune this Sunday, when several hundred
works worth over 6.5 million Czech crowns from artists such as Jiri Kolar,
Stanislav Libensky, and Jiri Anderle will be auctioned in Prague. David
Vaughan spoke to one of the founders of the Charter 77 foundation,
Frantisek Janouch:
More
