Chris Smith: “I thank the distinguished chairwoman for yielding and join her first in mourning the passing of Vaclav Havel, the great…”

“I thank the distinguished chairwoman for yielding and join her first in mourning the passing of Vaclav Havel, the great President and human rights crusader, one of the founders of Charter 77, a magnificent human rights manifesto, that took the Helsinki final act and turned it into a very durable and tangible program of action for the people of Czechoslovakia. Charter 77 has been replicated all over the world, including in Belarus--it's called Charter 97 there--as well as in places like Vietnam, where it's Bloc 8406. I would note parenthetically that, back in the 1980s, I and some members of the Helsinki Commission, including Steny Hoyer, sought to meet with members of Charter 77. All but one, Father Valclav Maly--now Bishop Maly--got through to our meeting. The rest were detained by the secret police, including Vaclav Havel. It's interesting and very important to point out that Vaclav Havel, before he passed away, tragically, sent a strong letter to the people of Belarus encouraging them to hold firm and expressing his overwhelming solidarity with the people of Belarus as they seek their universally recognized human rights. Again, this man never ceased in his promotion of human rights anywhere--from Burma to Belarus-- including to his dying day, sending this very important letter to the Belarusian people. Mr. Speaker, I do rise in strong support and urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 515 again.…”