Iraq's future, our past

~ By Rastislav Kacer, Petr Kolar, Janusz Reiter and Andrea Simonyi

When it comes to tyranny, we believe we can offer some personal experience. After all, it was only a short while ago that our countries emerged from Soviet oppression. During the decades of dictatorship, our peoples' attempts to restore freedom and democracy were crushed. Who would have thought in 1956 in Hungary, in 1968 in Czechoslovakia, or in 1980 in Poland, that we could get rid of the dictatorial regimes in our lifetimes and shape our own future? The memories of tyranny are still alive in the minds of many Czechs, Hungarians, Poles and Slovaks. We also remember the challenges we faced early in our democratic transition. It is a testament to the resilience of our peoples that we are where we are now -- members of NATO and the European Union, and strong allies of the United States. We got here by believing in the transformational power of democracy and a market economy. But we needed others to believe in us, too. We could not have made it alone. We needed the perseverance and support of Western democracies for freedom finally to arrive.

The attainment of our immediate goals of stability and prosperity could have made us complacent. It has not. We feel that as free and democratic nations we have a duty to help others achieve the security and prosperity that we now enjoy. That is why we have been part of the coalition to help democracy emerge in Iraq.

Establishing democracy in Iraq was never going to be easy. Yet it is essential for the political and economic stability of the entire Middle East -- and also vital for the security of our countries. We are convinced that for Iraq to become a vigorous partner in the war on terrorism, the Iraqis will need our continuous help for rebuilding their country, as well as for establishing democratic institutions and a market economy. The good news is that we are not alone; it's a truly international partnership, based on a U.N. mandate. More than 30 nations are on the ground with the coalition and NATO, and more than 80 have signed up for the "new international partnership" with Iraq. European countries work closely with the United States on strengthening stability and democracy in Iraq, and the U.N. is providing key support to achieve our goals.

The Visegr‡d Group, which includes our countries, has been one of the most effective regional partnerships in Europe established after the changes of 1989. With our vast experience in transitioning from dictatorship to democracy, we can be of special help. Although the Central European reality is quite different from Iraq, we offer our assistance in building democratic institutions as well as civil society. We can share the successes and challenges of our transition with the Iraqis, as we all know that freedom comes at a price. The experiences from the area of responsibility of the Multinational Division Central-South prove that transformation in Iraq can be completed with success. Right now we are transferring more power and responsibilities to the local Iraqi authorities, which, thanks to our assistance, are capable of securing their future.

Democratic transition is a long, painful process. It requires sacrifice. But, more than anything, it requires a belief that democratic values will prevail and people will have a better life as a result. We had that belief to guide us during the most difficult years of transition and we want to keep that belief alive in the people of Iraq. Maybe it takes countries with vivid recollections of tyranny to serve as the institutional memory of a larger community of democracies. If so, we are ready to fulfill that role.

Rastislav Kacer, Petr Kolar, Janusz Reiter and Andrea Simonyi are, respectively, the Slovak, Czech, Polish and Hungarian ambassadors to the United States.