[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 377-378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                        REMEMBERING VACLAV HAVEL

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to honor former Czech 
President and renowned human rights activist Vaclav Havel. Vaclav Havel 
died last month, and I was sad to note that the news of his death was 
overshadowed by not only the holidays but also by media coverage of Kim 
Jong Il's death. The irony--that one of the great leaders of the third 
wave of democracy, passed at virtually the same time as one of the 
century's most dangerous, repressive tyrants--is striking.
  Eulogies to Havel from everyday Czechs, European and world leaders, 
and admirers across the globe have poured forth in the past month, and 
for me, some of the most touching have come from the Czech Romani 
community. The Roma community, which is often ostracized from and 
disenchanted with mainstream politics, embraced Havel as a leader and a 
friend. And indeed Emil Scuka, the Czech president of the International 
Romani Union, said ``Vaclav Havel was not afraid to publicly stand up 
for Romani people even though he knew he could lose a great deal 
politically by doing so because the public wouldn't like it. He never 
made such political calculations in advance . . . With the death of 
Vaclav Havel, all of us Romani people are losing a great defender, a 
fighter for freedom and human rights. We are losing the certainty that 
when things are at their worst, Vaclav Havel will help us. However, I 
believe his ideals, his ideas, and his philosophy will live on.''
  I was also inspired by the eloquent tribute of Gabriela Hrabanova, a 
former advisor to the Czech government on Romani issues, who said 
``Everyone has been writing about how this is the end of an era. I 
firmly hope that is not the case. The legacy of Vaclav Havel must 
remain with us, and the space for truth and love in society must 
continue to increase.''
  Just a few days before his death, Havel was actively following 
protests in Moscow, and published an opinion in the independent Russian 
newspaper Novaya gazeta, and called the current Russian government a 
``specific combination of old stereotypes and a new business-mafia 
environment.'' He encouraged Russian citizens to see that the current 
regime, which presents itself as democratic, is in fact not democratic 
at all. Exposing the truth of the repressive Communist regime lead to 
the victory of his peaceful Velvet Revolution, and Havel was convinced 
this experience could be replicated in Russia, if the citizens were 
committed.
  I am not at all surprised by a report from Aung San Suu Kyi, who said 
she received a letter in the days following Havel's death from Havel 
himself. Suu Kyi said that Havel wrote from his deathbed that he was 
thinking of her and how the transitional experience

[[Page 378]]

from Czech Republic might prove useful to her in Burma's transition and 
her own quest for freedom and truth. Even in the last moments of his 
life, Havel was thinking about the imperiled human rights defenders 
around the world, from Russia to Burma, whom he could help.
  And so it strikes me that in addition to the resolution honoring 
Havel, introduced by Senators Rubio and Lieberman, on which I am a 
proud cosponsor, we should also take this moment to rededicate 
ourselves to the principles so clearly visible in the life of this 
virtuous man. We must aid the Havels of this generation in their 
efforts to live in truth and freedom. We must do an even better job of 
prioritizing respect for human rights whenever we engage other 
governments, whether we are dealing with the transitional regime in 
Egypt, long-established rulers in Bahrain, newly elected leaders in 
Honduras, or strategic allies in Europe.
  Vaclav Havel was a hero of the twentieth century, and I was very 
fortunate to have met him. I am also very proud of all that the 
Helsinki Commission and the United States did in Eastern Europe to 
support Havel and his friends in their quest to live in truth. We must 
strive to honor that commitment in the rest of the world, so that 
Havel's legacy, and our own, lives on in the twenty-first century.

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