Uhl told CTK he considers the award an appreciation of his efforts in support of Czechs and Germans coming close to each other and of the events from 1938-46 being gradually coped with. Uhl will take over the prize at the Sudeten German Days in Nuremberg on May 10. SL spokesman Bernd Posselt has praised Uhl as "a leading freedom fighter in the period of [the communist reform movement] Prague Spring 1968, a co-founder of the Charter 77 [Czechoslovak dissident manifesto] and later a successful defender of human and minority rights." It was Czech-U.S.
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Pope Cancels University Speech in Rome Amid Student Protests ... especially in his capacity as the Czech government human rights commissioner in 1998-2001 that he resolutely promoted the rights of minorities, including ethnic Germans in the Czech Republic. In the framework of his political activities he also sought understanding between Czechs and Sudeten Germans, the SL says in a document highlighting Uhl's decoration. Uhl says the post-war transfer of ethnic Germans from the then Czechoslovakia amounted to unlawful expulsion. In view of his experiences from negotiations with the SL, Uhl says he believes a dialogue with the SL is feasible. Uhl has already received the Czech Medal of Merit, bestowed on him by former president Vaclav Havel. In the past he also received a Polish decoration and the Legion of Honour medal from then French President Jacques Chirac. The European Charles Prize is named after Charles IV, the 14th century King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. The SL has awarded it annually since 1958. Uhl is the second Czech to be given the prize, after Josef Koukl, former bishop of Litomerice, north Bohemia, who received it in 2005.
(Ceske Noviny)
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