Czechoslovakia was founded 98 years ago, on Oct 28th, 1918, on the ruins of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy. President Zeman had a celebration at the Prague Castle where he named novel generals etc.
Because the Prague Café was offended when he decided non to laurels a Canadian Czech Holocaust survivor George Brady (whom I direct keep never heard of) because his nephew, government minister Herman, met Dalai Lama (while Zeman wants to run along friendly relationships amongst China) – a even that is insanely overreported given its absolute insignificance (which doesn't hateful that I would behaviour inwards the same agency as Zeman) – the Prague Café organized a "competing" lawsuit at the Old Town Square.
Ex-president Klaus attended an lawsuit at the National Memorial at the Vítkov Hill (see the photograph above), a identify that the heretical Hussites defended inwards the famous 1420 battle against the much stronger crusaders. The neighborhood beneath the loma was named Žižkov later Mr January Žižka, the Hussite "general" who led the 1420 victory.
Here is a translation of Klaus' vocalization communication – which is apparently in addition to past times far the best vocalization communication that was offered to the Czech audiences on the today's anniversary. The Czech original in addition to a video are available.
My initiatory off post-presidential Oct 28th speech
Dear distinguished guests, Ladies, in addition to Gentlemen, TV viewers,
I am thankful to the Czech Association of Freedom Warriors [formerly Anti-Fascist Warriors] in addition to its chairman Mr Jaroslav Vodička [Littlewater] for the invitation to your regular annual gathering. I haven't enjoyed the chance to give a vocalization communication on this hateful solar daytime for iv years in addition to I must acknowledge that I was missing it. (I was carefully listening to the prissy talks past times the 2 previous speakers in addition to allow me add together to a greater extent than or less thoughts, too.) The 28th of Oct should – despite its existence belittled past times an artificially created unsafe in addition to risky political conflict of recent days – stay an extraordinary chance to verbalize most our homeland in addition to to think most her importance inwards our lives in addition to most our pride that nosotros belong to it.
The national vacation of Oct 28th isn't existence celebrated because nosotros direct keep gotten used to – because of to a greater extent than or less random coincidences – the laurels ceremony involving the country' most precious medals at the Prague Castle, fifty-fifty though this ritual is a business office of the holiday, too. And this ritual shouldn't survive disparaged. Instead, this vacation is primarily the hateful solar daytime when nosotros commemorate the minute when the independent Czech statehood was reborn. It is the hateful solar daytime when nosotros humbly in addition to thankfully render to the events in addition to personalities who are connected amongst the efforts to find our statehood in addition to national sovereignty. It is also increasingly a hateful solar daytime when nosotros are meditating, somewhat anxiously, most the important in addition to utilization of our province inside the electrical flow atmosphere of the contemporary Europe that isn't friendly or supportive of historical territories in addition to nation states inwards them.
During the final quarter-century, nosotros began to acquire used to the meme that the retentiveness most the struggle for sovereignty in addition to liberty of our province has been reduced to a mere glimpse to our history, a topic that is silent emotionally potent for the older generations but no longer relevant for the younger ones. We were piece of cake in addition to gradually reconciled amongst the sentiment that the restoration of liberty in addition to republic that took identify later the autumn of communism in addition to the subsequent Czech entry to the NATO in addition to the European Union direct keep solved in addition to permanently guaranteed everything that our parents in addition to grandparents inwards the 20th century tried to hit in addition to they were bringing their sacrifices to – sometimes the ultimate sacrifices.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bulk of the citizens wants to believe (and maybe has already bought into the belief) that the existential crises in addition to the threats for the nation direct keep run a affair of the past times in addition to that we're standing at the start of a direct route towards a stable, safe, in addition to prosperous future. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 non in addition to hence little business office of our world has embraced the illusion of the unstoppable social progress, the ever increasing prosperity, in addition to the safety of the province in addition to its citizens that is guaranteed inwards the long run. Illusions of this sort are absolutely flawed.
Exactly today when nosotros retrieve the anniversary of the nascency of our republic which was born out of the ruins, massacres, in addition to decay of the First World War, in addition to when nosotros praise the historical contributions that Prof Thomas Garrigue Masaryk in addition to Dr Edvard Beneš gave to our statehood, nosotros should enjoin rattling assertively that fifty-fifty these days, nosotros direct keep reasons to survive worried most our statehood in addition to the well-being of its citizens in addition to nosotros must silent survive ready to protect in addition to defend them. Those of us inwards this hall know most this duty. Especially a couplet of recent years direct keep convinced us that Europe – including us – is ane time once to a greater extent than standing on a unsafe crossroad in addition to that newly coming threats must survive confronted in addition to nosotros must survive prepared for them. I know that the members of your association know most it in addition to they are oft reminding themselves most it on diverse occasions. That's why I direct keep e'er had a slap-up honor for them.
