In its February survey, the Public Opinion Research Centre examined the public opinion on the activities of Charta 77. The respondents were, as was the case in 1993, asked two closed questions. The first question focused on the overall assessment of the activities of Charta 77, while the other investigated the reasons why people had signed the document.
28% of respondents say that Charta 77 prepared the demise of the communist regime; nearly a third (31%) are of the opinion that the activities of Charta 77 had no impact, 3% think that it endangered other citizens and 38% cannot judge the activities of Charta 77 (it is interesting to note that this figure stood at 51% in 1993).
More than two fifths of respondents (41%) think that the reason why people signed Charta 77 was the criticism of the normalisation regime; more than a fifth (21%) think the reason was to bring down the communism, less than a tenth (9%) are of the opinion that the reason was to get benefits from the West, 4% to be able to emigrate, 6% to express solidarity with friends, 1% order by the intelligence (StB), and almost a fifth (18%) were unable to answer the question.
