Havel is a liberal—and, unlike many American liberals, he is proud to proclaim it. As he begins to make his exit, it is worth adding up what his liberalism has wrought. He helped bring freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of commerce to his country. The Czech Republic is a member of NATO and will soon join the European Union. Czechs (Slovaks, too) travel at their pleasure. But Havel has also, unlike some other European leaders, refused to renounce, or even flinch from, the potential of power, even armed power, in the name of security and justice. His government pushed (in vain) for the West to intervene more quickly and completely in Rwanda. He pressed for armed intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo. And now, in the age of stateless terrorism, he is unabashedly in favor, as he said in New York, of the principle that "evil must be confronted in its womb and, if there is no other way to do it, then it has to be dealt with by the use of force."

geojanes wrote:Václav Havel occupied a truly rare position of leadership: an imprisoned dissident who eventually led the country that imprisoned him. Not sure how many are in that club, but with Nelson Mandela he was in very good company.

While I have never been to the Czech Republic, it is the homeland of my ancestors and it holds a warm place in my heart. A better man could not have been found to lead it into the 21st Century.

For too long, too many in the international community have refused to address North Korea's flagrant human-rights abuses for fear that their criticisms would drive the government away from discussions of its nuclear program.

However, time has shown that this restraint has not yielded enhanced compromise from Kim Jong Il, but has only allowed him to ignore his people's suffering.

The world cannot continue to postpone discussion of these critical issues. We owe it to the people of North Korea to finally take action to alleviate their misery.

Sassenach wrote: I'd throw in Zardari to the mix as well, although in fairness I suppose in that case we should also add Nehru to balance the ledger somewhat.

edit: actually, Nehru was Prime Minister of India from 47-64, so he appears to answer the question posed by Mach. Granted, his reign wasn't universally positive, but he can be credited with establishing and embedding the world's biggest and most diverse parliamentary democracy, which when you think about it is a hell of an achievement.

Ray Jay wrote:Here's an op ed that Havel wrote on North Korea

First, direct international engagement with North Korea must be expanded on the human-rights and humanitarian situation.

Second, human-rights concerns should be included in the six-party talks.

Third, the UN General Assembly should strengthen its annual resolution on North Korea by referencing the "responsibility to protect" doctrine and calling for an investigation into whether the conditions in North Korea constitute a violation of this doctrine.