Parliamentary Assembly

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

I forgot to issue an early warning. I almost do not hear – a great advantage for any politician – so speak slowly and loudly. But still, with the help of my friend, yes, I understand you well. Václav Havel has been, and still is, the symbol of moral policy. If you compare moral policy with so-called realpolitik – a German term – you are sometimes unhappy that moral policy has nearly no success. But still, deep in my heart, I believe, even if I support the economic interest, that without protection of human rights, any business is only a short-term one. Václav Havel is still a very prestigious person. I know that his statue is here, but it is also in the capital of Washington. He will be for a very long time the symbol of velvet revolution – a revolution without blood and without violence.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

We have discussed with some functionaries of the European Council the impact of the Russian Federation rejecting the provision of money for the budget of this Organisation. Well, if you have no Russian representatives in this Assembly, why pay money for the Organisation in which you do not participate? That is a very simple question. I may apply my disagreement with any sanctions, and also disagreement with financial sanctions from the side of the Russian Federation. It is, they tell me, approximately 10% of the total budget – an enormous amount of money, of course. But if you want to change the attitudes of any human person or any State, it must be present in the dialogue. If it is excluded from the dialogue, then, as Talleyrand said, “It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake.”

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

A wonderful, wonderful idea, but the political world is full of wonderful ideas. Some of them are even in the political cemetery. I will quote a former German president, Mr Gauck, who said publicly in Prague, “If we try to take Crimea again and return it to Ukraine, it would mean European war.” I only quote it – nothing more. So do you want to risk a European war? Crimea is an act, without any doubt. Crimea is at the same time a fait accompli. In response to the second part of your question, what are we to do? Well, if there was a dialogue between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, I think – it is only my personal view – that there would possibly be some compensation for Crimea in financial form or in a natural form, by which I mean oil or gas. This is only my personal proposal – nothing more. We respect that we try to avoid European war and at the same time we try to compensate Ukraine.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

The migration problem is one dividing line I did not mention. There is, as you know, a dividing line between the Visegrád group and the rest of the European Union. The Visegrád group is strictly against illegal economic migration, for many reasons – there is no time to repeat them. As a reasonable solution, we must help migrants in their domestic countries. That means that from the national budgets of European countries it is necessary to finance, for instance, electricity, schools, hospitals, water resources and so on – but, I repeat, in domestic countries of those migrants, not in European countries.

Let me add one argument more. I do not speak about fresh working forces and so on, but basically the European Union has 8% unemployment. There is a brain drain. If young, healthy men leave their homeland, they weaken its economy. The brain drain, which is sometimes a muscle drain, may condemn such countries to permanent backwardness, because they lose an important part of their workforce – perhaps even millions of people – which is also my argument against illegal and economic migration. I have nothing against refugees who have been persecuted for political reasons in their own country. They are not illegal migrants or economic migrants.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

I will try to respond frankly. It is about people-to-people communication. Let us organise workshops, seminars, conferences and so on, so that we can see the ideological diversion. I talk to Russian people, and they are not illiterate or uneducated. They are able to hear and they have their own arguments, and we must be able to hear those arguments, too. The founder of my State, Tomáš Masaryk, said, “Democracy is discussion.” Let us discuss.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

There is perhaps a tendency towards the regionalisation of Europe. It is not a good tendency that we do not evaluate our personal values. There should be real processes, because it is not only Catalonia; it is also Scotland. A referendum on Scottish independence has been declared for the next year, as far as I know.

I have mentioned Crimea, and there is also the problem of Kosovo. The independence of Kosovo was not a reasonable solution because it was against the United Nations resolution on the territorial integrity of Serbia. One standard is being applied to Kosovo and another, opposite, standard is being applied to Crimea.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

There have been demonstrations in Prague both for and against migrants, although the demonstrations against migrants may be bigger. It is a little paradoxical, because the territory of Czechia, including Prague, has no migrants at all – from the Czech point of view, migrants are like the Yeti or Madame Columbo – but we know there are plenty of migrants in Austria, Germany and elsewhere, hence the demonstrations against migrants. Some political representatives say there is no reason to apply the European policy of relocation, and they recommend, as I have recommended, helping people in their own territory.

It would not be democratic to stop these demonstrations. In a recent year, and at the same place, there was one demonstration against me and one demonstration in my favour. I participated in both, because I am a democrat.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

That is a complex question. The level of international crime is growing because of Islamic terrorism. I am open and frank, and I do not use the phrase “Islamic terrorism” lightly but, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it has Islamic origin. It is connected with genocide in Armenia. Yes, I was heavily criticised when I declared the same thing as France did, for instance, but as the Assembly knows, the French Parliament even adopted a law about that genocide. On the other side, I have been criticised for having a good economic relationship with Azerbaijan. I am probably Jekyll and Hyde, but nobody knows who is Jekyll and who is Hyde.

What can we do against international criminality? Invest in the police and the army, and have the courage to invest in our own guns. My wife also has a pistol. Of course she passed all necessary tests, but now I am guarded by my wife, and not only by bodyguards. The second amendment to the American constitution says that everybody has the right to have a weapon – of course they must fulfil the necessary conditions and tests. We Europeans are a little more careful than the Americans, but after Barcelona and many assassinations, I think that the difference between Europeans and Americans is not so great.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

My response will probably be a deep disappointment to you. I am a friend of Israel – a deep friend of Israel. That is why I think that peace in the Middle East should be based primarily in the safety of Israel. I know the history of all the wars starting from 1948. Israel was victorious in every war, but had it been defeated it would have meant the end of that State – the Jewish State. Unfortunately, in some countries or movements – Hezbollah, Hamas, and others – there survives a tendency to diminish or to destroy Israel. What should we do to have peace in the Middle East? We must disarm the terrorist organisation, and first of all Hamas and Hezbollah.

Mr Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

Let me add my sincerest thanks to my friend sitting beside me who was an amplifier of your totally unheard questions. Thank you, Rudolph, and thank you all. See you not in the next century, but in the next decade. Bye, bye.