Vaclav Havel calls US visa policy absurd

Former Czech President and human rights advocate Vaclav Havel has spoken out against the United States' strict visa policy towards the Czech Republic. Mr Havel said the USA was being pedantic and to some extent absurd. Millions of Mexicans cross the border with bags of cocaine and heroin, but the authorities are worried about the Czech student staying too long, Mr Havel told the CTK news agency.

But unlike foreign minister Cyril Svoboda, Mr Havel believes reciprocal measures against US citizens are not necessary. Instead, Czechs should get the word out by openly talking about it, joking about it, and writing about it in papers, such as the New York Times, Mr Havel suggests.