[PEN-L:6217] Re: Vaclav Havel on NATO's attack

["Ricardo Duchesne" <RDUCHESN@xxxxxxxx>]

> Date sent:      Fri, 30 Apr 1999 00:25:28 +0200
> Send reply to:  konbor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> From:           "Konstantin Borodinsky" <konbor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To:             WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK <wsn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject:        citation
> Originally to:  "WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK" <wsn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> This might be curious in contents.
> And more so, who says this.
> *****
>
> OTTAWA, April 29 (AFP) - Czech President Vaclav Havel said here Thursday
> that human rights supersede the rights of states and justify NATO's attack
> on the "genocidal regime" of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
> In a wide-ranging address to a joint meeting of Canada's two houses of
> parliament, Havel said events of the past century were "gradually bringing
> the human race to the realization that the human being is more important
> than the state."
>
> Speaking in English, Havel said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had
> no option but to take on the "genocidal regime of Slobodan Milosevic" and
> that the air campaign against Yugoslavia was "in the interest of principles
> and certain values."
>
> NATO is "fighting for humanity," Havel said, adding that though the
> 19-nation alliance did not have a formal UN mandate for its action, it "has
> acted out of respect for the law which recognizes humanity rather than the
> state."
>
> Havel criticized Russia for its position on Kosovo, urging it to regard NATO
> as a partner rather than an adversary.
>
> He also noted that the recent enlargement of NATO to embrace his country,
> Hungary and Poland had been "far from easy" because of "the opposition on
> the part of the Russian Federation."
>
> Havel maintained that the world was moving away from the nation-state
> concept to regional and global responsibility and this, in turn, meant major
> reforms were necessary, especially within the United Nations.
>
> "The Security Council can no longer maintain the power of the conditions of
> when it was formed," he said.
>
> Among the reforms he suggested was a review of the veto power of each of the
> five permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France,
> Russia and the United States.
>
> He also called on the United Nations to be "less bureaucratic and more
> effective," saying it must be identifiable by people around the world as
> their representative body rather than a collection of state governments.
>
> Havel is half-way through a state visit to Canada, his first as president of
> the Czech Republic. He made a state visit nine years ago as president of
> Czechoslovakia.
>
> ********
>
> I personally find these ideas refreshing and promising. A new dimension for
> the concept of globalization and a solid foundation for the coming
> millenium, which will not last long, I guess, with such ideology.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Konstantin Borodinsky
>
>
>