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A Plea for Justice

   The following is a letter sent from Ross Hedvicek, explaining the true state of human rights in the Czech Republic.  It is addressed to executives of the Central and East European Law Initiative at the American Bar Association.  For those who do not understand what KGB defector Golitsyn meant when he wrote of the false collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, this missive explains the most basic facts.  Americans should not be fooled by superficial reports.  Communism in the former Warsaw Pact countries remains entrenched behind a series of false fronts.  The persecution of dissidents continues. The foreign language text of the letter can be read below (Cesky preklad vyseuvedeneho textu).  -- JRN

 

To: Mr. David Tolbert
executive director of the CEELI

To: Mr. Homer E. Moyer
chairman of the CEELI executive board

To: Mr. Al Manning, CEELI media contact

CEELI (Central and East European Law Initiative)
American Bar Association
740 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005-1019

Gentlemen:

It was brought to my attention that the American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative on August 4, 2001 presented the Czech president, Vaclav Havel, with the 2001 CEELI Award for his alleged "significant steps to implement democratic reforms" .

I believe that giving president Havel any award for implementing democratic reforms is nothing but an unfortunate misunderstanding of the facts from his country.

Please give me a few minutes to present you with a different view of this alleged herald of democracy and consider some other information that is probably brand new to you.

President Havel was brought into his position, in then-Czechoslovakia, under unclear circumstances during the last days of 1989 (a few weeks after the so-called Velvet Revolution). He was never elected as president, but was nominated to his presidential position by people he supposedly helped to overthrow and was confirmed in his chair by the Czechoslovakian parliament (consisting ,again, exclusively of communists -- and not a single
democratically elected deputy) who themselves, after confirming Havel, were summarily dismissed from their posts with fat pensions.

As you may recall, Czechoslovakia before 1990 was a communist dictatorship on par with North Korea or Nazi Germany, having nothing to do with democracy. However, after Vaclav Havel was so conveniently brought to the presidential chair by the communist themselves, none of the countless crimes committed by the communists during the previous years were investigated, prosecuted or punished. President Vaclav Havel, not surprisingly, has seen to it. He can be held solely responsible for the fact that none of the previous communist ruler's crimes, including close to 300 political murders and tens of thousands who died in communist prisons, were ever punished. He became a guarantor to past tyrants, that they never will be held responsible for their murders and crimes against humanity, and he was instrumental in installing former communists back into government positions. Havel's former crony, then Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus (now chairman of Czech parliament), took care of keeping former communists in positions of power in the economic sphere. All this under the watchful
Havel's "democratic eye."

In the first few years of his presidency, Vaclav Havel distinguished himself by a rampant abuse of his presidential privilege by using clemency (or "presidential pardons").  In comparison with his, even Clinton's pardons look absolutely justified and as straight as an arrow. He customarily pardoned convicted murderers if they were children of his friends or celebrity sports figures. On several occasions he issued a "pardon" so quickly that the person was not yet charged with a crime and already was pardoned (in this specific case he pardoned people who physically attacked his political opponents).

During the re-election (in the Czech republic the president is elected by a vote in a parliament, not by popular vote) it was clear that he would be one one short, so Havel, or his cronies, arrested one opposing parliamentarian and held him in prison until the voting was over. Havel won the presidency by one vote.  Of course, Havel lacks any regard or respect for democratic traditions or principles, but CEELI does not know about that. In fact,  David Tolbert, the executive director of CEELI is quoted in a press release as saying, "I can think of
no better individual for the CEELI Rule of Law Award".  

Please!!!!

Havel's presidential style is closer to the style of Ferdinand Marcos or Manuel Noriega than to any truly democratic president (including, but not limited to, his flashy trophy wife and jet-setting life style, offensive to millions of his not-so-affluent citizens). He is fully responsible for keeping a level of democracy in Czechoslovakia and subsequently in the Czech Republic at an unnaturally low level.

