I believe in rational dialogue between sovereign nations

This year we celebrate 70th Anniversary of the End of World War II. That is why discussion about the peace is so important today. It seems to me that nowadays we have partly forgotten that lesson and many nations are again in war. They are in conflicts that are hard to solve and that make many million people suffer.

I am neither philosopher, nor am I political scientist.  But I do care about our future so I will speak my mind. First: I don’t believe that there can be one centre of political power that will solve all world conflicts. On the contrary, an attempt to create such power may be just an excuse to start a new wave of violence. That is why I don’t believe in some kind of global multicultural concept. I believe that is a dangerous fiction. But I do believe in possibility of peaceful cooperation between world nations. Let me give an example from my own experience.

In 1993 I was just a young man and I was witnessing division of Czechoslovakia into two separate independent states. It was not easy. I loved Czechoslovakia and I considered this country my homeland. But today I am proud that Czechs and Slovaks were able to split up peacefully – without a single drop of blood! And what is even more amazing today this two nations like each other more than they liked each other before the separation.

How did we achieve peaceful separation and why do Slovaks and Czechs now have the best bilateral relationship in their history? Well I think that first reason is that we did it ourselves. No foreign power and no international organization has intervened. We did not need any peace troopers and we just dealt with the problem by peaceful dialogue.

Second: all significant domestic political parties have acknowledged the fact that there are two different nations that have their own cultures and their own political ambitions. The dialogue was therefore swift and constructive. We have avoided the emotions which are inevitably connected with chauvinism and political radicalism.

The third reason of mutual understanding between Czechs and Slovaks on this matter was good education.  Previous generations have provided us an education that helped us to understand and respect needs of the other nation.

And there is one more reason why things went well: although Czech and Slovaks have slightly different religious traditions, the religious fundamentalism is for the both nations an unfamiliar phenomenon.

That is my personal experience of peaceful dealing with international conflicts and I am happy to share it with you. Some of you may think that my experience is due to present global issues not politically correct. But I can assure you that it is authentic.