*You know what? The Czechs are a great people.
They're a small, outnumbered country, much
put-upon historically, with
a plethora of revanchist grievances, political
instability, organized corruption and fine excuses
for a Czech-Slovak civil war.
*They could be taking schoolchildren hostage,
strapping dynamite around their waists, or
even invading Slovakia without a UN permission
slip, in a pre-emptive armed imposition of regime
change.
*But no! No, never! Here they are, peacefully
and effectively gathering forces and working
on *Cuban reform.* That's right, Czechs
liberating *Cuba.* And they're doing it out
of *moral obligation* and a sense of
*karmic gratitude to the world community!*
*Plus they're even kind of *practical*
and *realistic* about the the consequences
of the liberation!
Saturday September 18, 2:59 AM
Czech rights summit hails Cuban dissidence
Former Czech president and anti-communist dissident Vaclav
Havel launched a major demonstration of support for the
Cuban democracy by predicting that things were set to change
in the communist country.
The summit, called "For Democracy in Cuba" was to bring
together more than 10 former European and American heads of
state and former prime ministers.
"I am sure that the situation in Cuba will change quickly,"
said Havel, calling for opponents of dictator Fidel Castro
to prepare the post-Castro period.
"They should not think only of removing the dictatorship.
They should devote all their time to what will happen next",
he added.
Jan Pavelka, spokesman for the Czech humanitarian
non-governmental organisation "Man in Distress" which
organized the summit said the aim was to support initiatives
promoting human rights.
Under the impetus of Havel, who spent more than five years
in communist jails during the 1970s and 1980s, solidarity
with present-day Cuban dissidents is particularly strong in
central European countries which peacefully overthrew
communism in 1989.
"Now we can repay our debt, we can pay it back to those who
need our solidarity today," said Czech Senate Chairman and
former dissident Petr Pithart at the event's opening.
(...)
Havel underlined that a free Cuba should take inspiration
from the experience of eastern Europe.
He recalled that after the end of communism in his country
in late 1989 he found himself spending nights writing the
constitution and laws.
"We must put them on their guard so that they avoid the
mistakes that we could not avoid," he said.
"After the end of communism, you must expect that there will
be some sort of disappointment, they will think they will
live in a sort of paradise, which won't be the case," he said.
"Some will be surprised to have so much freedom after all
these years of communism and to have so much weight on their
shoulders," he said.
***************************
*And since it's Friday, check this out. A lovely
article on The Plastic People of the Universe, the
planetary exemplar of the redeeming cultural
power of rock'n'roll. No, really, I'm serious –
it would have been phony anywhere but
the Czech Republic.
The Plastics, Now They Belong to the Ages
'The Plastic People were ultimately a major catalyst to the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe. History would most surely have been very different without them. Apart from the aforementioned Beatles and the Velvet Underground, there's not a lot of rock and roll bands you can say that about.
'Also, knowing that the true cultural heritage of Czechoslovakia includes not just Jan Hus and Franz Kafka but also Lou Reed and Frank Zappa makes it easier to understand why Vaclav Havel's record collection includes not just Antonin Dvorak but also "White Light White Heat" and "Bongo Fury." Let's face it. There's not a lot of national presidents you can say that about.'
