Vaclav Havel greets European and free Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

4 August the world-famous policymaker and playwright was former president of the Czech Republic Vatslav Gavel met representatives of the Belarusian “Svabodny Teatr” (Free Theatre) .Mikalai Khalezin, Natallya Kalyada and Uladzimir Scherban had to get to the cottage place Gradachak on foot to meet with Vaclav Havel who was having a rest there. The whole day of the meeting with the Belarusians the former Czech president was wearing the “EuraBelarus” t-shirt.

Gradachak has become known particularly due to the fact that for many years Vaclav Havel used to stay there, the Radio Svaboda reports. The settlement has become not only the writer’s haven but also the place for the desidents’ gatherings and for different cultural actions. In the course of the preparation for the Czech velvet revolution the “From the Gradachak to the Grad” (the Prague district Grad is a historical residence of the kings and presidents) slogan of those who supported the idea of Havel‘s nomination for the presidency.
After becoming a prominent politician Vaclav Havel as well as his colleague Tom Stoppard has become a sponsor of the Svabodny Teatr which lost its stage in Belarus and has actually become the underground theatre, i.e. the last underground theatre in Europe as it was named by the Czech theatre director Rene Levinsky, who recently brought his theatre of “political puppets” to Minsk for showing them at the same stage where Mikalai Khalezin’s performances have been staged-in the private house.
Vaclav Havel’s cottage neighbor Adrei Krob , theatre and film director , one of the first member’s of the Charter-77 prepared the display of his new film ”Phenomenon of Gradachak” at the meeting. Meanwhile, at a simple wood-made table laid for tea with cherry and blueberry pies Vaclav Havel was talking to the Belarusian guests asking them if it was easy to travel with the Belarusian passport, if they might be deprived of the citizenship when travelling.
The guests answered that even if they would be forced out of the country they would insist on inviting Vaclav Havel to Belarus. Mikalai Khalezin told about preparation for the European March in autumn, about Belarusians having been inspired by Mick Jagger’s appeal “Long Live Belarus!” Vaclav Havel immediately agreed to sigh his video appeal to the citizens of his beloved Belarus. The sense of his appeal is not to lose patience and hope and to learn treating the dictatorship with humor –then it will obviously give in.