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Czechoslovakia Charter 77
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. 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 makes organized opposition illegal.
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
(see Police Repression
, ch. 5). 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.
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 (Vybor na obranu nespravedlive
stihanych--VONS), to publicize the fate of those associated with
the charter. In October 1979 six leaders of this support group,
including Vaclav 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. These documents remained an important
source of information on Czechoslovakia's internal affairs.
Data as of August 1987
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