Musicians pull out of “underground” festival over Jakeš invitation

Some musicians have cancelled appearances at the Trutnoff music festival in Trutnov, east Bohemia over the fact organisers have invited one-time Communist Party general secretary Miloš Jakeš to attend. The Plastic People of the Universe, members of which were imprisoned under the Communists, and Už jsme doma said they were pulling out of the August festival in protest, Lidovky.cz reported. Trutnoff organiser Martin Věchet, a former dissident, said he would cancel Mr. Jakeš’s invitation if negative reactions predominated. The festival, which was regularly attended by Václav Havel, is closely linked to the former underground.

Author: Ian Willoughby