Havel and the Dalai Lama signed a request to support dissidents around the world
Six personalities, including former President Vaclav Havel and the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, have signed a declaration in Prague urging the international community to show support for all dissidents in the world. Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, leading Chinese dissident Yang Jianli, French philosopher Stéphane Hessel and former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also signed on the occasion of Sunday’s conference on democracy in Asia.
The Dalai Lama also stated at a press conference in Prague today that he is worried about Havel due to his health condition. He said he also offered Tibetan medicine to the former president, whom he considered a friend.
The declaration states that recently, unfortunately, the North World has not focused on the Asian economy, but only on the human rights situation – among others in China, Korea, Iran and Syria. They are also noticing developments in Burma. The authors of the call generally state that they perceive stagnation or a deterioration in the human rights situation. “The widening pragmatic silence driven by the economic interests of some rich Western countries is therefore a source of great concern to us,” the declaration said.
According to them, a more open, free China would be of paramount importance to Asia and the world. “China needs human rights, democracy and the rule of law, because these values are based on free and dynamic societies,” the document continues.
The statement mentions that the world cannot change immediately and that various conferences cannot even lead to the immediate release of prisoners of conscience. “But there are always ways and means to make it clear to the persecuted that the world has not forgotten them and cares about their condition,” he said. “For me, it is a moral human responsibility to promote human freedom, rights and all these things,” the Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters. He also appreciated that the Forum 2000 Foundation is conducting a public debate on human rights in Prague.
According to the executive director of the conference, Oldřich Černý, the joint declaration was the goal of this year’s meeting. “Especially at a time when the concept of human rights is beginning to be eroded and economic interests are beginning to be promoted instead,” Černý told a press conference.
Speaking to reporters today, the Dalai Lama said he was worried about former President Havel, a longtime friend of his. Havel suffers from protracted health problems, due to respiratory problems he stays most of the time in his cottage outside Prague. “I am very worried about him, so of course I recommended some types of Tibetan medicine to him. I just told him that I was actually a Tibetan doctor for him now, “said the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama’s appearance in front of journalists was the last point of his three-day visit to Prague.