Czechs to mark the 40th anniversary of Charter 77

Czechs are preparing to mark the 40th anniversary of the Charter 77 human rights manifesto this year. The text, spearheaded by dissidents such as Vaclav Havel, criticized the communist regime for failing to implement human rights provisions of agreements it itself had signed. They included the Czechoslovak Constitution, the so-called Helsinki Accords on human rights and United Nations conventions on political, civil, economic, and cultural rights. The manifesto was signed by close to 2,000 people. The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes is preparing a series of exhibitions starting in January and signatories of the manifesto are to mark the anniversary at a remembrance meeting at Prague’s Lucerna Palace. An exhibition will also focus on Charter 77 spokespeople among them former foreign minister Jiri Hajek, playwright Vaclav Havel and philosopher Jan Patocka.