Support for dissidents is a moral obligation; this was a mutual conclusion of the guests at the For Your Freedom and Ours conference
Published: Nov 14, 2014 Reading time: 3 minutes
In the conference FOR YOUR AND OUR FREEDOM: A QUARTER-CENTURY SUPPORT TO DISSIDENTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, organized by People in Need on the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, human rights defenders arrived from Cuba, Russia, China, Bahrain and Belarus. The famous Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka also sent personal messages.
"The Velvet Revolution is an inspiration to people all around the world. It was a breakthrough in modern history. “I'm sure, the Czech Republic will continue in an important role in assertion of democracy all around the world”, known Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyishe said in the introduction of her video messages. Her close colleague Min Ko Naing, who has spent over 20 years in Burmese prisons for criticizing the regime agreed also. He talked about how important it is for dissidents like him, to recieve moral support and assistance from abroad: "The only thing that kept me alive during the past 20 years spent in prison was support from the outside world." This was confirmed by other guests of the conference such as lawyer and defender of human rights in Cuba, René Gómez Manzano, activist Zmitser Dashkevich Belarus and dissident Azerbaijani Emin Milli, who remembered how a letter from Vaclav Havel to the prison was a huge boost of moral support for them.
Conference participants agreed that it is important to continue of legacy of the Velvet Revolution and to show solidarity with dissidents in other countries, where the totalitarian regime reigns, and to help them in their struggle for freedom. With that identified the Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, who in his opening word said: "While we must primarily ensure respect for human rights in our own country, we should not be indifferent how to comply elsewhere in the world. This also applies in countries with which we develop political and economic relations, and they have serious problems with compliance for fundamental human rights. I want to assure you that the defense of human rights remains an important commitment domestic and foreign policy of the current Czech government. "
Director of People in Need Simon Panek followed with this: "25 years ago we knew that our foreign policy should be directed to return beteween democratic countries. We did it. We became members of NATO and the EU. However, it is also important what bring states to others, not just only what they want to obtain. In this sense, the politics of supporting human rights activists and dissidents in the world in my opinion is the most important thing we have offered to the world after the return to democratic community. "
The discussion touched the current situation in Ukraine too, which guests generally perceived as the front line in the fight for democratic values and fundamental rights. Conflict is essential not only for post-Soviet region, but also for countries in Central and Western Europe. Critically guests commented in this regard especially to the expansionist policy of Russia. Kenan Aliyev, director of the Azerbaijani Service of Radio Free Europe, then pointed to the example of his country, as dictators know how to trade on the concept of democracy. "In Azerbaijan, elections are held, the country is a member of the Council of Europe, and yet there are a hundred political prisoners, independent justice system does not work and there is no freedom," he said.
Participants of the conference symbolically will burn candles at the monument November 17, 1989 on Národní třídda today at 18:30. They express support to the idea of the Velvet Revolution so.
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Contact: Tereza Hronová, + 420 731 129 553, tereza.hronova@clovekvtisni.cz