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The launch has just taken place in Prague of the Czech version of a novel looking at the Munich Agreement of 1938, when the UK and France gave the Nazis free reign to annex parts of Czechoslovakia. Written by Georges-Marc Benamou, The Ghost of Munich tells the story of the Munich conference from the point of view of the then French prime minister. The book looks set to be made into a film, directed by Miloš Forman and written by Václav Havel.

Former President Václav Havel is to be awarded the prestigious Jaroslav Seifert literary prize, it was announced on Monday. The prize has been awarded since 1986 to an author who has produced either remarkable poetry or fiction in the last three years. A spokesperson for the jury said that Mr Havel had been awarded the prize for his eighth volume of collected writings, which spanned the years 1999-2006, and contained many of Mr Havel’s presidential speeches. The former statesman’s book ‘Prosím, stručně’ and the script for his new play ‘Leaving’ were also recognized by the jury. Mr Havel will receive the award at the start of October at a ceremony in Prague. Previous winners of the award include Ludvík Vaculík, Josef Škvorecký and Jiří Suchý.

The latest play by the former Czech President and playwright Václav Havel “Leaving” premiered in London on Friday. The first foreign staging of the play, which premiered in Prague in May, took place in London’s Orange Tree Theatre as part of a series of events dedicated to Mr Havel. The play, known in Czech as Odcházení, was translated into English by Paul Wilson and directed by Sam Waters. Václav Havel will attend the London performance of his latest play later this month together with former British PM Tony Blair and playwright Harold Pinter.

The English language and international premiere of Václav Havel’s latest play Leaving takes place in London this Friday. It is part of a season focused on the former president’s work which is being organised in conjunction with London’s Czech Centre. I discussed the Havel season, and other highlights of this autumn’s programme, with the centre’s director, Ladislav Pflimpfl.

Two giants of Czech culture, playwright Václav Havel and film director Miloš Forman, are working together on a film about the Munich Agreement of 1938, under which the United Kingdom and France allowed Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia. Mladá fronta Dnes reported that the film is based on a novel by Georges-Marc Benamou entitled The Ghost of Munich; it describes the Munich conference from the point of view of former French prime minister Edouard Daladier. A Czech translation of the book with a foreword by Mr Havel is being released next week.

After leading the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Václav Havel became president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. Miloš Forman is perhaps the most successful Czech film director, with best director Academy Awards for One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus.

The former Czech president Václav Havel has labeled Russia and Belarus as newer and more sophisticated authoritarian regimes. The comments came during a security conference the former president was attending, which was held in Prague. In references to the current conflict in Georgia, he also added that the West should not hold back in letting such regimes know what they think of such perceived wrongdoings, while also cautioning that oil should not be allowed to trump human rights.

When the European Union discusses the South Ossetia crisis at a special summit on Monday it should clearly name Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, says former Czech president Václav Havel. Speaking on a TV debate programme on Sunday, Mr Havel said the Russian bear was trampling on the Georgian dwarf. He said the Czech cabinet had initially adopted a correct position, but then seemed to retreat after talks with the current Czech president Václav Klaus; ministers, Mr Havel said, were now saying it was not necessary to establish the culprit but to look to the future. He said Georgia may have made mistakes but it was always necessary to say who the victim was and who the aggressor.

The former Czech president Václav Havel has denounced what he called Moscow’s “imperial ambitions”. Speaking at the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival over the weekend, Mr. Havel noted that while the Putin regime was more sophisticated than its predecessors of the communist era, present-day Russia still appeared not to know “where it begins and where it ends”. The former Czech president said the international community should make its position on Georgia and other matters quite clear and stop treating Russia with restraint and caution. He received loud applause from the hundreds of young festival-goers who attended this year’s Trutnov festival, originally known as “the Woodstock of the East".

Former Czech president Václav Havel has called for the International Olympic Committee to rethink its stance on athletes’ freedom of expression ahead of the Olympic Games in China, which start next week. The International Olympic Committee has urged athletes not to highlight human rights abuses in China while at the games, saying that such behaviour would constitute the spreading of political propaganda, which is banned by the Olympic Charter. On Thursday Václav Havel joined Archbishop Desmond Tutu in calling for the IOC to change its position. According to the public appeal of which Mr Havel is a signatory, ‘to speak of human rights is not politics; only authoritarian… regimes try to make it so’.

Former Czech President Václav Havel said that the Czech Republic should press on with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Havel told Financial Times on Friday that the treaty should be kept alive in spite of its rejection in the Irish vote. Once the treaty is ratified, the EU should consider creating “a beautiful, simple constitution that children could learn about at school”.

The Czech Republic has not yet started the ratification process of the document; the country’s Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the treaty to see whether it is in line with the Czech law.