ambassador speeches

Remarks at the Opening Session of the Conference on "The Helsinki Process and the Demise of Communism"

June 5, 2005

Thank you Dr. Prečan. It is an honor to be asked to participate in the opening of this important conference, and to be able to be able to follow former President Havel at the podium.  I was glad to have a chance to hear about your recent stay at the Library of Congress, but also glad to welcome you and Dagmar back home to Prague.  And let me add that it is a pleasure to be here in this beautiful church that the two of you and your foundation have so successfully transformed into this “Prague Crossroads.”
 
It’s tough to be asked to occupy the stage between a great statesman like Vaclav Havel and a distinguished academic like Timothy Garton Ash.  But let me take just a few moments to offer an American perspective on the importance of the Helsinki Process.
 
Today we realize that the agreement thirty years ago on the Helsinki Final Act was a watershed.  It created a climate in which the champions of human rights and freedom could make their case.  This had a profound impact in the United States, and not just in our relations with Europe.  The U.S. Congress established a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which to this day fulfils its mandate of monitoring signatories’ compliance with the articles of the Helsinki Final Act.  Human rights became a leading element of U.S. foreign policy, a position it occupies to this day.  American media and the non-governmental sector  had a framework with which to independently assess developments on this side of the Iron Curtain. 
 
More important, of course, were the efforts undertaken in Czechoslovakia and other countries by citizens themselves, with the work of Charter 77 probably the most prominent.  I have no doubt that this conference will conclude that the landmark Helsinki principles to which 35 European and North American countries subscribed in 1975 were a critical catalyst for change.  That civic groups throughout the Soviet bloc relied on the Helsinki principles to make their case for freedom and respect for human rights.  And that this made a significant contribution to the revolutions in 1989. 
 
As you consider this question over the coming days, keep in mind that the Helsinki Process didn’t end with the demise of communism in Europe.  Long after the end of the Cold War, the Helsinki principles and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that exists to carry out the work of the Helsinki Conference continue their vital work. The principles are no less important to the 21st century’s struggles for freedom in places like Cuba, Belarus and Iraq. 
 
The OSCE is where North America and Europe come together to fight for human rights and against anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and bigotry of all kinds.  The OSCE's landmark work in fighting intolerance has become the standard by which other organizations' efforts are measured. 
 
We need only look at the critical work of the OSCE in elections monitoring over the past year.  In Ukraine the OSCE observers were essential to the successful Orange Revolution.  We see the legacy of decades of election monitoring based on the Helsinki principles supporting the march of democracy and freedom in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and many other countries.  And let me point out that the as a sign of United States commitment to these principles we welcomed OSCE observers during our own elections last November.
 
The OSCE continues the work embodied in the Helsinki principles in so many areas that are important to the United States and Europe today.  Combating international terrorism, promoting media freedom, confronting trafficking in persons.  And while Central Europe today is no longer on the main battleground in the struggle for freedom, let us not forget that there is still work to be done, as the Roma and other minority groups continue to strive for the respect for human rights guaranteed in Principle VII of the Final Act.  Freedom and democracy require constant effort, from one generation to the next, in all our countries.
 
The work being done by researchers here today, by the Czechoslovak Documentation Center and the many other organizations involved in this conference, is vitally important to today’s struggle for freedom.  Dissidents and civic groups in Cuba, Belarus and elsewhere look to the Czech Republic and your neighbors for inspiration and guidance.  The lessons learned from the demise of communism will inform the struggles for freedom in the 21st century. 
 
Good luck with your conference and with your continuing efforts to celebrate the legacy of Helsinki Principles.