Masaryk in addition to Beneš gave us examples of the courage to rely primarily on our ain strengths, to halt existence a province controlled from abroad, in addition to to start to principle ourselves. We direct keep already forgotten most many of these things. Many people direct keep bought into the massive propaganda that the cure for all the national worries is our membership inwards the European Union. They direct keep been persuaded that the Western European countries are wealthy in addition to democratic because of their European Union membership fifty-fifty though they were wealthy in addition to democratic long earlier the European Union was created. For a couplet of years, it's been rather clear that, on the opposite – despite their European Union membership – these countries direct keep been dropping inwards the international competitiveness in addition to they were getting poorer inwards the relative sense. Some of them are getting poorer fifty-fifty inwards the absolute sense.
Once again, it's necessary to remind ourselves that the wealth must survive created earlier it may survive redistributed. That the route to prosperity doesn't run through subsidies but through competitiveness, productivity, in addition to profit. That nosotros won't survive helped past times an explosion of newly invented entitlement rights piece the duties in addition to responsibleness are existence suppressed. That the solution won't survive provided past times the attacks against the basic edifice blocks of our society, attacks that are getting stronger all over the whole European realm – attacks against the identify unit of measurement in addition to the traditional human relationships. The policies of our country's plough over political institutions unremarkably don't defend us against this unwelcome trend, sometimes they fifty-fifty appear to survive encouraging it. Especially inwards the education.
The proliferation of the political correctness is making the gratis discussions impossible, it prevents us from calling the problems past times the right words, it blocks the solutions. The ideals of liberty on which our province was erected in addition to that direct keep mobilized the citizens' resistance against 2 horrible totalitarian systems of the past times century were apparently replaced past times the chimera of equality that is oft existence pushed to the most absurd corners in addition to that takes the most absurd forms. Instead of our aid most the whole, the dominant ideal is a notion of the lodge as a conglomerate of minorities.
These negative developments aren't Czech specifics. The whole European Union and, inwards a to a greater extent than full general sense, the whole Western civilisation is ill, too. It turns out that the dangers for our country, our nation, in addition to our agency of life doesn't direct keep to come upwards from the geographic administration that nosotros direct keep been trained to consider dangerous. Some people don't desire to hear in addition to empathize it, however. They insist on fighting the wars of the past. They don't desire to run into that the growing tension inwards the globe is also increasing the threat of a major state of war conflict whose consequences could survive fatal.
The spend upwards of the West in addition to its separation from its ain traditional values direct keep created the room for the ongoing migration crisis. This crisis is only getting started. It is non a threat that came rapidly in addition to volition terminate as quickly. The volume migration represents an existential threat for Europe as nosotros know it in addition to as nosotros desire to direct keep it. It is a pace towards a alter of the national, ethnic, in addition to cultural weather in addition to values on our continent. We are disturbed that the governing elites of the European countries either don't know it or don't desire to know it. They don't think that the migration of millions of people from the Middle East, Asia, in addition to Africa is a threat. Instead, they run into it as an chance to alter the contemporary Europe to their image. The destructive social-engineering ideology of multiculturalism provides them amongst the ammunition. This ammunition has the capacity to decompose non exclusively the European Union but also the weather inwards the private European Union fellow member states.
None of the achievements that nosotros direct keep gotten used to inwards the recent 25 years should survive considered irreversible or eternally guaranteed. We must start to rely on ourselves ane time again. We should sentiment the founders of our statehood to survive the role models but nosotros may also survive inspired past times others who weren't hesitating to defend the liberty in addition to sovereignty of our nation throughout the 20th century. The modern Czech province is an amazing value. It is our duty to defend it, save it, in addition to transfer it to the futurity generations. Let us utilization this hateful solar daytime to fully realize the gravity of this task. It's necessary because inwards 2 years – when Czechoslovakia volition celebrate its 100th birthday – in that location should ameliorate survive something left for us to celebrate.
Thank you lot for your attention.
Václav Klaus at the ceremony commemorating the 98th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia, Czech Association of Freedom Warriors, the National Memorial at the Vítkov Hill, Prague, Oct 28th, 2016