It is always worthwile to read writer and former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Today, he has an op-ed in the Times. His topic is Zimbabwe.

I can still remember vividly what it is like to live in a country where a party controlled by a politburo rules, where basic human rights and civil freedoms are trampled on, where public discourse is controlled by ideology that is expediently explained and applied by the chosen few. The state controls everything, even citizens' private lives. Opposition is suppressed or criminalized. Freedom of speech is seriously curtailed or nonexistent.

These feelings, however, do not exist merely in my memory. Much to my regret, they are a living reality in various parts of the world.

Zimbabwe's leaders know that the international community will cooperate with them only if they meet certain conditions. That is why they are trying to give the impression of democracy and thus escape international isolation, and why they distort the standard democratic mechanisms in order to create a semblance of citizens' participation. At the same time, they create legal instruments that violate human rights. Democratic institutions are partly controlled by the leadership, partly circumvented by it.