I could continue describing various examples of anything, but not "Rule Of Law" in Havel's Czech Republic.  In order to be brief let me mention just one very fresh example -- the case of Vladimir Hucin, currently imprisoned in Prague. Vladimir Hucin was an anti-communist dissident before the Velvet Revolution, serving several years in a communist prison. After 1990 he was nominated by the Czech Federation of Political Prisoners to work in the BIS agency (a Czech equivalent of FBI). He was working there for 9 years. Some time ago Mr. Hucin discovered some clandestine operations being prepared by former communists, with relations to former communists in the current  Czech government and the people under Havel's "protective hand".

So Mr. Hucin was immediately arrested and has been held in prison for more than a half of a year without being charged, tried or sentenced!  The newest development is that Havel's government plans to put him "under psychiatric care," which was known to be misused by the dictators of Eastern Europe for decades. Their plan is to "treat him" (which most probably means to drug him senseless and incapacitate him indefinitely). Does this look like "democratic" Vaclav Havel or "Rule Of Law" to you?

Vaclav Havel was asked several times to get involved in Hucin's case, but he refused with reasoning that it was not "fully investigated yet" (investigation is not continuing but Hucin is still held behind bars). This is the same Vaclav Havel who in the past granted pardons to people who were not even charged yet; the same Vaclav Havel who does not mind that the
sadist/torturer communist Grebenicek is refusing to even show up at court because "he is old and it would upset him" and the son of the prominent Zelezny is refusing to start 5-years prison term for a rape (the poor rapist is "ill").  This all is just fine with Vaclav Havel, allegedly "one of the leading and moral voices in the world" (according to the CEELI press
release).

I believe and suggest that you should look into the matters I outlined much deeper.  If for no other reason than just for the need to avoid any such future potential embarrassment to your esteemed association by aligning yourselves with unsavory personalities such as Czech President Vaclav Havel. I would like to stress that while the Clinton administration had a very forgiving attitude toward Vaclav Havel and his less than perfect tenure as a Czechoslovak/Czech president, the latest events are suggesting that the Bush administration, and especially Secretary of State Colin Powell's State Department, is taking a much harder look at the very high proliferation of former communists in the Czech government along with the frequent and blatant violations of human rights in Czech Republic (latest being the case of Mr. Hucin and the exodus of Romani minorities to UK and Canada) to which Vaclav
Havel turns a blind eye.

I am assuming that once bestowed the award cannot be retracted.  So the damage was already done. So in such a case I am appealing to you to use your connections for investigating the poor human rights record of the Czech Republic and, unfortunately, it's unjustly awarded leader, Vaclav Havel.

I will be sending a copy of this letter to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) of the U.S. Congress and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. Congress with the same recommendation so they use their resources and influence to look into human rights violations and the lack of justice and democracy in the Czech Republic under the presidency of Vaclav Havel.

Havel deserves no award whatsoever! Let's make sure that east European kingpins like Vaclav Havel are not awarded, even by mistake, and that democracy and human rights in the Czech
Republic are the rule, not the exception.

Thank you.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Ross Hedvicek

(Cesky preklad vyseuvedeneho textu:)

Panove:

Byl jsem upozornen, ze American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative udelila 4. srpna 2001 ceskemu presidentu Vaclavu Havlovi vyrocni cenu CEELI za rok 2001 za jeho udajne "vyznamne kroky k uskutecneni demokratickych reforem".

Domnivam se, udeleni jakekoliv ceny Vaclavu Havlovi za uskutecneni demokratickych reforem neni nicim jinym nez nestastnym nepochopenim skutecnosti z jeho zeme.

Prosim o nekolik minut, abych vam mohl predlozit odlisny pohled na tohoto udajneho posla demokracie a zvazte pro vas mozna zcela nove informace.

