Independent Media Center France : Open Letter to Vaclav Havel

We write this letter to show that never more, anywhere in the world, torture can be used without protest. Even if the press doesn't talk about it.

Mr. President,

For millions of people, you have been an example of courage, resistance, and indomitability. Your testimonies, writings, speeches, and actions have given hope to millions of people who are fighting for a more just world.

But on September 26, 2000, twenty thousand people found themselves opposite the greatest financial powers in the world. Twenty thousand people crossed continents -- or simply the street -- with the hope of being heard.

There are multiple testimonies about the conditions of torture and injury. One arrested demonstrator of Israeli nationality was beaten to a pulp over the course of forty minutes. Some prisoners had numbers tattooed on their arms.

Two women jumped out of windows during their interrogations. Others, required by their guards to sign statements of "culpability," could not even hold a pencil to do so, as their fingers had been crushed. Others were obliged to strip. All of the testimonies speak of severe beatings as a matter of course.

Your police have gotten out of control at the worst moment of History. The Czech Republic is now on the black list of countries of torture.

What were your police like before September 26? Did they change overnight? What will happen to the prisoners of Czech nationality when all the foreigners have been deported? Will they be disappeared?

The Czech Republic, as well as the IMF and the World Bank, bears responsibility for this suffering.

What has just occurred and what still occurs in your country is a crime against dignity and freedom.

Do not be a party to this torture. Release all the arrested demonstrators, prosecute these who committed torture and allow them to be judged.