Havel Says Czechs on Right Path to Free State : Diplomacy: President arrives in Los Angeles. He calls U.S. Bill of Rights a guiding example for his country.

Vaclav Havel, the playwright-turned-president of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, predicted Thursday in Los Angeles that his country’s experience with democracy will transform it into a “truly free people and a truly free state.”

Speaking at a seminar commemorating the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Bill of Rights, Havel said the U.S. Constitution has demonstrated to his countrymen that explicit guarantees are needed to protect the rights and liberties of citizens. As a result, he said, Czechoslovaks have crafted a bill of rights as “the first building stone” of the country’s emerging democratic constitution.

Havel then signed his name beneath the words, “The Most Important Bill I’ll Ever Sign,” on a poster-size copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The Czechoslovak head of state arrived Thursday in Los Angeles from Washington, where he had met with President Bush and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. His visit to Los Angeles, which also included an address Thursday night to the World Affairs Council, ends today after several appearances, including one at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he is scheduled to receive the Defender of Freedom Award.

At the World Affairs Council, Havel outlined steps his country has taken to begin the difficult economic transition from communism to capitalism. He called on U.S. companies to invest in Czechoslovakia, which he said is committed to erasing the legacy of a state-controlled economy in favor of true economic freedom.

Havel emphasized, however, he was not just seeking a handout. “While we are relying on your assistance, on the assistance of other developed countries, and also on the assistance of God, it does not mean that we don’t know where to begin: that is, with ourselves,” he said.

Havel’s weeklong tour of the United States comes at a troubled time for his country’s fledgling democracy. Although the so-called Velvet Revolution of 1989 was free of the ethnic violence of Yugoslavia and some Soviet republics, the country remains deeply torn by divisions between Czechs and Slovaks. Last month, Havel threatened to resign if the country’s delicate federation unravels.

In his remarks at the Bill of Rights seminar--sponsored by Times Mirror Co. and Unocal Corp. as part of a Constitutional Rights Foundation series--Havel compared the troubles in his country to the “long and painful process” that preceded the signing of the U.S. Constitution. That process, he said, also threatened the existence of a young federation.

“Despite the great difference in space and time,” he said, “we in Czechoslovakia are now confronted with the same task and are encountering the same problems.”