[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H339-H343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING CZECH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT VACLAV HAVEL
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 22) honoring Czech Republic
President Vaclav Havel.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 22
Whereas Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, is
widely respected throughout the world as a proponent of
democratic principles;
Whereas Vaclav Havel's superb skills as a playwright and
essayist helped promote democracy in Eastern Europe during
the Cold War;
Whereas the plays of Vaclav Havel were instrumental in
bringing international attention to the struggle for
democracy in Czechoslovakia;
Whereas Vaclav Havel was imprisoned three times for his
efforts to promote democratic thought and reforms in
communist Czechoslovakia, yet maintained his convictions
throughout;
Whereas Vaclav Havel was a cofounder of the human rights
organization Charter 77 and the Committee for the Defense of
the Unjustly Prosecuted;
Whereas Vaclav Havel, as leader of the Civic Forum
movement, was a key figure in the 1989 bloodless overthrow of
the Czechoslovakian communist government known as the Velvet
Revolution;
Whereas following the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel was
elected by the people as President of the Czech and Slovak
Federal Republic in 1990, and following a peaceful split
forming two separate states, elected President of the Czech
Republic in 1993;
Whereas under the leadership of Vaclav Havel, the Czech
Republic has been an important and valued member of the world
community;
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Whereas under the leadership of Vaclav Havel, the Czech
Republic became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) on March 12, 1999;
Whereas during Vaclav Havel's time in office, the economy
of the Czech Republic has become one of the most developed in
Eastern Europe;
Whereas today, the Czech Republic is a valuable ally of the
United States in the war against terrorism;
Whereas Vaclav Havel has been praised as one of the world's
great democratic leaders and has been awarded many
international prizes recognizing his commitment to peace and
democratic principles; and
Whereas Vaclav Havel will step down as President of the
Czech Republic on February 2, 2003: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) honors the life-long commitment of Czech Republic
President Vaclav Havel to human rights and democracy;
(2) recognizes the exceptional achievements of Vaclav Havel
as playwright and president; and
(3) congratulates Vaclav Havel for his outstanding service
to the people of the Czech Republic.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
General Leave
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 22, the resolution under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nebraska?
There was no objection.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This Member rises today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 22, a
resolution honoring Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel. The
resolution was introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin
(Mr. Kind), and this Member is pleased to be an original cosponsor.
This resolution seeks to recognize, congratulate, and honor President
Havel for a combination of 13 years of extraordinary service, first as
President of Czechoslovakia and second, since 1993, as President of the
Czech Republic. The Constitution of the Czech Republic allows a
president to serve only two consecutive 5-year terms, and the United
States House of Representatives would like, therefore, to honor
President Havel upon the occasion of the end of his term of service on
February 2 of this year.
Nearly 13 years ago, on February 21, 1990, President Vaclav Havel
addressed a joint session of the United States Congress in this very
room. This occasion was less than 4 months after his last arrest by
what he characterized as ``the most conservative Communist government
in Europe,'' and less than 2 months after Vaclav Havel had been elected
President of Czechoslovakia, in December 1989, by a parliament still
dominated by members of the Communist party.
During his inspirational speech to the joint session of Congress,
President Havel said many things that made many Members of Congress
realize they were not listening to just another political leader of a
foreign country. President Havel, in his speech, was discussing what
his country, and all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that
had suffered throughout the Cold War, could learn from the United
States. He also suggested that perhaps his country could offer
something to the United States. In his speech, he stated ``We too can
offer something to you: our experience and the knowledge that has come
from it. This is a subject for books, many of which have already been
written and many of which have yet to be written. I shall therefore
limit myself to a single idea. The experience I'm talking about has
given me one great certainty: Consciousness precedes being, and not the
other way around, as Marxists claim.''
In explaining that axiom, Havel went on in his speech to explain
that: ``The only genuine backbone of all of our actions, if they are to
be moral, is responsibility. Responsibility is something higher than
our family, my country, my company, my success. Responsibility to the
order of being where all of our actions are indelibly recorded and only
where they will be improperly judged. The interpreter or mediator
between us and this higher authority is what is traditionally referred
to as human conscience. If I subordinate my political behavior to this
imperative mediated to me by my conscience, I can't go far wrong.''
