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The former Czech president Václav Havel has called on the Chinese government to end its persecution of dissidents and enter into a dialogue with Charter 08 signatories. In a piece for the Wall Street Journal, the former Czech dissident-turned-president said the Chinese government should learn the lessons of the Charter 77 movement: that intimidation, propaganda campaigns and repression are no substitute for dialogue. Charter 08 is a document issued by the Chinese opposition calling for basic rights, judicial independence and democracy. In the course of the past month it was signed by 5,000 Chinese dissidents.

Former Czech president Václav Havel on Tuesday criticized the European Union for what he called an "overly cautious" policy towards Russia and accused it of putting economic interests ahead of human rights. Speaking at a conference organised by the pro-EU civic group Yes For Europe in Prague, Mr. Havel said that Russia was a new type of authoritarian regime that is far more sophisticated than a classic dictatorship and that it was extremely important for the EU to communicate with it openly, for instance to ask about the politically motivated murders of certain Russian journalists.

In early December, the 27-nation bloc resumed key partnership talks with Russia, aimed at boosting economic and diplomatic ties three months after they were frozen in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Georgia.

By the mid 1960s political control over many aspects of cultural and social life in Czechoslovakia had relaxed considerably. This was the height of the “New Wave” in Czechoslovak cinema, in theatre socialist realism had long gone out of fashion and in music the swinging sixties were well under way. But it was not just through the music it was playing that Czechoslovak Radio tried to keep pace with the changes. One programme that broke the traditional mould was launched in 1966 and was called “The 33 Questions of Marcel Proust”. These were questions

This month marks exactly 50 years since the first performance at Divadlo Na Zábradlí, a theatre which has become famous mainly for staging former President Václav Havel’s plays. To mark the anniversary, the theatre has prepared a number of special events both for its former employees and its spectators.

The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is currently in Prague on the first leg of a European tour. After a meeting with the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, he was reunited with an old friend: former president Václav Havel, on whose invitation he came to the Czech capital. The Dalai Lama is also due to visit Brussels and Poland, where he will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy. This has angered China, which has pulled out of a planned EU-China summit.

The latest play by the playwright and former Czech President Václav Havel premiered in the Slovak National Theatre in the capital Bratislava on Saturday. The premiere of the drama “Leaving” was attended by several Slovak politicians; the head of the strongest opposition party, the Christian Democrats, and former Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda said politicians could recognize themselves in the play. Václav Havel, who was also present at the premiere, served as the last president of Czechoslovakia between 1989 and 1992. Slovakia is the third foreign country, after the UK and Poland, where Václav Havel’s latest play has been staged.

Former Czech President Václav Havel told the Italian paper La Stampa on Saturday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy “had a tendency to speak faster than he thinks”. In the interview, Mr Havel was reacting to Nicolas Sarkozy’s remarks about a planned US anti-missile defence shield in Central Europe. The French President said that the defence system would not enhance Europe’s security. The former Czech president Václav Havel also said that Mr Sarkozy reminded him of Edouard Daladier, the French prime minister who signed the Munich Agreement in September 1938.

Czechs on Monday marked 19 years since the fall of communism and the return of freedom and democracy to their country. It was a day of remembrance but more than ever before it was overshadowed by present-day concerns such as the Communists’ return to power in regional government and the siting of a US radar on Czech territory.

The former Czech president and dissident leader Václav Havel was met with a round of applause from the crowd and shouts of “long live Havel” as he made an appearance at the Narodní trida memorial to light a candle and lay flowers. Mr. Havel said he was far less disturbed by the presence of the communists in Czech politics, than he was by the signals indicating close links between the underworld and people in high office. Mr. Havel also criticized opponents of the US radar, saying that defense issues were not a matter to be debated out in the streets. He said it would be good to ask the older protesters why they had not come out in force to demonstrate against the presence of Soviet troops in the country twenty-five years ago.

Czech-born British author and journalist Benjamin Kuras was one of many expatriates who witnessed the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia from abroad. Ahead of autumn 1989, he and colleagues at the BBC’s Czech section regularly speculated over when change would finally come. But when it happened in the days and months after November 17, the developments presented a new dilemma for those who had left in 1968 or earlier. New questions came to the fore such as when to visit, whether to go back at all, and if so, how to tackle one’s “ghosts”. In this