Pavel: Democracy must be defended even in democratic states

Speaking at the launch of the Forum 2000 conference in Prague, Czech President Petr Pavel said recent experience of disinformation and hybrid warfare had demonstrated that democracy is vulnerable and may not be taken for granted.

Mr. Pavel said that Czechia had in recent years focused on development and transformation cooperation with countries that are going through what Czechs experienced in the 1990s. He said, however, that there was a growing need to defend democracy even in democratic states.

Forum 2000, which was established by President Václav Havel in the mid-1990s, holds an annual conference discussing global affairs.