He went on to say that it is this responsibility dictated by his
conscience which caused him to ultimately decide, after resisting for a
long time, to accept the burden of political responsibility. In other
words, he saw it as a responsibility to accept the presidency of
Czechoslovakia. In a related noteworthy admonition to intellectuals in
every country he reminded that ``If the hope of the world lies in human
consciousness, then it is obvious that intellectuals can't go on
forever avoiding their share of the responsibility for the world and
hiding their distaste for politics under an alleged need for
independence.''
As a playwright and essayist, Vaclav Havel was a leading figure of
the dissident movement against the totalitarian system of the Communist
regime in Czechoslovakia. He was a founder of Charter 77, the
underground movement seeking freedom of expression and association, and
the basic protection of civic and human rights. He wrote the essay,
``The Power of the Powerless,'' in which he called upon ordinary
citizens to live in truth against a totalitarian regime. For his
various civic reform efforts, he received multiple prison sentences and
served a total of almost 5 years imprisoned by the Communist regime.
During the events of November-December 1989, which have come to be
known as the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel helped form the Civic
Forum, a broad coalition of dissident groups, which was the first legal
opposition movement in Communist Czechoslovakia. By the end of that
year, through a ``bloodless revolution,'' 41 years of Communist
dictatorship peacefully came to an end when Vaclav Havel was elected
President.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I count it a great personal privilege and honor to
represent perhaps more Czech-Americans than any Member of Congress.
Most of them came to the rolling prairies of Nebraska and the prairie
States in the 1870s and 1880s to own their own land and to farm the
soil. Other Czechs and Slovaks came to the larger cities of the
Midwest, places like Omaha, during the first two decades of the 20th
century.
While their Americanization had occurred several generations ago,
these Czech-Americans continued to follow closely, and I would say with
great anguish, the totalitarian conditions of people in their old
homelands of the past. It was, therefore, a particular pleasure for me
to watch these Czech-Americans gather in the public meeting places, the
restaurants, the bars, and in their homes to watch with amazement and
great pride on television the rapid and peaceful Velvet Revolution,
which finally ended the Communist stranglehold, to reclaim the
democracy that Czechoslovakia had enjoyed only for the brief period
between two World Wars.
Vaclav Havel epitomized this return to Czech democracy for both his
countrymen and the Americans who watched and marveled at the success of
the Velvet Revolution and Havel's leadership, which demonstrated the
very best in intellectual and humane leadership.
Since then, President Havel has been an extraordinary politician,
leading his country and the countries of Eastern Europe into a future
of freedom, democracy, and security. He was probably the foremost
proponent in Europe of allowing the former countries of the Warsaw Pact
to join NATO. On March 12, 1999, his vision was made a reality when the
Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary became members of the Alliance. And
just last November, his country was honored by hosting the first NATO
Summit held behind the former Iron Curtain in Prague, where seven
additional countries of Eastern Europe were invited to join the
Alliance.
Because parliamentarians from the 19 NATO countries have honored me
with the leadership in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I was
privileged to be present at the NATO Prague Summit in November of last
year. I think it was noteworthy that President Havel, in his host
capacity as the dean of all the
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NATO heads of state and heads of government in length of service, was
accorded an auspicious degree of affection and respect by his peers and
other leaders of the Free World. That acclaim reflected not just his
leadership for the Czech Republic but also recognized the moral
leadership he has provided for all of the countries of Eastern and
Central Europe that emerged from communism and, indeed, for the NATO
Alliance as a whole.
On January 30 of this year, just 2 days before he was to step down
after 13 years as President, he was one of eight European heads of
state or government from NATO countries to sign a letter expressing
continued solidarity and support with and to the United States in the
international fight against terrorism and for possible action against
Iraq. The importance of that letter really cannot be overestimated,
since it stood in mark contrast to the dissenting positions of four
countries, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Two sentences sum up the essence of that letter and what is most
essential in the transatlantic relationship. The statement said: ``The
real bond between the U.S. and Europe is the values we share:
democracy, individual freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
Today, more than ever, the transatlantic bond is a guarantee of our
freedom.''
{time} 1500
Vaclav Havel has been called an artist, an intellectual, the poet of
democracy, and an international icon of integrity, wisdom and moral
seriousness, and even ``the most extraordinary statesman who emerged
from the struggle to overthrow communism in Eastern Europe.'' President
Havel likes to say that in November 1989 when he was first told that he
had been nominated as a candidate for the office of President of
Czechoslovakia, he thought it was a joke. He thought who was he to be
President of this new democracy.
