Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted

The Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted (Czech: Výbor na obranu nespravedlivě stíhaných; as a result the acronym VONS is used) was a Czechoslovak dissident organization founded largely by Charter 77 signatories. VONS was founded on April 27, 1978.

Founding and Political Aims

The Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted sought to support dissidents and their families. VONS also wanted to educate the general public about the plight of dissidents. VONS was largely, if not completely, founded by Charter 77 signatories. However, it was largely independent from Charter 77.

Work

The organization also became a member of the International Federation for Human Rights, under the name Czechoslovak League for Human Rights. VONS also cooperated with human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch. Many of the founders, such as Václav Havel, became involved in politics after the 1989 Velvet Revolution.

Government's Reaction

Shortly after the founding of VONS, Václav Havel and five other representatives of the organizations were arrested and sentenced for two to five years in prison. It can be assumed that like Charter 77 and the plight of various dissidents during the communist era, VONS was by no means warmly welcomed by the communist government. Many of the members of the Committee were persecuted by Czechoslovak secret police.

See also

• Charter 77

References

• Pehe, Jiři. "Independence movements in Eastern Europe". Central European University. http://www.osa.ceu.hu/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/120-1-68.shtml. Retrieved December 22, 2008. 
• Lazarová, Daniela (April 28, 1998). "Committee for the Defense of Unjustly Persecuted Persons". Radio Prague. http://archiv.radio.cz/english/cur-affrs/28-4-98.html. Retrieved December 22, 2008. 

External links

• VONS website

This Czechoslovakia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Organizations based in Czechoslovakia Anti-communist organizations 1978 in Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную? Committee for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights Committee for the Environment Look at other dictionaries: History of the Puritans — The history of the Puritans can be traced back to the Vestments Controversy in the reign of Edward VI ending in a decline in the mid 1700s. Background, to 1559 The English Reformation, begun his reign in the reign of Henry VIII of England, was… …   Wikipedia Charter 77 — For the band, see Charta 77 (band). Charter 77 (Charta 77 in Czech and in Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and… …   Wikipedia Communist regime in Czechoslovakia — History of Czechoslovakia This article is part of a series Origins …   Wikipedia Libri Prohibiti — is a library that collects prohibited or banned books, as well as samizdat, located in Prague, Czech Republic. Opened in 1990, Libri Prohibiti is a nonprofit, private, independent organization. The collection of more than 20,000 monographs and… …   Wikipedia History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) — Stalinization (1948 ndash;1963) Following the coup d état of February 1948, when the Communists definitively took power in Czechoslovakia, the country was declared a people s republic mdash; a preliminary step toward socialism and, ultimately,… …   Wikipedia North Africa — North African. the northern part of Africa, esp. the region north of the tropical rain forest and comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and that part of Egypt west of the Gulf of Suez. * * * Introduction       region of Africa comprising …   Universalium Olga Havlová — First Lady of the Czech republic In office 1989 – 1996 (died) Succeeded by Dagmar Havlová Personal details Born Olga Šplíchalová 11 July 1933 …   Wikipedia Václav Havel — Infobox President name=Václav Havel nationality = flagicon|CZE Czech Republic order=1st office=President of the Czech Republic term start=February 2, 1993 term end=February 2, 2003 primeminister=Václav Klaus, Josef Tošovský, Miloš Zeman, Vladimír …   Wikipedia Vons (disambiguation) — Vons may refer to: * Vons, a grocery store * VONS, a Czech acronym for Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted, a dissident organization …   Wikipedia Twain–Ament indemnities controversy — The Twain–Ament indemnities controversy was a major cause célèbre in the United States of America in 1901 as a consequence of the published reactions of American humorist Mark Twain to reports of Rev. William Scott Ament and other missionaries… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”