Prague Will Let Dissident Go to Stockholm for Prize

STOCKHOLM —  Czechoslovakia will allow dissident playwright Vaclav Havel to go to Stockholm to receive the 1989 Olof Palme Prize.

“We were informed (Friday) by the Prague authorities that Havel has been granted a passport so that he can travel to Sweden to receive the prize,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bo Heineback said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Sten Sture Andersson had been scheduled to go to Prague on Thursday to present the $15,000 prize to Havel for his struggle for human rights.

Previously, Havel and other Czechoslovak dissidents had been denied passports, Heineback said. But he noted that Czechoslovakia last week decided to allow freer travel to the West.

The playwright is known for his work with the Charter 77 human rights movement. He was released from jail in May this year after serving half of an eight-month sentence for inciting political protests in January.

Heineback said the Swedish Embassy will now contact Havel to discuss whether he wants a prize ceremony in Stockholm sometime this week or if Andersson should present the prize in Prague.

The prize has been awarded annually since 1987 by the Social Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated in 1986.