This Member is here today to thank President Havel for saying yes and
accepting the office of President, including the challenge of politics
and public service. By simply choosing to continue to fight for the
ideals he fought for during the Cold War, democracy, freedom, human
rights and the rule of law, by working tirelessly to include the new
central and eastern European democracies into Europe and the alliance,
and through his efforts directed toward reconciliation with the old
enemies, he has elevated politics and public service, for his country,
for Europe, for the trans-Atlantic alliance, and for the world.
Mr. Speaker, this Member will quote from President Havel's first New
Year's address to his nation, the newly free Czechoslovakia, on January
1, 1990. President Havel spoke to his fellow citizens about the legacy
of over 40 years of the Communist totalitarian system. He said, ``It
would be quite unreasonable to understand the sad legacy of the last 40
years as something alien, something bequeathed to us by some distant
relative. On the contrary, we must accept this legacy as a sin we
committed against ourselves. If we accept it as such, we will
understand that it is up to us all, and up to us alone, to do something
about it. We cannot blame the previous rulers for everything, not only
because it would be untrue but also because it could blunt the duty
each of us faces today, that is, the obligation to act independently,
freely, reasonably, and quickly. Let us make no mistake: the best
government in the world, the best parliament and the best president in
the world cannot achieve much on their own. And it would also be wrong
to expect a general remedy to come from them alone. Freedom and
democracy require participation and therefore responsible action from
us all.''
Mr. Speaker, this Member joins his colleagues in paying tribute to
Vaclav Havel for the vital, moral leadership and idealism he has
brought to his service for the Czech Republic and to the community of
Western democracies. For his countrymen and all of us in democratic
nations, this leadership and focus on participatory democracy is in the
best traditions of those heroes of the American democracy that we honor
in this great capital city, Jefferson, Madison and others among our
Founding Fathers. I urge support for the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I
commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for his powerful,
eloquent, and thoughtful statement. I also would like to express my
deep appreciation to the original sponsor and drafter of this most
important resolution, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who has
shown his customary leadership by presenting this to us.
Mr. Speaker, last week my good friend, Vaclav Havel, stepped down as
President of the Czech Republic. Normally, Mr. Speaker, the return to
private life of a democratically elected leader in Europe would not
warrant a resolution from the Congress of the United States. But Vaclav
Havel was no ordinary President, nor did he serve in ordinary times.
Vaclav Havel, an outstanding artist, playwright, and the conscience of
the Czech people during decades of Soviet domination, was a key player
in the Velvet Revolution under which the Czech people peacefully
replaced their communist dictators with an elected and inspiring
leadership.
Mr. Speaker, it was a true privilege to have been in Prague to
witness one small part of this Velvet Revolution. Thirteen years ago, I
had just arrived in Prague on an official mission with my good friend
and colleague, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), his wife and
my wife. Vaclav Havel and his allies had launched large public protests
demanding democracy and an end to communist rule. As the gentleman from
Missouri and I headed to a meeting, we encountered thousands of Prague
residents in Wenceslas Square demonstrating in support of democracy and
freedom. We jumped from the car and joined the Czech crowds waving
signs and shouting ``Havel Na Hrad,'' Havel to the castle.
The people of Prague were making a simple request, that Vaclav Havel
be elected President so he could occupy the home of power and authority
in Prague, the beautiful castle which stands on a hill overlooking the
city.
These massive demonstrations were a small part of a long process that
brought about the Velvet Revolution. Several weeks later, I had the
honor of leading congressional colleagues to a meeting with Vaclav
Havel when he was already safely ensconced in the castle.
President Havel did not let the Czech people down as their elected
leader. He led the Czech nation through a difficult period of political
and economic reform. As a result of his extraordinary leadership,
Vaclav Havel presided over 13 years of growing Czech prestige and
influence in international affairs. He devoted enormous thought and
energy to bringing the Czech Republic into the community of Western
democracies. Under his leadership, the Czech Republic joined NATO; and
next year it is poised to join the European Union.