President Vaclav Havel byl priveden do sve pozice v tehdejsim Ceskoslovensku za nejasnych okolnosti behem poslednich dnu roku 1989 (nekolik tydnu po takzvane Sametove revoluci). Do funkce presidenta nebyl nikdy zvolen, ale byl do teto funkce jmenovan lidmi, ktere udajne pomahal svrhnout a v teto funkci byl potvrzen ceskoslovenskym parlamentem (skladajicim se vyhradne z komunistu - ani jeden demokraticky zvoleny poslanec), jehoz poslanci, pote co potvrdili Havla, byli ze svych pozic propusteni s dobrymi duchody.

Pokud si vzpominate, Ceskoslovensko pred rokem 1990 byla komunisticka diktatura na urovni Severni Koreje nebo nacistickeho Nemecka, nemajici nic spolecneho s demokracii. Ovsem po te, co Vaclav Havel byl tak vhodne dosazen za presidenta komunisty samymi, zadny z nescetnych zlocinu spachanymi komunisty behem predchozich let nebyl vysetrovan, zalovan ci potrestan. President Vaclav Havel, coz neni zadne prekvapeni, na to uz dohledl. Havel muze byt cinen vyhradne zodpovednym za skutecnost, ze zadny ze zlocinu predchazejicich komunistickych vladcu, vcetne temer 300 politickych vrazd a desetitisicu mrtvych, kteri zemreli v komunistickych vezenich, nebyl nikdy potrestan. Stal se rucitelem tyranum minulosti, ze nikdy nebudou hnani k zodpovednosti za jejich vrazdy a zlociny proti lidskosti a byl hlavni pricinou navratu byvalych komunistu zpatky do vladnich pozic. Havluv byvaly kumpan, tehdy predseda vlady Vaclav Klaus (dnes predseda ceskeho parlamentu) se zase postaral o udrzeni byvalych komunistu v pozicich moci v ekonomicke sfere. A to vsechno pod Havlovym dohledem, "aby to bylo demokraticke".

V prvnich letech sveho presidentstvi se Vaclav Havel vyznamenal bezohlednym zneuzivanim sveho presidentskeho privilegia - udelovani milosti, ze ve srovnani s nimi i Clintonovy pardony vypadaly opravnene a prime. Zcela bezne daval milost usvedcenym vrahum, pokud to tedy byly deti jeho pratel nebo znami sportovci. V nekolika pripadech udelil milost tak rychle, ze osoba, ktera dostala milost, jeste ani nebyla oficialne z niceho obvinena (v tomto jmenovitem pripade udelil milost lidem, kteri fyzicky napadli Havlova politickeho oponenta). Behem kampane za znovu-zvoleni presidenta (v Ceske republice je president zvolen volbou v parlamentu, ne primou volbou) bylo jasne, ze by Havlovi mohl jeden hlas chybet ke zvoleni a tak Havel (ci jeho prisluhovaci) nechali zavrit jednoho opozicniho poslance a drzeli ho
ve vezeni, dokud volba presidenta neprobehla. Havel vyhral sve presidentstvi rozdilem jednoho hlasu - zajiste... Havel nema zadne demokraticke zasady ci uznani pro demokraticke tradice ci principy - ale CEELI se zda o tom nevi. David Tolbert, vykonny reditel CEELI je dokonce citovan v prohlaseni pro tisk "Na cenu CEELI Vlada zakona si nemohu si predstavit nikoho lepsiho!". Prosim vas!!!!

Havluv presidentsky styl je blizsi stylu Ferdinanda Marcose nebo Manuela Noriegy nez jakemukoliv jinemu demokratickemu presidentovi (vcetne, mezi jinymi, jeho provokativni mlade manzelky a vysokeho zivotniho stylu urazejiciho miliony jeho neprilis zamoznych spoluobcanu). Havel je plne zodpovedny za udrzovani demokracie v Ceskoslovensku a pozdeji Ceske republice na neprirozene nizke urovni.

