Slovak personalities protest against a wire curtain

MORE than 50 Slovak personalities called on leaders of political parties and citizens not to allow the restoration of the iron curtain on borders with Austria.

PM Robert Fico (l), former Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič (centre) and former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer symbolically sawed the border barrier in December 2007.PM Robert Fico (l), former Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič (centre) and former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer symbolically sawed the border barrier in December 2007. (Source: TASR)

“The abolition of the iron curtain, the accession to the European Union and the Schengen Area meant a real return of Slovakia to the free, open world and belongs to the biggest post-November achievements,” reads the call provided to The Slovak Spectator by activist Juraj Mesík.

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The call responds to the statements of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who said that he is ready to build steel wire barricades on borders with Austria and Hungary in case of one-sided Austrian measures and “in fear from huge migration pressure”. Such a step made by a politician, who did not notice the November 1989 revolution, is founded on the absurd and hysterical idea that Slovakia is endangered by huge migration pressure from Austria, according to the call.

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“The implementation [of this plan] would mean the return to barbed wires which divided the East and the West and the actual restoration of the iron curtain,” the call reads.

The call claims that Fico, who was removing the Schengen barrier on borders with Austria back in 2007, may become a gravedigger of the free movement.

“He threatens the living and existential interests of Slovakia and its citizens and destroys the basic consensus of our post-November politics,” the call reads.

The signatories called on all political parties to clearly declare their approach to Fico’s proposal which may impact the existence of Slovakia after the March 5 elections.

Signatories: Andrej Bán, Bohuš Beňo, Fedor Blaščák, Adam Bžoch, Alexander Duleba, Fero Fenič, Zuzana Fialová, Daniel Fischer, Egon Gál, Fedor Gál, Ján Hacaj, Jozef Hašto, Anton Heretik, Beata Hirt, Milan Hronec, Mikuláš Huba, Péter Hunčík, Tomáš Janovic, Peter Juščák, Miloš Kelemen, Miroslav Kocúr, Eugen Korda, Marián Majer, Štefan Markuš, Peter Medveď, Grigorij Mesežnikov, Juraj Mesík, Karolína Miková, Martin Mlýnek, Martin Mojžiš, Štefan Olejník, Daniel Pastirčák, Lucia Piussi, Milena Prekopová, Ondrej Prostredník, Boris Strečanský, Štefan Szabó, László Szigeti, Soňa Szomolányi, Marta Šimečková, Ján Štrasser, Ivan Štrpka, Milan Šútovec, Peter Tatár, Peter Tavel, Ľubica Trubíniová, Jana Valentovičová, Alta Vášová, Ľudmila Verbitská, Helena Woleková, Marcel Dávid Zajac, Peter Zajac, Katarína Zavacká

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