President Havel has been an unwavering ally of the United States in
the war on terrorism, and more recently in our struggle to disarm the
regime of Saddam Hussein. This should come as no surprise. Vaclav Havel
is a person of great moral authority and enormous personal courage. He
devoted his political and artistic life to resisting the totalitarian
state. He cofounded the human rights organization Charter 77 and the
Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted. He was persecuted
by communist authorities and repeatedly arrested. Once he was given the
opportunity to emigrate, but he bravely chose imprisonment instead.
As President, Havel continued to resist authoritarian dictators by
supporting dissidents in Cuba, and just last November by denying the
Belorusian dictator, Lukashenko, a visa to the NATO Summit in Prague. I
have no doubt that my friend, President Havel, will continue to work to
ensure that the merging independent nations of Central and Eastern
Europe join the community of democratic nations.
Mr. Speaker, it was a fitting end to President Havel's presidency
that he and the Czech Republic were host to the historic NATO summit
last November. The leaders of the world used the summit to pay tribute
to the wisdom and leadership of Vaclav Havel and to
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his remarkable achievements as President. I was honored to be part of
the U.S. delegation to the Prague summit; and as I celebrated with
Vaclav Havel the success of NATO in the castle overlooking Prague, I
was once again struck by Vaclav Havel's long and bold journey from a
prisoner of conscience to becoming the conscience of Europe.
I want to ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution
commending a true friend of the United States, a leading intellectual
figure in Europe, and a moral force sorely needed in Europe by
supporting and voting for this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), the author of this legislation.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I commend the ranking member of the Committee
on International Relations, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos),
and thank him for his leadership on a whole host of foreign policy
issues. I also thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the
chairman of the committee, and especially the gentleman from Nebraska
(Mr. Bereuter) for the gentleman's help in offering this resolution,
doing a Dear Colleague letter, and trying to inform the other Members
of Congress of Mr. Havel's retirement.
Mr. Speaker, a silly person once said that only silly people have
heroes today. If that is true, this silly person is not afraid to admit
that Vaclav Havel is one of my heroes.
Today we honor Vaclav Havel who provided the moral force behind the
Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, and who stepped down as
President of the Czech Republic just 1 week ago. If proof is needed
that the pen is mightier than the sword, then Vaclav Havel is a
veritable smoking gun.
It is a magnificent irony that one of the most oppressive communist
regimes in Eastern Europe would one day be led by a poet and
playwright. But there is a tradition in this part of the world that
intellectual integrity and independent art translate into raw political
power. Mr. Havel provided the leadership through raw moral force that
gave rise to the incredible and peaceful revolutionary movement which
we now refer to as the Velvet Revolution.
As uncompromising in his resistance to the totalitarian state as he
is in his ironic plays, President Havel withstood censure, numerous
imprisonments, and the muzzle to become the premier symbol of
Czechoslovakian dissidence in the years after the Soviet Union crushed
Prague back in 1968.
He helped found the Charter 77 dissident movement, the moral
blueprint for the revolution, and then formed the Civic Forum, the main
opposition party in Czechoslovakia against the communist regime.
Through his clashes with the authority, he was repeatedly sent to
prison. His essays setting out his ideas on national resurgence in a
totalitarian state, ``The Power of the Powerless,'' was widely studied
inside and outside of Czechoslovakia.
In it, he argued that citizens living ``in truth'' could successfully
confront and overturn dictatorial rulers. For his views, the regime
forced him in 1979 to choose between exile or 5 years in prison. He
chose prison and his enduring stature is partly a result of that
choice. He later collected the letters he wrote from prison to his wife
in a widely read volume, ``Letters to Olga.''
Mr. Speaker, as a recent graduate of law school back in 1990, I was
in one of my short disillusioned states in regards to our own democracy
at the time, but was watching with rapt attention the incredible frenzy
of events in Eastern Europe leading to the collapse of the communist
regimes and ultimately the collapse of the Berlin Wall. I had the
opportunity to travel throughout Eastern Europe shortly after these
revolutions took place. I spent a little time in Czechoslovakia where I
was part of an international student group restoring some of the old
castles in Czechoslovakia.
{time} 1515
It was during that time, Mr. Speaker, when I also met other political
heroes of mine. These were students approximately my age who were, just
a few months previously, literally on the front lines of these
demonstrations, literally staring down the guns of the Communist
forces, knowing their history, but also not knowing whether this would
be a repeat of the Prague Spring in 1968, which resulted in a bloody
massacre.
