Looking at the stars

“A man whom our nation owes for the return of sovereignty and freedom to our homeland, died. A man who lived for this country and its democratic development. We should be grateful to his approach for the fact that nobody must feel that for the return of freedom and democracy this nation paid with violence, blood sheding and revenge… I am convinced that every single member of society, no matter what his political or religious confession is, ought to pay him tribute and give thanks”. With these words the archbishop of Prague, Mons. Dominik Duka, expressed the feelings of the Bishops’ conference of Czech republic towards Vaclav Havel – symbol of the fall of the communist regime in 1989 and unstancable “peaceful warrior” for liberty – who died on Sunday, 18 December, at the age of 75 as a result of longtime health problems. Born in October 1936, Vaclav Havel became a writer and dramatist, one of the main protagonists of political changes of 1989 leading to the fall of totalitarian regime, the last president of Czechoslovakia and afterwards the first president of Czech republic. A better place. “Today, Europe mourns one of its giants”. This is the tribute of the general secretary of the Council of Europe (CoE), Thorbjorn Jagland. “Without people like Vaclav Havel, nowadays Europe would be a different place”, Jagland comments: “A writer, a dissident and a statesman, Vaclav had always been faithful to the values of a free, tolerant society. Not only did he believe in such principles, but he also fought for such principles to come true”. The president of the Parliamentary Assembly at the CoE, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, also pays tribute to the “leader of the velvet revolution” and recalls the speech he gave to the Assembly on 10th May 1990, in which, he states, “Vaclav Havel gave us the key to a new European house, saying: ‘If we do not dream of a better Europe, we will never build a better Europe”. “The values we embody – Cavusoglu warns – might be just words on paper, unless we have vision, unless we have a dream about them”. About Havel, the president of PACE also recalls the comment he made on the flag with the twelve stars on a blue ground that was adopted in 1955 as the symbol of the CoE (in 1986, it became the flag of the European Community, now the EU, editor’s note): “These twelve stars” remind us that “the world might be a better place if sometimes we were brave enough as to look at the stars”.Example of respect for spiritual values. Funeral mass for the deceased Vaclav Havel will take place on Friday, 23 December at noon. Eucharistic celebration will be presided by the president of the Bishops’conference of Czech republic, Dominik Duka. For the archbishop of Prague the event will be not only a matter of honour but also an expression of deep friendship that started decades ago in a prison where they both were convicts. Mons. Duka recalls the last words of Havel when they worked together on the program for Czech National TV in November 2011: “I don’t feel very well but we know that He exists”. Czech republic will pay tribute to the deceased with 3-day national mourning and neither Slovakia has forgotten its first democratic president after the fall of the communist regime. Whole nation will mourn this loss on Friday this week. President of the Bishops’ conference of Slovakia, Mons. Stanislav Zvolensky, sent the telegram of condolence to his wife Dagmar Havlova, saying that the Slovaks perceive the life of Vaclav Havel as a gift: “He essentially influenced renewal and development of democracy and protection of human rights in our countries and he remains an example of respect for spiritual values for us”.Recognized moral authority. Funeral of Vaclav Havel will witness the presence of many representatives of political, social and religious life not only from Czech republic but also from abroad. All of them recall his personal qualities, political and diplomatic skills. “We envied the Czechs to have had such president”, says renowned polish historian Adam Michnik, adding that from his essays and life we shall learn for a long time. “He belonged to the bravest spokesmen of truth, even during the times when most of the Czechs and the Slovaks had resigned and accepted life in totalitarian lies or double morale ruling in the satelites of the soviet empire”, said the premier of Slovakia, Iveta Radicova. According to the sociologist Miroslav Kusy, Havel “behaved towards people with consideration, even if he disagreed with them. He was the one who listened and tried to lead the discussion to reasonable results”. “Along with you we grieve over the loss of this great European. His devotion to freedom and democracy was as remarkable as his exceptional humanity”, expressed her sympathy the German chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by the declaration of the premier of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Havel was a courageous voice agains totalitarianism and inspiration for the warriors for freedom all over the world”. Unique politician. Life and merits of Vaclav Havel have found their place also on the pages of all the newspapers of his native country. “Some people see him as hopeless idealist, others as famous artist. But everyone who has ever heard of a small country in the heart of Europe would most probably see him as a symbol of fight against dictatorship”, writes the most popular daily paper Mlada Fronta DNES. Lidove noviny affirm that Havel was “a unique politician because, in principle, he was no politician at all”, meaning it as a compliment because his role in the society exceeded any official status. The fact is that due to his unyielding political stance through the years of communist totality, Vaclav Havel became a recognized moral authority. The depth of his perception of the problems of civilization and his contemplation of their formulation enabled him to become very well respected and outstanding amongst politicians.