Charter 77 Czech human rights movement born 35 years ago.

(From Czech News Agency)

Prague, Dec 30 (CTK) - The history of the longest active anti-communist opposition movement in the former Soviet bloc, the Czech Charter (Charta) 77, which inspired similar initiatives in other countries, started 35 years ago, on January 1, 1977, when its manifesto was issued. The community of people striving for human rights observance started to be formed in 1976 during the framed-up communist trial of young musicians around The Plastic People of the Universe band who were accused of breach of the peace. The direct impulse to the Charter 77 establishment was the adoption of the International pact on civic and political rights and the International pact on economic, social and culture rights, embedded in the Helsinki accords from …