Prague, March 7 (CTK) – Over one half of Czechs share the view that the Czechoslovak Charter 77 dissident manifesto should be still commemorated, while one-third said it was not necessary, according to a poll conducted by the CVVM polling institute in February and released yesterday.
The role of Charter 77 and its activists before 1989 was given a positive assessment by 48 percent.
The evaluation is less favourable for its activities after 1989, but it is still prevailing in society. It mainly associates Charter 77 with former president Vaclav Havel.
People between 20 and 44 tend to give a positive rating to the manifesto, while those over 60 are less inclined to do so.
An important role is ascribed to Charter 77 and its activists after 1989 by roughly one-third of Czechs, while one-sixth said they did not play a role.
One-quarter was unable to give an opinion.
Some 52 percent of Czechs answered “Yes” to the question of whether it is necessary to commemorate Charter 77. One-third said it was not, while 15 percent said they did not know.
The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,000 people over 15 between February 6 and 19.
The dissident manifesto was signed by 242 people by the end of 1976 and it was launched to the world on January 6, 1977. Its first spokespersons were playwright Vaclav Havel, former foreign minister Jiri Hajek and philosopher Jan Patocka.
The Charter 77 movement was opposed to the violation of human and civic rights in the country. By January 1990, Charter 77 was signed by over 1800 people.
pv/dr
