Interviewed by Viktor ZAMYATIN, The Day, Prague
A paradox of current history is that President Vaclav Havel of the Czech
Republic, known primarily as a champion of human-rights, dissident, and
a humanist playwright, justifies the NATO action in Yugoslavia, unlike
the majority of the population in his country. The romantic Havel is clearly
in the past, although he says different qualities still fight each other
in his heart. Today's Havel is rather a pragmatist who is not keen on his
country's hasty admission to the European Union and who has told The
Day frankly that Ukraine need not repeat some mistakes the Czech Republic
has made under his rule.
"You are known all over the world as a human-rights advocate. How
do you view, from the standpoint of human-rights, NATO actions in the Balkans?"
"I think there was no alternative in this situation. We believe this
action should end as soon as possible, and we consider it the only way
to bring Yugoslav President Milosevic to the negotiating table. Perhaps
this is not the best and most attractive way. Milosevic has evaded talks
for a very long time. He bears responsibility for more than one war - against
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, which claimed tens of thousands
of lives. Yes, this was the only way to solve the problem. I also asked
many people the question you asked me. For example, I recently met some
Kosovo refugees in a camp on Czech territory. They are not members of the
Kosovo Liberation Army, just ordinary old people. And they also think this
was the only way."
"The Czech Republic has already joined NATO and is now on the point
of becoming a EU member. Do you think this can fundamentally damage existing
Ukrainian-Czech relations, especially in the economy?"
"I don't think the Czech Republic will become a member of the European
Union so fast. I don't think at all that our EU membership will stand in
the way of trade and economic ties with any country. Rather, it should
be the other way round, for EU member-states are the largest trade partners
throughout the world. I could cite as an example relations between the
EU and Latin America. So I do not even know why I should fear such complications."
"Does the Czech Republic have a problem of relations between different
Christian denominations?"
"I do not think there is any tension between different denominations;
they maintain very good relations with each other. There is no political
or ideological tension, either, in the relationship between them and the
state. However, the problem of property restitution is still to be solved.
The point is not in church buildings - they have long been returned - but
in the forests, fields, farm land, and so on. This property, once taken
from the church, has been developed, one way or another, over time, and
now it is very hard to find a fair solution."
"What achievements of the Czech Republic under your presidency are
you justly proud of, and what would you, on the basis of your experience,
advise Ukraine to avoid?"
"I wouldn't want to give Ukraine any advice. But we must admit we had
not only successes but also some rather negative examples. For instance,
we paid too little attention after the ('velvet' - Ed.) revolution to reeducating
the population. And as a result, we at times had very bad relations with
society, and some organizations appeared that need not have."
"What general lessons should humanity learn from the history of this
century?"
"One has to say that the whole world is now in a very dangerous situation.
There are several major threats: ecological dangers, mounting international
overpopulation, thoughtless utilization of resources, and a bad relationship
between the affluent North and the poor South.
"To find ways to solve these problems and get out of this situation,
I will hold Forum-2000 in Prague, to which many politicians and experts
have been invited. We must find rational solutions in order to successfully
avert these dangers."
"Does Havel the dissident, Havel the philosopher, Havel the humanist,
Havel the politician, and Havel the president fight within you?"
"Of course, I have internal conflicts between these aspects of myself.
But in reality this is more of a technical or technological matter. In
no way can I say I am a schizophrenic and three different persons fight
inside me. But it often occurs that I, for example, read a newspaper article
and want to answer and start a polemic. But I am president, and my advisors
will not allow me as president to do so."







