Dissent and Charter 77

Abstract

In the wake of the exciting movement for reform in Poland and the continued widespread resistance to the Jaruzelski regime, Czechoslovakia appeared in contrast to be a silent and stagnant land where ‘dissent’ had been more or less extinguished and had little or no potential for affecting the future. In a world rife with protest and opposition, often violent in form and massive in scope, the peaceful, non-violent activity of Czechs and Slovaks, modest in its dimensions and predominantly verbal, was ignored by the world public. Those who did act independently in Czechoslovakia did not enjoy widespread public support and did not aspire to be a political opposition, so that their efforts seemed to lack political significance. The repression of the few ‘dissidents’, draconic as it was for the victims and their associates, paled into insignificance in comparison to the severe repression practised in an Iran or Chile and awakened concern in limited circles.