Speech of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mirek Topolánek on the occasion of a celebration of the anniversary of the battle of Zborov

Dear Ukrainian friend, veterans, ladies and gentlemen,
We are here to pay homage to combatants; to honour memory of Czechoslovak legionnaires, who were fighting for Prague here, at Zborov. They were fighting so that our nation could have its own state after three hundred years.
We are memorializing the 90th anniversary of the battle of Zborov; a battle, which was not the biggest one in times of the World War One, but which had cardinal significance for forming a modern political nation.
All those who were fighting here, those who died here and those who survived belong deservedly among founders of Czechoslovakia. Since the time of the battle of Zborov we are rated among winners.
States and nations are formed through wars. We began to command respect of our allies only after our legionnaires entered battlefield of the World War One. Growing force of legionary corps and further successes became a triumph of Masaryk´s team in its fight for independence.
The first Czechoslovak president appreciated many times significance of legionnaires for negotiation on formation of the new state. Among others he said:
"In Zborov we started our military action, which put us on a par with fighting nations. In times when the entire world was in the battlefield, we could not limit ourselves only to declamations. And also influence of our army on the domestic policy was great and crucial."
Yes, thanks to battle of Zborov the idea of an independent state ceased to be just a dream. Zborov also established the modern military tradition of our army.
In the battle of Zborov we were fighting for the first time for our independent country. We were fighting together with our allies. We were fighting because we were aware of the fact that only our will to defend ourselves gave us right to exist.
The legacy of Zborov combatants is still living after those ninety years. Also in our days it holds true that if we become resigned to our defence, we could be wiped of the map of independent nations.
Therefore, let us remember words of T.G. Masaryk: "Let us pay grateful homage to our brothers of Zborov, both alive and dead!" Do not let us betray this memory!