Czech Radio Condoles over the Loss of Václav Havel
Director General of Czech Radio Peter Duhan has condoled Mrs Dagmar Havlova and expressed his sympathy over the loss of the Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel. The full version of the condolence letter:
Dear Mrs Havlova,
On behalf of Czech Radio and also personally, I would like to express you our sympathy and condolence over the loss of Mr Vaclav Havel. We learnt about his death with deep sorrow since it is a loss of a man who significantly influenced the 20th century.
We will always remember him as a politician, playwright, president, an untiring fighter for freedom, democracy and human rights all over the planet.
In the world of art, he has been renowned for his absurd dramas and for his essays where he touches upon the topics of power, bureaucracy, freedom and morality. Among the treasures of its archive, Czech Radio preserves not less than 335 parts of the Discussions from Lany where the ideas and opinions of Mr Vaclav Havel were broadcast to the listeners during the span of nine years. When the jingle of this programme was heard on air for the first time, perhaps nobody suspected how successful the programme would become. I am really glad that the programme earned such a listenership and that the editors of Czech Radio had the honour to cooperate on its preparations.
Vaclav Havel´s work in the state and political field has changed the modern history. Under his leadership our nation came out from the totalitarian regime and the foundations of the democratic society were laid. These changes affected the neighbouring states as well and the map of Europe has been rewritten.
I deeply bow in memory of his legacy. There are only few people who would be able to change their lives within a day to help their country and work with such a diligence and under such pressure.
It is a loss of a man who has become the symbol of freedom for our country, the guardian of the moral values and ethical codex. We will always remember him.
Mgr. art. Peter Duhan