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Notes for the Independence Day Speech 2003

English Pages, 3. 7. 2003

Mr. Ambassador, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I feel very honored to be asked by Ambassador Stapleton to say a few words here on this special occasion. To say a few words not only on behalf of those Czechs who can be here today but also of those who are not or cannot be here with us.

Mr. Ambassador, we are delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the 227th Independence Day of the United States of America together with you, together with our American friends.

227 is, however, not the only relevant number. Looking at it from our perspective, this is already the 14th Independence Day we celebrate in a free country, in the free Czech Republic. I truly hope that the Czech people will never forget their past, that they will always be able to appreciate the meaning of the words free and freedom, and that they will always recognize who helped them to live in freedom again.

Two weeks ago I was in the United States. In the speech I presented there, I stated that we know t hat the end of communism in our country was made possible neither by détente nor by those who advocated peaceful coexistence between NATO and the Warsaw Pact but thanks to the strong stances of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Mr. Ambassador, I can assure you that we are aware of it.

In 1989, after the fall of communism, we hoped to start living not only in a free and open but also peaceful world. The tragedy of September 11 showed us that we are not at the end of history, that we are not at the end of enormous human tragedies, that we are not at the end of multiple threats to our freedom and the freedom of our friends and our allies. We understood it, we accepted it and as a result of it we were and are willing to support and to help fighting terrorism in the Balkan, in Afghanistan, and recently in Iraq. We will continue doing it.

We went through important changes here, in Europe as well. After signing the Accession Treaty and after our recent referendum, we are much closer to the gates of EU. Nevertheless, Mr. Ambassador, the Czech Republic will not forget the importance of the transatlantic cooperation and will not let anyone to weaken our friendship with your great country.

I wish American people a lot of success, prosperity and peace. Thank you for inviting us to share this special day with you.

Václav Klaus, U.S. Embassy, Prague, July 3, 2003