The Charter 77 (Charta 77 in Czech and in Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in Czechoslovakia from 1977 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, and Pavel Kohout. After the 1989 Velvet Revolution, many of its members played important roles in Czech politics. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Václav Havel with the Order of Canada Václav Havel, GCB, CC (IPA: ) (born October 5, 1936) is a Czech writer and dramatist. ... Jan Patočka (June 1, 1907 - March 13, 1977) is considered one of the most important contributors to Czech philosophical phenomenology, as well as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. ... // Introduction ZdenÄ›k Mlynář was a Czech intellectual who went against the grain during a critical time in the development of Eastern European political history. ... Jiří Hájek (July 6, 1913, Krhanice near BeneÅ¡ov - October 22, 1993, Prague) was Czechoslovakian politician and diplomat. ... The Velvet Revolution (Czech: samatová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 - December 29, 1989) refers to a bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ...

Founding and political aims

The most prominent opposition to the process of normalization has been the movement known as Charter 77. The movement took its name from the title of a document initially circulated within Czechoslovakia in January 1977. Originally appearing as a manifesto in a West German newspaper and signed by 243 Czechoslovak citizens representing various occupations, political viewpoints, and religions, the document by the mid-1980s had been signed by 1,200 people. Motivated in part by the arrest of members of the psychedelic band Plastic People of the Universe, Charter 77 criticized the government for failing to implement human rights provisions of a number of documents it had signed, including the Czechoslovak Constitution, the Final Act of the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Basket III of the Helsinki Accords), and United Nations covenants on political, civil, economic, and cultural rights. The document also described the signatories as a "loose, informal, and open association of people . . . united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world." It emphasized that Charter 77 is not an organization, has no statutes or permanent organs, and "does not form the basis for any oppositional political activity." This final stipulation was a careful effort to stay within the bounds of Czechoslovak law, which made organized opposition illegal. In the history of Czechoslovakia, normalization is a name commonly given to the period 1969 to about 1987. ... The 1980s, in its most obvious sense, was the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... Plastic People of the Universe is arguably the most politically important rock band ever, and certainly the most important band to come out of Central Europe, Czech group Plastic People of the Universe was instrumental in the fight for artistic rights in Communist Czechoslovakia. ... The Helsinki Accords is the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Helsinki in 1975 between the United States and Canada, the Soviet Union and the countries of Europe, including Turkey but not Albania and Andorra. ...

Reaction of the government

The government's reaction to the appearance of Charter 77, which circulated in samizdat form within Czechoslovakia and was published in full in various foreign newspapers, was harsh. The official press described the manifesto as "an antistate, antisocialist, and demagogic, abusive piece of writing," and individual signers were variously described as "traitors and renegades," "a loyal servant and agent of imperialism," "a bankrupt politician," and "an international adventurer." Several means of retaliation were used against the signers, including dismissal from work, denial of educational opportunities for their children, suspension of drivers' licenses, forced exile, loss of citizenship, and detention, trial, and imprisonment. Many of members were forced to became collaborators of communist secret service. Samizdat, book published by Pathfinder Press containing a collection of forbidden Trotskyist Samizdat texts. ...

The treatment of the signers of Charter 77 prompted the creation in April 1978 of a support group, the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted (Výbor na obranu nespravedlivě stíhaných - VONS), to publicize the fate of those associated with the charter. In October 1979 six leaders of this support group, including Václav Havel, were tried for subversion and sentenced to prison terms of up to five years.

Repression of Charter 77 and VONS members continued in the 1980s. Despite unrelenting discrimination and arrests, however, the groups continued to issue reports on the government's violations of human rights.

Influence

During communist rule, the influence of Charter 77 remained limited. It didn't reach wide groups of people and most of its members were from Prague. The majority of Czechoslovakian citizens knew of the organisation only because of government campaign against it.

At the end of 1980s, as the Eastern Bloc communist regimes were weakened, Charter 77 saw their opportunity and became more involved in organising opposition against the regime in power. During the days of the Velvet Revolution, members of the group negotiated a smooth transfer of political power from communist party rule to their own. Many were elevated into high government position (e.g. Václav Havel became president) but since most had no experience in active politics (such as skills in leading a country or knowledge of a free market economy) their results were mixed. Eastern bloc During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ... The Velvet Revolution (Czech: samatová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 - December 29, 1989) refers to a bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... This is a list of presidents of Czechoslovakia. ...

Charter 77 included people who had a wide range of opinions, and, after the reaching their common goal, the group's presence faded. An attempt to make the group focal point of an all-encompassing political party (the Civic Forum) failed and in 1992 the organisation was oficially dissolved. Civic Forum (Czech: Občanské fórum - OF) was a political party in the Czech Republic right after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. ...

See also

Charter88 - a British movement inspired in part by Charter 77. Charter88 is a British pressure group that advocates constitutional and electoral reform and owes its origins to the lack of a written constitution in the United Kingdom. ...

Charter 97 - a Belarus movement inspired in part by Charter 77. Charter 97 is a document which was created on the anniversary of a referendum held in 1996, and which, in the words of the organisation of the same name, declares: devotion to the principles of independence, freedom and democracy, respect to the human rights, solidarity with everybody, who stands for...

External links

• Initial declaration of Charter 77 on January 1, 1977 (in Czech)