Vaclav Havel
Václav Havel is Former President of the Czech Republic.
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2009-06-12
| One of the fundamental pillars of Europe’s political architecture is a strong and enduring belief in the universal validity of equal, universal, and inalienable human rights. European leaders should bear that in mind when the European Union’s General Affairs and External Relations Council meets this week to discuss once more relations between the EU and Cuba.... read |
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2008-12-31
| In Gaza, mankind’s basic morality is at stake. Of course, Israel’s need for security must be understood by all sides, but confidence-building measures are needed from all sides as well, in order to send a clear message that dialogue, not violence, is the way forward.... read |
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2008-08-04
| PRAGUE -- The selection of Beijing to organize and host the 2008 Olympic Games was accompanied by the Chinese government’s pledges of visible progress on respect for human rights. We understood these as a condition whose fulfillment the International Olympic Committee would demand. That is how this year’s Olympics could contribute to a greater openness and respect for international standards of human rights and liberties in the host country. ... read |
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2007-09-27
| The world’s dictators know exactly what to make of the international community’s inability to coordinate effective measures to restrain Burma's military leaders. How else can they explain it than as a complete confirmation of the status quo and of their own ability to act with impunity?... read |
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2006-03-23
| All revolutions, in the end, turn from euphoria to disillusion. In a revolutionary atmosphere of solidarity and self-sacrifice, people tend to think that when their victory is complete, paradise on Earth is inevitable. Of course, paradise never comes, and – naturally - disappointment follows. That seems to be the case in Ukraine today, as its people prepare to vote for a new parliament little more than a year after their successful Orange Revolution. ... read |
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2005-01-26
| I vividly remember the slightly ludicrous, slightly risqué, and somewhat distressing predicament in which Western diplomats in Prague found themselves during the Cold War. They regularly needed to resolve the delicate issue of whether to invite to their embassy celebrations various Charter 77 signatories, human rights activists, critics of the communist regime, displaced politicians, or even banned writers, scholars, and journalists – people with whom the diplomats were generally friends.... read |
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2004-11-12
| The fifteenth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on November 17, 1989, which brought an end to 41 years of communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia, is an opportunity to ponder the meaning of moral behavior and free action. Today we live in a democratic society, but many people - not only in the Czech Republic - still believe that they are not true masters of their destiny. They have lost faith that they can really influence political developments, much less influence the direction in which our civilization is evolving.... read |
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2001-10-02
| What does the term “the West” mean? First, it is a geographically delimited territory that can be described as the Euro-Atlantic or Euro-American region. However, it is of equal, if not greater, importance to define the West in terms of its values and culture. The West has had, in essence, a shared political and economic history emanating from a common set of spiritual sources. ... read |
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2001-07-10
| Peace, partnership, and cooperation are imaginable only among people and nations who know who they are. If I do not know who I am, who I want to be, what I want to achieve, where I begin and where I end, my relations with those around me, and with the rest of the world, will inevitably be tense, full of suspicion and burdened by an inferiority complex that may be hidden behind pompous bravado. ... read |
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Who Threatens Our Identity?
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Vaclav Havel 
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PRAGUE: Identity and sovereignty are often discussed nowadays. But what do they actually mean? Both probably consist of feelings that a community can only be its true self when it can be so without hindrance – in essence, when a community can decide its own fate. ... read
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2008-12-31
| In Gaza, mankind’s basic morality is at stake. Of course, Israel’s need for security must be understood by all sides, but confidence-building measures are needed from all sides as well, in order to send a clear message that dialogue, not violence, is the way forward.... read |
-
2004-11-12
| The fifteenth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on November 17, 1989, which brought an end to 41 years of communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia, is an opportunity to ponder the meaning of moral behavior and free action. Today we live in a democratic society, but many people - not only in the Czech Republic - still believe that they are not true masters of their destiny. They have lost faith that they can really influence political developments, much less influence the direction in which our civilization is evolving.... read |
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2005-01-26
| I vividly remember the slightly ludicrous, slightly risqué, and somewhat distressing predicament in which Western diplomats in Prague found themselves during the Cold War. They regularly needed to resolve the delicate issue of whether to invite to their embassy celebrations various Charter 77 signatories, human rights activists, critics of the communist regime, displaced politicians, or even banned writers, scholars, and journalists – people with whom the diplomats were generally friends.... read |
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2006-03-23
| All revolutions, in the end, turn from euphoria to disillusion. In a revolutionary atmosphere of solidarity and self-sacrifice, people tend to think that when their victory is complete, paradise on Earth is inevitable. Of course, paradise never comes, and – naturally - disappointment follows. That seems to be the case in Ukraine today, as its people prepare to vote for a new parliament little more than a year after their successful Orange Revolution. ... read |
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2007-09-27
| The world’s dictators know exactly what to make of the international community’s inability to coordinate effective measures to restrain Burma's military leaders. How else can they explain it than as a complete confirmation of the status quo and of their own ability to act with impunity?... read |
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2008-12-31
| In Gaza, mankind’s basic morality is at stake. Of course, Israel’s need for security must be understood by all sides, but confidence-building measures are needed from all sides as well, in order to send a clear message that dialogue, not violence, is the way forward.... read |
-
2001-10-02
| What does the term “the West” mean? First, it is a geographically delimited territory that can be described as the Euro-Atlantic or Euro-American region. However, it is of equal, if not greater, importance to define the West in terms of its values and culture. The West has had, in essence, a shared political and economic history emanating from a common set of spiritual sources. ... read |
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2001-07-10
| Peace, partnership, and cooperation are imaginable only among people and nations who know who they are. If I do not know who I am, who I want to be, what I want to achieve, where I begin and where I end, my relations with those around me, and with the rest of the world, will inevitably be tense, full of suspicion and burdened by an inferiority complex that may be hidden behind pompous bravado. ... read |
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2008-08-04
| PRAGUE -- The selection of Beijing to organize and host the 2008 Olympic Games was accompanied by the Chinese government’s pledges of visible progress on respect for human rights. We understood these as a condition whose fulfillment the International Olympic Committee would demand. That is how this year’s Olympics could contribute to a greater openness and respect for international standards of human rights and liberties in the host country. ... read |
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2001-04-18
| PRAGUE: Identity and sovereignty are often discussed nowadays. But what do they actually mean? Both probably consist of feelings that a community can only be its true self when it can be so without hindrance – in essence, when a community can decide its own fate. ... read |
