Hana Ponická (July 15, 1922

Halič Halič (; ) is a village and municipality in the Lučenec District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1299 (''Gach'') in the records of the Kingdom of Hungary as the loc ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

– August 21, 2007

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) was a Slovak writer and former anti-Communist

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

. She opposed the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government of the former

. Ponická signed the

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

human rights

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

in 1977. Charter 77 was inspired by

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, a Czech dissident and playwright who later became president of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

after the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Ponická was arrested in August 1989 for observing the anniversary of the crushing of Czechoslovakia's democracy movement by the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

in 1968. She was released from jail three months later. Ponická helped found the

Christian Democratic Movement The Christian Democratic Movement (, KDH) is a Christian democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ...

, a major Slovak

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

, following the collapse of

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in Czechoslovakia at the end of 1989. Hana Ponická, 85, died in

, Slovakia on August 21, 2007, the 39th anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. A

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for the Christian Democratic Movement, Martin Krajcovic, did not give a cause of death. Ponická was buried in

, her native village located in southern Slovakia.

References

External links

Le Monde:Hana Ponická obituary
(French)
International Herald Tribune: Slovak writer, former anti-communist dissident, dies at the age 85
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponicka, Hana 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Lučenec District Christian Democratic Movement politicians Slovak women writers Slovak writers Slovak journalists Slovak women journalists Charter 77 signatories Czechoslovak women in politics 20th-century Slovak politicians 20th-century Slovak women politicians Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) 20th-century journalists Czechoslovak writers