Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz
Czechia on Tuesday celebrated 25 years since its accession to NATO, on March 12, 1999. One of the main events on the anniversary was the conference Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted with speakers including Bill Clinton, who was US president when the Czechs joined the alliance.
“History will record March 12, 1999 as the day the people of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland strode through NATO’s open door and assumed their rightful place on NATO’s councils.To them I say that President Clinton’s pledge is now fulfilled: Never again will your fates be tossed around like poker chips on a bargaining table.”
These words were delivered exactly 25 years ago by the Prague-born US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.
She was referred to several times on Tuesday at a conference entitled Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted that took place at Prague Castle’s Spanish Hall.
The special guests included George Robertson, a former secretary general of NATO.
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Author: Ian Willoughby