Czech minister counsels dissidents for pragmatism

Politics

Czech minister counsels dissidents for pragmatism

Vaclav Havel

Petr Kolar

Pragmatism, the art of treating things in a practical and realistic way, is the solution to Burma’s problems, the Czech Republic’s youthful Deputy Foreign Minister Petr Kolar urged Burma’s exiled activists yesterday during an informal dinner in Chiangmai.

“During the interim period that followed the Velvet Revolution (that overthrew the Communist Government in 1989), one from the old establishment became a prime minister and another defense minister", he recalled.

He was speaking to an ad hoc group of Burma's exiles that included Teddy Buri, President of Members of Parliament Union; Maung Maung, General Secretary of the National Council of Burma; and Aung Naing Oo, former student activist and researcher for US-based Burma Fund, among others.

To which Aung Naing Oo replied Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest in Rangoon, is ready to deal with Burma's military rulers for a give-and-take settlement, according to his most recent information.

The dinner lasted 19:00-21:30.

The dissidents have plenty of reasons to care about the Czech Republic, according to a report:

• It went through an experience of authoritarian rule with some similarities to Burma

• Former opposition leader and president Vaclav Havel is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a big supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi

• The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004 and a strong advocate of Burma’s pro-democracy movement

Jiri Sitler, the Czech ambassador, had also advised the activists the importance of having a transition plan. “The general public will stop praising the long-term activists and will want to know who has a plan for the country", he was quoted as saying.

The Czech Republic was, from 1918-1993, part of Czechoslovakia, the other part being Slovakia. The two parted as friends on New Year’s Day in 1993.

Apology

Vaclav Havel is not named in the list of Nobel Prize Laureates http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/peace.html. S.H.A.N.'s sincere apology for the mistake. It is also a great disappointment to know he is being overlooked by the Nobel Prize board.