Prague, Oct 5 (CTK) – The question of whether the Czech nation will remain open, or whether it will close itself to the world, whether it will be a liberal, or authoritarian society is now at stake, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said in connection with former president Vaclav Havel’s legacy on Wednesday.
Democracy and freedom must be actively fought for even today. They connect Czechs with their own history, with their allies and with their cultural space, Sobotka said when opening a special concert marking Havel’s 80th birth anniversary.
Sobotka underlined Havel’s thesis about the truth and love and said that abandoning one’s own positions or using trickery for one’s own benefit definitely do not lead to success.
Sobotka said that Havel’s birth anniversary is marked at a time when the Euro-Atlantic community faces fundamental challenges, “whether in connection with security threats, economic prosperity, the migrant crisis, or in connection with the maintenance of the democratic character of politics in the struggle with the effort of oligarchs to control it.”
He stressed that Havel preferred negotiating and reaching agreement to forcible solutions, but at the same time he defended the principle that it is necessary to stood up to evil.
The concert was heard by representatives of parliament and the government, churches, universities and Havel’s widow Dagmar. It was opened with the Czech anthem and a one-minute silence.
Many other events were held at home and abroad on the occasion of Havel’s birth anniversary.
Playwright and dissident Havel, born on October 5, 1936, was the last Czechoslovak and the first Czech president (1989-2003). After he left the post, he primarily focused on the promotion of human rights in the world. He died on December 18, 2011, aged 75 years.
