Mourners in Prague Honor Havel

With an outpouring of grief, the people of the Czech Republic mourned the playwright, dissident and former President Vaclav Havel at a Mass attended by world leaders here on Friday, celebrating his life and honoring his contribution to the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe.

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral, part of the sprawling Prague Castle that overlooks the city and the Vltava River, hundreds of mourners in dark overcoats listened to music by the composer Dvorak, a strong scent of incense hanging in the air. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright joined the funeral service.

Outside thousands of ordinary Czechs gathered in the December chill under large videoscreens and loudspeakers.

Martina Utikalova’s eyes welled up as she described why she chose to bid farewell in person to Mr. Havel, a leader whose international standing sometimes outshone his domestic image.

“He was a light, is a light and will be a light for many of us,” said Ms. Utikalova, a 47-year-old midwife from the town of Kladno. She wore a bright red heart-shaped pendant over her blue scarf, a signature symbol of the president. An air-raid siren and the ringing of church bells signaled the moment at noon when Mr. Havel’s memory was honored across this country of 10 million.

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source article: nytimes.com
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