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Leaders sidestep letter on Iraq war

Foreign minister says Havel does not reflect official Czech position

By Kevin Livingston
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
(February 5, 2003)


Government leaders are distancing themselves from a letter signed by former President Vaclav Havel that pledged full support for U.S. pressure on Iraq.

Havel, along with eight other European leaders, called on all European countries Jan. 30 to unequivocally back the position of the United States, which has repeatedly said it will use military force to oust Saddam Hussein from power, with or without a new UN Security Council resolution.

The letter, which was published in several newspapers across Europe and in America, is viewed by many as a symbol of the growing division in Europe regarding Iraq. Havel's signing of the letter just three days before leaving office also reflects the government's own balancing act over the crisis.

Critics accuse Havel, the only president to sign the pledge, of not acting in the nation's interest.

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla was asked to sign the letter but refused, saying Parliament had already spoken when it passed a Jan. 17 resolution to use troops if the UN backed war or if Iraq uses weapons of mass destruction. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said Havel's decision was personal and did not reflect the official foreign policy of the Czech Republic. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra gave Havel the letter to sign without Svoboda's knowledge, according to a Feb. 1 report in the daily newspaper Pravo.

The letter, which warned European nations against damaging the trans-Atlantic relationship with the United States, is seen as an attack on the German and French anti-war positions. It also demonstrates a shift in U.S.-European relations and the increasing disregard by the United States for what U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently called "Old Europe," a reference to Germany and France. Washington has successfully sought support for a war among former Eastern bloc nations.

Among those who signed the letter were the leaders of Poland and Hungary. Slovakia's Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda later joined the group. The prime ministers of Britain, Spain, Denmark, Italy and Portugal also signed the letter.

Havel said he signed the document because he agreed with its content and because, he said, it did not contradict the official position of the government.

-- With wire reports.

Kevin Livingston's e-mail address is klivingston@praguepost.com




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