The Charter 77 movement formally disbanded after about 16 years in Czechoslovakia. This was an informal civic movement pressing for the country's observance of the resolutions of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki.

The charter's signatories included Vaclav Havel, Jiri Dienstbier, Zdenek Mlynar, Jiri Hajek and other well-known opposition figures of the 1970s and '80s. Until the "velvet revolution" and collapse of communism, Charter 77 was the most severely persecuted opposition organization in Czechoslovakia.

The movement included present political leaders in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. On Nov. 2, it was officially announced that the charter has fulfilled its historic mission and will cease to exist.