Milan Kundera's Czech Citizenship Is Restored After 40 Years

"The novelist Milan Kundera left Czechoslovakia in 1975. He and his wife had gone to France for what was supposed to be a short stint at a university, and they did not go back. The communist government revoked Kundera's citizenship in 1979, and since then he has scarcely returned to his homeland, even after the fall of the Iron Curtain."

"But after 40 years, the author is a Czech citizen once more."

"Czech ambassador to France Petr Drulak went to Kundera's Paris apartment last week and handed him a citizenship certificate. 'For me it was very moving,' Drulak told Czech Radio. 'For all of us actually, it was a very emotional moment because after 40 years, Milan Kundera is a Czech citizen again.'"

"Drulak said the move was a symbolic gesture, and that the 90-year-old Kundera has always remained connected to his home country, even in exile."

"'He stayed by his convictions and identity, a profound Czech, I would say. He is really someone who is very linked to this country and he is very interested in what is going on in Czech Republic,' he said."