Velvet Revolution Continues to Inspire International Dissidents ****************************************************************************************** * Velvet Revolution Continues to Inspire International Dissidents to Fight for Human Right ****************************************************************************************** 25 years on from the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic (back then Czechoslovakia), C University was honoured to host the international conference 'For Your Freedom and Ours' h the responsibility of those who have fought successfully for democracy in their countries support those nations still in the midst of their own endeavours for freedom.

The Velvet Revolution has been an inspiration to peopl world. It was gentle and beautiful and inflicted little pain on those involved – this is w towards.

Aung San Suu Kyi
By way of introduction to the con its panellists, moderator Šimon Pánek – director of the organisation 'People in Need' that symposium – posed the question: 'Why are we holding this conference?' 'For Your Freedom an developed not simply to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution, but to create a forum who were inspired by the actions of previous nations restoring democracy to their country fight for the same. Those people are still struggling against totalitarianism and still be importance of human rights, despite not yet having seen the fruits of their endeavours. Th talk of the conference was entitled 'Inspirations of the Courageous 'Powerless.'' What is poignant, here at the site of a relatively painless social revolution, is that the feature endured imprisonment, harassment and in some cases even torture under the totalitarian reg home nations – and that in spite of this they persist in their fight for liberty. Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a video she stated that the courage of those not in power is the courage of a whole nation when th to stand up for their rights. Similarly, those who hold the power in a country must have t recognise the will of the people as supreme. She maintained that democratic and free count others to achieve the same, such as in Burma, where, although their struggle began earlier Czech Republic, it is still ongoing and those who continue to believe in liberty are stimu success of the Velvet Revolution. Aung San Suu Kyi said: 'The Velvet Revolution has been a people all over the world. It was gentle and beautiful and inflicted little pain on those is what we all aspire towards.' Henryk Wujec, the co-founder of the Polish trade union 'Solidarity' in 1980 and one of tho the social movement against communism, spoke first on the panel, noting that the words of Václav Havel in his essay on the 'power of the powerless' inspired many worldwide in their need and continue to do so to this day. This was reiterated by the young but influential B opposition activist Zmitser Dashkevich, who received a letter from Havel while imprisoned cell in 2011. Havel stated that his Czech contemporaries originally did not understand him believes this is because Havel was a visionary with an ideal of a better future, and these the people who continue to inspire opposition movements in communist countries. 'Hope is the last thing we have, and we cannot betray that.' This definitive statement fro panellist of the morning, Azerbaijani media-based activist Kenan Aliyev, highlighted his b living under communist regimes cannot afford to become cynical in their outlook on potenti Democracy will not be easy to achieve, and it is a long-process (which Aliyev states is an Azerbaijani authorities often use to avoid making real steps towards change). However, if democratic countries such as the Czech Republic continue to set the example that change is Azerbaijani people – amongst other nations – will fight long-term. The next two panels of the conference were entitled 'Moral Support and Technical Assistanc and 'Authoritarians Growing Smarter.' Min Ko Naing, a leading Burmese opposition activist René de Jesús Gómez Manzano, a lawyer and dissident of Cuba, and Oleksiy Matsuka, an Ukrai investigative journalist from Donetsk, spoke on the second panel. The panellists of the la Svetlana Gannushkina, a mathematician and human rights activist in Russia, Alaa Shehabi, a lecturer and writer turned activist at the wake of the 2011 protests in Bahrain, and Jiang Tiananmen student leader from China; all of them delivering truly inspiring addresses. It is clear that the message motivating the organisation of this conference was one based responsibility. The Czech Republic, and other countries which have successfully overcome o democratic freedom of human rights, are obliged to promote social and economic rights in o Thanks to the experience of the Velvet Revolution, the people of the Czech Republic are aw to fight for human rights and are well-suited to supporting other regions in their endeavo liberty without violence. As Kenan Aliyev concluded, 'Democracy and dictatorship are not d those who are free need to help those who are not.' By: Rachael Jane Ruth is a third year Law student from the University of Glasgow, Scotland European exchange experience and to further her interests in literature, music and interna