Havel defends remarks on Polish democracy

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has tempered comments he made that were interpreted as a warning about the state of Polish democracy. Speaking at the launch of the Polish edition of his latest book Please Be Brief, Mr Havel caused a storm by saying it would be in the interest of Polish democracy if the country were to hold early elections as soon as possible and arranged for them to be monitored by international observers.

His remarks were criticised by commentators in Poland as a smear on the reputation of the country's democracy. Mr Havel later said that he had not intended his comments as an attack on Poland's political system, but maintained that international observers would help ease the tense situation surrounding the upcoming elections in Poland following the collapse of the rightist government led by the controversial Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kacynski.