Klaus, Havel divided over 'authoritarian' tendencies of Russia's president in wake of Beslan tragedy

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel and 100 international figures sent an open letter to the heads of all European Union and NATO states this week criticizing President Vladimir Putin for allegedly using the Beslan school tragedy to "further undermine" democracy in Russia. The current Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, has taken a very different stance and in fact came to his Russian counterpart's defense, saying there is no proof that Mr Putin is jailing his political opponents or systematically suppressing freedoms.

Klaus, Havel divided over 'authoritarian' tendencies of Russia's president in wake of Beslan tragedy

BK: Radio Prague's Jan Velinger has been following the story. He spoke earlier with Petr Drulak of the Prague-based Institute of International Relations, and began by asking him whether he there was reason to fear a return to authoritarian rule in Russia.

Petr Drulak: "I think there are serious reasons to fear for the future of Russian democracy, and that the measures that were taken after the tragedy of Beslan only increased the salience of the issues. However, it was observed that Putin already took some authoritarian measures even before. So, yes, I think it was of some concern and I can understand the initiative of the 100."

JV: What do you think the continuing impact is likely to be over this letter? We've already seen reaction from Czech President Vaclav Klaus somewhat downplaying the fears. He said that Russian democracy was "fragile" but did not really see the threat of authoritarian rule.

Drulak: "Well I'm not sure that this letter by public intellectuals will have any real impact. I also understand Mr Klaus' position, which is more diplomatic because he is after all the president and has a certain burden of office. If you compare his reaction to that of other European leaders, they were also much more cautious than other signatories of the petition."

JV: What about the stance of the Czech government itself? We know that on the one hand it is sending aid to Russia and expressing solidarity with the Russians over the tragedy in Beslan, but what is the official policy now?

Drulak: "Well, I am not sure there is any change in the official policy. So far the official policy on Russia is to be supportive of the transition towards democracy and to try not to interfere in Russian internal affairs. In this respect the position of the Czech Republic is not much different from other countries in the region."

BK: Jan Velinger was speaking to Petr Drulak of the Prague-based Institute of International Relations; he joins me now in the studio. Jan, for his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he remains committed to democracy, the market economy and freedom of the press but Putin has also chided Western media for steering clear of labeling the Beslan hostage-takers "terrorists." Mr Klaus as Czech president plays a largely ceremonial role, and Mr Havel was writing in a private capacity, but how is the issue playing on the world stage, in the context of the fight against terrorism?

JV: Well, the letter that Mr Havel and the other international figures signed did express solidarity with Russia in the fight against terror. But it strongly argued for the West to take a tougher stance towards Moscow. And in fact, on Thursday night, in their first debates ahead of the November elections, U.S. President George W Bush and his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, touched on the issue.

BK: We have a couple of excerpts from that debate. Here's President Bush.

President George W. Bush, photo: CTK

U.S. President George W. Bush: "I think that there needs to be checks and balances in a democracy, and made that very clear, that by consolidating power in the central government, ah, he's sending a signal to the Western world and the United States that -- that -- that perhaps he doesn't believe in checks and balances. And I told him that."

JV: A kind of mild admonishment from President Bush there. While stressing the need to engage with Russia, Senator Kerry went a bit further in criticizing Mr Putin.

U.S. Senator John F. Kerry: "I regret what's happened in these past months, and I think it goes beyond just the response to terror. Mr. Putin now controls all the television stations. His political opposition is being put in jail. And I think it's very important for the United States, obviously, to have a working relationship that is good. This is a very important country to us and we want a partnership, but we always have to stand up for democracy."

BK: Our thanks to Jan Velinger, who, by the way, got out of bed to watch those debates, which aired in the Czech Republic at 3:00 a.m.