Archive of articles - September 1999, page 3

Culture Shock: Bratislava a safer city than locals think

I was walking home from the river in Bratislava the other night in running shorts and a T-shirt. As dusk fell over the city, it suddenly struck me that I was walking alone in a city in near darkness without real fear. I had just been jogging alone along the river, past trees and thickets and decrepit old buildings. Though six months ago I never would have never attempted such a run, months of feeling safe have made me bold.Of course, there are terrible skinhead attacks in Bratislava. There is substantial Mafia crime. Perhaps, it can be argued, citizens enjoy relative safety here not because of the police, but in spite of them. But the fact remains that as a white woman who looks a bit like a Slovak, I feel about a thousand times safer here than in New York. In New York, jogging at dusk is cause for a psychological exam.

Germany donates six high-tech police cars to Slovakia

Cash-poor Foreign Ministry suffers growing pains

If the path to western European and trans-Atlantic organisations depends heavily on high-profile diplomacy, the current Slovak government would seem to be well on its way to success.Since the 1998 election, the international status of Slovak diplomacy has risen rapidly.In late April, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Kukan was named by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as his special envoy for finding a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis. In June, Slovak diplomat Ján Kubiš became chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In mid-October, Slovakia is going to run against the Ukraine for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The former "black hole of Europe," as Madeleine Albright labelled Slovakia in 1997, is by most accounts on a positive track towards the EU and NATO.

Bank privatisation advisor chosen by December

World's largest toilet paper roll pyramid

Parliament approves sale of strategic firms

After weeks of tense negotiation, a compromise bill on Large Scale Privatisation was passed by a parliamentary vote on September 16. The law permits the sale of majority stakes in selected state-owned banks and firms, but reserves a majority share for the state in the country's major energy utilities.Of 115 deputies present in the chamber, 70 voted in favour of the law with 37 against and 8 abstaining.According to the terms of a compromise reached between the former communist SDĽ and the other three ruling coalition partners, the new law requires that the state keep a minimum 51% share in gas utility SPP, pipeline company Transpetrol, energy producer SE and Slovakia's three regional electricity distributors.

Dismal 1999 grain harvest yield lowest this decade

Unions meet with Prime Minister to smooth feathers

Slovakia joins convention on money laundering

Letter to the Editor: Tatra Banka far better than article claimed

Second quarter GDP growth 2.9%

Slovakia's economy expanded by 2.9% in the second quarter of 1999, buoyed by surprisingly strong domestic consumption and soaring exports. The results confirmed the cabinet's GDP growth predictions, which many international analysts had mocked as unrealistic, but drew warnings from domestic economists that the economy was not out of the woods yet."We can draw one conclusion from these GDP results," said Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová at a press conference on September 9. "We are going to meet the [macroeconomic] goals that we set for this year.""This shouldn't be taken as a victory, but it's definitely a good sign," said Martin Barto, a senior economist at state bank Slovenská Sporiteľňa (SLSP). "However, this sign also says that the government has to continue in its reforms, and has to continue to lower the fiscal and current account balance deficits."

Time to say goodbye, Mr. Transparency

Slovakia's self-styled "Mr. Transparency," Economy Minister Ľudovít Černák, has a special talent; every business affair he is involved in, no matter how clear and above-board it seems at the outset, soon turns into a hopeless muddle. It's a curious skill, this anti-Midas touch, and one the government could well do without.Last week was another muddy day at the well for Slovak citizens trying to figure out what the Economy Minister was up to.A contract to mediate the settlement of the Russian debt to Slovakia was awarded by state energy utility Slovenské Elektrárne to Devín Banka, even though some government ministers had serious doubts about the fairness of the tender.

Youth drug use rising since 1989

One early morning in the centre of Bratislava, a group of teenagers run down the street carrying a television set. Five car windows nearby are broken, the car radios missing. The word on the street is that a new shipment of heroin has arrived.That day, business is brisk in Bratislava's pawnshops. Pavol, an 18 year-old from the Bratislava suburb of Dúbravka, walks in one shop to sell a hot pot from his mother's kitchen for the second time this month. She will be upset, but Pavol doesn't mind. In the evenings, he is only allowed to stay in the kitchen, because his mother, who has a job and two other children, has locked the valuable household equipment away in the other rooms.

UK ambassador and wife dominate diplomats' tennis tourney

New Internet newspaper goes on-line

Art Spotlight

Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava - BIB '99. National Culture Centre, Nám. SNP 12, open daily except Mon., 10:00-18:00. Tel.: 07-54 43 49 86. Ends October 31.The months of September and October have long been months of art and culture for children in Bratislava. Since its start in 1965, a children's book illustration exhibition in the centre of town, called the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, has grown into one of the largest and most complete shows of this whimsical, intellectual art form in the world. Now in its 17th year, the 1999 staging of the bi-annual show will run until October 31 at the National Culture Centre.

Quote of the week

Letter to the Editor: Skinhead attack prompts woman to leave Slovakia

FINE ART

ARTeMISS Gallery - 'Chambre séparée: Wooden Sculptures by Radimír Šulc and Pictures by Jarmila Veľká'. The Renaissance age and the works of Botticcelli are the inspiration for Veľká's paintings. Šulc's wooden sculptures of women are beautiful and subtle. Hviezdoslavovo námestie, open Mon.-Fri., 10:00-18:00. Ends September 30.Bibiana-'Belgian Illustrators'. The French community of the Belgian province of Namur have created children's book illustrations in honour of writer Lewis Carroll. The exhibition is a part of BIB'99 (see art spotlight). Panská 41, Tel. 54 43 13 14. Open daily except Mon., 10:00-18:00. Ends October 31.