On March 1, the Netherlands Embassy in Prague unveiled a memorial commemorating the support shown to Czech dissidents by the late Dutch politician Max van der Stoel. Forty years ago, on March 1, 1977, his meeting with Charter 77 spokesman Jan Patočka represented a significant milestone on the long path towards democracy in Czechoslovakia.
Frans Timmermans, the Dutch vice-president of the European Commission, and the Czech foreign minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, were among the guests of the unveiling the monument commemorating Max van der Stoel at a park named after him in Prague 6.
The memorial was commissioned by the Netherlands embassy in Prague and created by Czech artist Dominik Lang.
Photo: Pavel Matela
