BY Alexander
Podrabinek
First of
all, I would like to thank you for this day that proves that the interests of
freedom are not limited by national borders. This is extremely important
for the people your Foundation is concerned with. Allow me to assume that the
word “victim” embraces all people who experience oppression from communist
despotism.
When
communist regimes collapsed in Eastern Europe at the end of the last century,
all people shared in the euphoria of the victory. And how could people not
rejoice, especially those who had been liberated from communist oppression?
Yet, communism turned out to be durable and adopted many faces. Communist
dogmatism and classic communist dictatorship gave place to communist pragmatism
and modified communism.
It acquires
a bit of market economy, a touch of democratic rhetoric, and
erects structures that imitate democracy—from parliament and court
system to pluralism of political parties to media. It could be taken for a
particular or unique national democracy, and only from the inside is it clear
that it’s just the same old despotism, a bit modernized and in a new disguise.
Like
influenza after each epidemic, modifying and surviving by adjusting to new
circumstances, communism after each defeat modifies itself in order to survive
in the contemporary world. But its essence does not change. The true core of
communist states lays in preserving despotic rule and finding a safe niche in
the international community.
These
dictatorships often look for international recognition.
Today their
goal is to secure a legitimate spot within the family of civilized states. They
want to equalize freedom and slavery, democracy and dictatorship. Like a
sinking man looks for a lifesaving vest, dictatorships desperately cling onto
national sovereignty, membership in esteemed international organizations, and
an atmosphere of politeness and friendliness as the last signs of legitimacy.
I will tell
you frankly: when representatives of great democracies – American or French,
for instance – shake hands with the Cuban dictator, it signifies a gesture of
politeness and diplomatic protocol usually only reserved for the West. For
dictators it becomes a proof of recognition and acceptance of their right to
oppress their own people. They replicate these handshakes as evidence of their
victory and as a message to anticommunist resistance that the world has
betrayed them and that their cause is hopeless.
For those
who oppose communist regimes, sometimes within a small group, at times just on
their own, it is a low blow. It demonstrates that today great democracies
value mutual understanding with dictatorships more than freedom and human
rights.
I know that
this is not fully accurate. There are people in North America and Western
Europe who more highly value freedom and dignity than politicians who crave
mutual understanding with communist dictatorships. There are more people who
put freedom before economic or political gains, who do not distinguish between
their personal freedom and freedom for the whole of humanity. I know that there
are many dignified people in democratic countries and that their voice is
pretty strong.
But it is
not easy to hear this voice on the other side of a barbed wire. In closed
states, the state propaganda invests huge efforts into convincing people
that the entire civilized world is ready to accept contemporary communism or
its modifications; that democracies are ready to make peace with dictatorships.
The
governments of dictatorships talk endlessly about peace, but they are always
ready for a war. And they demand worldwide recognition demonstrating their
readiness to go into war. They blackmail the international community by
building up nuclear weapons or by their readiness to annex neighboring
territories. Dictatorships talk about peace while practicing belligerence, all
for the sake of persuading Western powers to work with them.
I would like
to remind you of the words of our great Russian compatriot Alexander Solzhenitsyn
who said that the antithesis to peace is not a war; the antithesis to peace is
violence and oppression. The absence of military actions is not yet peace. In
dictatorships, the war is going on; it is not very visible from outside, but it
has its casualties, with destruction of entire infrastructure that demoralizes
the entire community and degrades the legal system.
I
take part in such a war, and I can say that the solidarity of the free
world with those who fight for their freedom in dictatorships is extremely
important. Of course, the one who rises to fight against despotism will
continue his struggle even if there is no support at all. But solidarity with
the world makes him ten times stronger. This solidarity shows that the
aspiration for freedom is not a capricious act of whimsy for loners, but a
universal value that promotes human societies from barbarism to a state of
progress.
It is a hard
path; it has numerous losses along it. I am grateful that you treat our losses
as your own. I am happy that the notion of freedom inspires not only those who
are on the verge of life and death in prisons and concentration camps, but also
those who enjoy all privileges of democracy.
Today I
share your award with those of my friends who did not survive to see the collapse
of communism in our country. And even more with those who are alive and keep
fighting for our mutual freedom. With those who are imprisoned in China, Cuba,
North Korea, Belorussia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Iran and other states
with despotic regimes. I want them to know – this medal belongs to them, as
well. Thank you.
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