We, inhabitants of the Czech Republic, remember with special grief the date of September 29, 1938, when the democratic powers of Europe sacrificed Czechoslovakia at the shameful Munich Conference to Nazi expansionism. In order to preserve "peace", our multinational republic was divided on ethnic lines and hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes. Worse still, this solution did not bring peace to the region: on the winners side it led to an appetite for further conquest, on the losers side to a backlash of vicious nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Soon the winner - Hitler - divided even the rest of Czechoslovakia into one protectorate and one puppet state, and in less than a year World War II broke out.

The ordeal of our predecessors makes us especially sensitive to that tragic error of modern democracies - the appeasement of dictators - which is being repeated today. The parallel between Czechoslovakia and Bosnia, between Munich and Geneva is obvious to us. Once again, borders are being redrawn on ethnic lines acccording to the wishes of the aggressor; once again, Europe mistakenly believes that it can solve the problem by "minor" sacrifices - even if they include the sacrifice of some values it claims to represent, such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We are reminded of the words Winston Churchill spoke after the Munich Treaty of 1938: "...this is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proferred to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health we arise again and take our stand for freedom."

The Chamberlains of today are, if anything, more cynical than those of 1938. They must know they are not preventing war: tens of thousands have died, millions have lost their homes. They negotiate with people who have already committed war crimes. They have wasted the trust of the people of Bosnia so terribly that it will be no wonder if those people, betrayed and frustrated by democracy, turn to totalitarian ideologies instead. After all, the Munich betrayal was one of the reasons why Communists triumphed in the first post-war elections in Czechoslovakia.

To commemorate the first betrayal 55 years ago and help prevent the new one which is being prepared for two years, we call for a public demonstration on September 29, 1993. After this demonstration, we will present to the Czech Parliament a declaration which we want it to pass: it says that the Parliament condemns the plans to divide Bosnia into tiny "ethnic" states, and calls instead for a full demilitarization of that country by United Nations forces and the establishment of a temporary U.N. mandate in that country. (Only then can negotiations proceed - but not with those who will be tried meanwhile by the International Court for War Crimes.) If the Czech Parliament accepts the declaration it will also declare itself ready to support volunteers plus material and financial aid for the U.N. operation. If accepted, this declaration of the Czech Parliament will be sent to other parliaments of the world to set an example.

We appeal to you, fellow Radicals, to organize a similar demonstration on the same day in Rome - and, if possible, perhaps in Budapest or other major cities as well. Furthermore, we appeal to you, our parliamentarians, to consider presenting similar declarations to your respective Parliaments - i.e., condemning the plans to divide Bosnia and calling for its demilitarization and establishment of a United Nations mandate.

Our demonstration will take place on Prague's Namesti Miru (Peace Square) on September 29th, 1993. Among the speakers will be former spokesmen (spokeswomen) for the Charter 77 movement, human-rights activists, parliamentarians and Bosnian refugees. The demonstration is called by the Tolerance Foundation and the Prague office of the Transnational Radical Party.

Let us coordinate our action and speak with one voice all over Europe: Bosnia must NOT be sacrificed!

Please keep us informed if you agree to demonstrate with us your support for the Bosnian people on this painful and highly symbolic anniversary.

Jan Jarab, Radical activist

Vera Roubalova, spokeswoman for Tolerance Foundation