Mohl bych pokracovat v popisovani nejruznejsich prikladu vseho mozneho, jen ne "Vlady zakona" v Havlove Ceske republice, ale v zajmu strucnosti mi dovolte se zminit jen o jednom cerstvem prikladu - pripadu Vladimira Hucina, v soucasne dobe uvezneneho v Praze. Vladimir Hucin byl pred Sametovou revoluci antikomunisticky disident a ztravil nekolik let v komunistickych vezenich. Po roce 1990 byl Ceskou federaci politickych veznu navrzen pro praci v BIS. Pracoval tam 9 let. Pred nejakym casem objevil Hucin pri sve praci nejake tajne operace, pripravovane byvalymi komunisty se vztahem k byvalym komunistum v soucasne ceske vlade a lidem pod Havlovou "ochrannou rukou"

Takze pan Hucin byl okamzite zatcen a je drzen ve vezeni po vice nez pul roku bez toho, ze by byl z neceho obvinen, souzen, ci odsouzen! Nejnovejsi vyvoj situace je, ze Havlova vlada planuje ho dat na "psychiatricke vysetreni", kteryzto postup byl casto zneuzivan vychodoevropskymi diktatoty v minulych desetiletich, a "lecit ho" (coz pravdepodobne znamena zdrogovat ho do bezvedomi a tak ho zlikvidovat). Pripada vam to jako "demokraticky" Vaclav Havel nebo jako "Vlada zakona"?

Vaclav Havel byl opakovane zadan o zasah v Hucinove pripadu, ale vzdy odmitl se zduvodnenim, ze pripad "dosud nebyl vysetren" (a vysetrovani nepokracuje, ale Hucin porad sedi za mrizemi). A to je ten stejny Vaclav Havel, kteremu nevadi, ze sadisticky vysetrovatel komunista Grebenicek odmita prijit k soudu "protoze je stary a mohlo by ho to rozrusit" a syn
prominenta Zelezneho odmita nastoupit pet let vezeni za znasilneni (chudak nasilnik je "nemocny"). A to vsechno je uplne v poradku pro Vaclava Havla, coz je udajne "jeden z vedoucich moralnich hlasu na svete" (dle CEELI prohlaseni pro tisk).

Domnivam se a navrhuji, abyste se zalezitostmi, ktere jsem jen povrchne popsal, zabyvali hloubeji. Kdyz uz ne pro zadny jiny duvod, tak uz jen proto, abyste se priste vyvarovali mozne ostudy pro vasi asociaci tim, ze se budete nejak davat dohromady s pochybnymi osobnostmi jako je cesky president Vaclav Havel. Rad bych zduraznil, ze zatimco Clintonova administrativa mela velmi odpoustejici pristup k Vaclavu Havlovi a jeho ponekud horsi sluzbe jako Ceskoslovensky/Cesky president, nejnovejsi udalosti naznacuji, ze Bushova administrativa a obzvlaste ministerstvo zahranici Colina Powella se diva mnohem prisneji na vysoky vyskyt byvalych komunistu v ceske vlade a hruba porusovani lidskych prav v Ceske republice (zminme se alespon o pripadu Hucin a exodu ceskych Cikanu do Anglie a Canady), ktera Vaclav Havel predstira, ze nevidi.

Predpokladam, ze jednou udelena, cena nemuze byt zase odebrana. Skoda byla ucinena. Takze nemohu nez vas vyzvat k uziti svych styku k vysetreni spatneho stavu lidskych prav v Ceske republice a bohuzel, tak nespravne oceneneho Vaclava Havla.

Kopii tohoto dopisu budu posilat na Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) of the U.S. Congress a do House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. Congress s tim stejnym doporucenim, aby uzili jejich zdroju a vlivu k vysetreni porusovani lidskych prav v Ceske republice pod presidentstvim Vaclava Havla. Havel nezaslouzi zadnou cenu! Je treba zajistit, aby vychodoevropsti potentati jako Vaclav Havel nebyli odmenovani ani omylem a aby demokracie a lidska prava v Ceske republice byla pravidlem, ne vyjimkou!

Dekuji vam a tesim se na vasi odpoved.

Ross Hedvicek