[PEN-L:6233] Re: Re: Vaclav Havel on NATO's attack

[Ken Hanly <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Interesting that Havel claims that the world is moving away from the naton-state
concept while
he is president of a newly minted Czech state that resulted from the division of a
larger nation state. How does this brilliant observation fit in with the division
of Yugoslavia into umpteen nation states and a resurgence of movements to form
separate states all over the world?
    Of course what he is doing is apologetics for  a globalisation that makes him
irrelevant except as a literary mouthpiece for capitalist interests who can be
awarded symbolic tokens of gratitude for leading part of Eastern Europe away from
the Evils of Communism.
    Cheers, Ken Hanly
P.S. Are there any recent surveys of public opinion in East European countries
that measure
satisfaction with present regimes as contrasted with earlier communist regimes
and/or the same in Russia and independent republics of the former USSR?

Ricardo Duchesne wrote:

> > 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
> >
> >
> >