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Havel interview
In an exclusive interview for Czech Radio, President Vaclav
Havel spoke for the first time about the recent findings of the
Supreme Auditing institute. This is the organisation which several
weeks ago, announced that there were discrepancies in the book
keeping at Prague Castle. The Czech President also made a surprise
revelation at the end of the interview as to who could take his
place after the next Presidential elections. Pauline Newman has
the details...
President Vaclav Havel who has just returned from a visit to the
United States, began by making a statement on the controversy
surrounding his offices' finances:
"As far as I know, not a single crown has gone astray" Mr Havel
said. He added that the cash was merely sent through different
channels and stressed that even if money had gone missing, the
person responsible would be brought to justice.
Mr Havel who is perceived both at home and abroad as a symbol of
moral integrity and enlightenment expressed his disappointment at
the media in the Czech Republic mentioning missing sums amounting
to hundreds of thousands of crowns. He reminded Czech Radio that
nobody bothered to mention his donations of eighty-six million
crowns to various charities over the last nine or ten years.
The President's shaky health over the last couple of years has seen
widespread speculation at home over a possible replacement and
plenty of discussion in the media on who could fill the
Presidential shoes in the future.
On Monday, Vaclav Havel also touched on the topic of his successor,
saying that Chairman of the Senate and long time friend Petr
Pithart would make an excellent President. Mr Havel also mentioned
Social Democrat deputy Chairwoman Petra Buzkova, although he did
allow that from a legal point of view, she may be too young.
The Czech President left the best till last, however, saying that
on the flight back from America, a marvellous candidate who happens
to be of Czech origin crossed his mind and that was Marie
Korbelova.
Just to clarify this for some of our listeners, Korbelova was
current US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright's maiden name.
Mobilisation '38
Sixty years ago, a sad chapter in the Czechoslovak
Republic's history opened with the signature of the Munich
agreement under which Czechoslovakia was forced to surrender its
border regions to Germany. But before this happened, the country
was up in arms ready to defend itself. Vladimir Tax has the
details.
On Friday 23rd of September 1938 at half past ten p.m., the
Czechoslovak government called a general mobilisation of the armed
forces. Within two days, one and a half million men stood ready to
face the nazi German threat but this nationwide devotion lasted
only a week, because on the seventh day, the Czechoslovak
government accepted the Munich dictate and surrendered Czech
border regions to Germany without a single shot being fired.
The mobilisation was a reaction to continuous German pressure on
the Czechoslovak government. The core of the dispute was the
Czechoslovak border regions known as the Sudeten land, populated
by native Germans who demanded autonomy. Talks between the Sudeten
Germans and the Czechoslovak government were mediated by a British
mission of Lord Runciman who, in line with Great Britain's policy
of appeasement forced the Czechoslovak government to accept
Sudeten Germans' demands. At a meeting between Adolf Hitler and
British Prime Minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain on the 15th of
September, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovak regions with over 50
percent of German population be surrendered to Germany. Under
pressure from British and French ambassadors the Czechoslovak
government and president Benes yielded but Czechs called a general
strike on the 22nd of September and forced the government to
resign. A day later, a new government of Jan Syrovy called the
mobilisation, which in a week's time became pointless because of
the Munich agreement.
After sixty years, the Munich capitulation remains a moral
trauma of Czechoslovak history, with many historians asking
whether the then Czechoslovak Republic should have put up a fight
and whether or not it had a chance against a much stronger enemy.
Many of them doubt that Czechoslovakia could have resisted a
German attack with an unfinished system of border fortification
and worn-out aircraft.
But more importantly, by rejecting the Munich agreement,
Czechoslovakia would have been isolated in an encounter with
Germany and could have hardly rely on help from its neighbours,
because Hungary and Poland, too, had demands similar to those of
the Sudeten Germans. And the biggest threat stemming from refusing
to accept the agreement would be Germany liquidating not only the
Czechoslovak Republic but also its citizens.
Kavan in New York
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan who is fairly new to his position accompanied Czech President Vaclav Havel on his visit to the United States last week. Now, he is in New York speaking at international organizations and working on various problems that deal with Czech foreign affairs. Here is Dita Asiedu with more:
Yesterday, Jan Kavan concentrated on the subject of the United Nations. He revealed that the Czech Social Democrats value the work of this international organization but are disappointed by those countries who pose as a hinderance due to their lack of debt payment.
Using the fact that the Human Rights Declaration celebrates its 50th Anniversary, he also stressed the Social Democrats' intention of attending to such matters. When asked about his view on the subject of sanctions, Kavan believed that it's a case by case scenario where the types, terms, and lenghts of these sanctions need to be considered individually.
In the case of Cuba, however, he made it clear that he does not expect embargos to change Castro's attitude towards Human Rights. As a matter of fact, during a discussion with a representative of Helsinki Watch, the latter deeply believed that an embargo could actually strengthen the Castro Regime.
In another case in foreign affairs, it has been revealed that Petr Pribika, former Czech representative to Havana - Cuba, has not been recalled for health reasons as the Social Democrats announced but due to Castro's refusal to raise Pribika's position to Czech Ambassador. The probable reason for this is Castro's allegation of meetings between Pribika and Cuban dissidants. Czech President Vaclav Havel's speaker Vladislav Spacek noted that it is now up to the president to accept Pribika's recall, which he most likely will.
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