FAX FROM: VACLAV HAVEL, PRESIDENT OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA
TO: JOHN MCCONNELL, FOUNDER OF EARTH DAY
MESSAGE BY CZECHOSLOVAK PRESIDENT, MR. VACLAV HAVEL, ON THE OCCASION OF THE EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK ON MARCH 20, 1990
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IT WAS WITH PLEASURE AND GREAT INTEREST, DEAR FRIENDS, THAT I HAVE WELCOMED THE IDEA OF THE WHOLE WORLD JOINING ON THE DAY OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL EARTH DAY AT THE UNITED NATIONS, IN A SILENT PRAYER AND REFLECTION ABOUT THE FURTHER DESTINIES OF OUR PLANET.
MY DUTIES AT HOME, UNFORTUNATELY, DO NOT PERMIT ME TO BE WITH YOU TODAY. I ASSURE YOU, HOWEVER, THAT I TOO FREQUENTLY CONTEMPLATE HOW BEST WE COULD HUSBAND THE COMMON HERITAGE LEFT TO US BY OUR FOREFATHERS AND, THEREFORE, I WARMLY WELCOME YOUR INITIATIVE.
AT A TIME WHEN, THANKS TO MODERN COMMUNICATIONS, THE WORLD IS GETTING EVER SMALLER AND INCREASINGLY INTERDEPENDENT, WE ALL ARE CREATORS AND, AT THE SAME TIME, EXECUTORS OF A GREAT COMMON WORK. NEW, AS YET UNTHOUGHT OF HORIZONS OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING ARE OPENING UP BEFORE US. THE ARTIFICIAL BARRIERS ARE FALLING WHICH FORMERLY STOOD IN THE WAY OF MEANINGFUL CONTACTS AMONG NATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS.
WE FACE A NEW, HOPEFUL BEGINNING, AHEAD OF US IS THE COMMON GOAL OF ENSURING A BETTER FUTURE TO THE NEXT GENERATIONS. WE ADVANCE TO IT IN THE FIRM RESOLVE TO REJUVENATE OUR PLANET, THE PLANET EARTH. LET US JOINTLY SEEK WAYS OF REACHING THE JUST AND NOBLE GOALS THAT WILL BRING HAPPINESS AND JOY TO ALL ITS INHABITANTS.