“Being a NATO member means to have freedom of choice, and to be part of the decision-making” says Radovan Javorčík, Slovak Ambassador to NATO.
Synopsis
Radovan Javorčík has been the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to NATO since April 2017 and he has been an enthusiastic cyclist his whole life. Back when he used to cycle around Bratislava before 1989, when the Velvet Revolution led the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to collapse, he felt frustrated by the lack of freedom citizens were experiencing under the communist regime.
Today, he is enjoying living in a free world. To him, being part of NATO means taking an active part in preserving freedom and democracy.
Footage includes shots of Ambassador Radovan Javorčík riding his bike at NATO Headquarters, as well as shots of him working in his office at the Slovak Delegation to NATO.
Transcript
SOUNDBITE IN SLOVAK Radovan Javorčík, Slovak Ambassador to NATO
"My name is Radovan Javorčík, I am the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to NATO in Brussels.
Back when I used to bike around Bratislava, before 1989, I wasn´t able to go freely wherever I wanted.
It was very frustrating.
Today, together with my sons, I can just hop on my bike and ride to Holland, Belgium, Austria, or to Germany. It is not a problem at all. It is about freedom. A freedom to choose where to go or what to do.
We are a small nation and we need the world that surrounds us, so we can prosper too.
SLOVAKIA JOINED NATO WITH SIX OTHER NATIONS IN MARCH 2004
For us it was about belonging to the community of nations, nations that are free, democratic and progressive.
To be a member of NATO means to be equal with other members of our community of democratic nations, small or large.
To be a member of NATO means to have freedom of choice, to be part of the decision-making.
That is my dream, a dream of liberty, freedom and choice.”
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