I met and stayed with many of these students and I asked them what
they were thinking during that time, those fateful couple of weeks in
November of 1989. They responded that two things stood out in their
minds: one, how bitterly cold it was during those nights during the
candlelight vigils, standing out in Wenceslas Square, snow coming down
and they were all shivering; and, secondly, how terribly frightened
they were.
History now shows that by a vote of 5 to 4, the Communist Politburo
decided not to order the troops to open fire on these demonstrators.
It was a lot of these same students who would during the day go out
into the countryside and into the homes and villages and town squares
throughout Czechoslovakia, bringing news of the demonstrations and the
movement building against the Communist regime. They understood that it
required the support of the working families, the workers of
Czechoslovakia, before the regime could ultimately be brought down.
In the midst of all of this was their guiding force, Vaclav Havel,
whom they held in high esteem, and still do today based on the
correspondence that I have with them. It was an inspiring time for me
to meet these young people and to understand that they realized that
there were causes greater than themselves worth fighting for and
perhaps worth dying for. It was literally their future that was on the
line. Through the strength of their collective action, they achieved
remarkable change throughout Eastern Europe.
In 1989 and after, President Havel's genius was not just to harness
popular resistance that peacefully overwhelmed the Communist regime; it
was to understand that to take the trappings of leadership did not mean
to betray his own humanity. He was not, however, immune to political
defeat. He resigned temporarily rather than preside during the bitter
separation of Czechoslovakia back in 1993. But internationally he
shone. He led his country into NATO in 1999 and he has positioned them
now to join the European Union next year, in 2004.
When Havel left the presidency after 13 years, he left behind a
legacy of individual moral authority. It is hard to find a defined
political legacy. Instead, he leaves a sense that in the life of any
nation, the character of its leaders do matter.
They are still wrestling to find his replacement today in the Czech
Republic. A great debate rages, even bickering is taking place, and, of
course, the media and the press are more than eager to report on all of
this in the Czech Republic.
For those freedoms, for his service and his sacrifice and for his
shining moral example, it is only right that the United States Congress
pause in our normal duties of the day to give thanks and to pay tribute
to one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Vaclav Havel.
I am sure all of my colleagues wish him much happiness throughout his
retirement.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my friend from Wisconsin
for a truly moving and powerful statement.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to join in commending the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind)
for his articulate statement and his initiative. This matter would have
been taken up last week if it had not been for the schedule change
because of the Columbia disaster.
I urge strong support by all the Members for this resolution.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Vaclav Havel is sometimes
called the ``conscience of the Czech Republic.'' In fact, he could be
called the conscience of the world. As both playwright and president,
he has set an example for his country men and women and inspired others
around the globe.
As a Member serving on the Helsinki Commission, I first became aware
of Vaclav Havel and his stance as a leader of the Charter '77
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human rights movement. At a time when most Czechoslovaks preferred to
keep their heads low, he held his up. When others dared not speak out,
he raised his voice. While others hid from communism in their
apartments and weekend cottages, he faced it down in prison. In
recognition of his extraordinary leadership and courage, the Commission
leadership recommended him for the Nobel Peace Prize in February 1989.
Vaclav Havel once wrote of the ``power of the powerless'' and, on
November 17, 1989, when the Velvet Revolution began, the world saw that
power manifested in reality.
Mr. Speaker, Vaclav Havel is a man who has always been guided by the
courage of his convictions. Remarkably, his courage did not fade upon
his assumption of the presidency. Indeed, he is all the more heroic for
his remaining steadfast to his commitment to human rights even from the
comforts of the Prague Castle.
From the beginning of his tenure, as he addressed his country's
communist and totalitarian past, he was a voice of reason, not revenge.
In 1993, he rightly identified the situation of Roma as ``a litmus test
for civil society.'' Throughout his presidency, he has pardoned those
facing criminal charges under communist-era laws that restrict free
speech and have yet to be repealed. In 2001, he spoke out against the
parliament's regressive religion law, which turned the clock back on
religious freedom. He has raised human rights issues from Cuba to
China. And, he has reminded other world leaders of our shared
responsibility for the poor and less fortunate.
H. Con. Res. 22 pays tribute to Vaclav Havel's singular compassion,
integrity, and vision. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a
man who has given so much to his country and the world.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Otter). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
22.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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