Archive of articles - November 1999

Slovak expats remember 1989 too

TORONTO: Slovak expatriate groups in Canada held no official celebrations to mark the tenth anniversary of the end of communism on November 17, perhaps with good reason - the day holds different meaning for many Slovak Canadians, and evokes vastly different feelings among members of the community.For some, like the Reverend Dušan Tóth, a pastor in a Lutheran church, the end of communism meant a chance to go home to Slovakia and see his relatives after a long period in exile.Tóth had escaped to Canada with his wife, Valerie, in 1968, and faced a 10-year prison sentence if he returned to communist Czechoslovakia. His persona non grata status was heightened in 1971 when he became the secretary general of the Slovak World Congress, an international umbrella organization of Slovaks in the free world.

Foreign firms expect to expand next year

ain shy about putting their money into Slovakia, foreign firms already doing business here say they are happy with the country's cheap labour force and the tax incentives they receive from the government, and are almost universally planning to expand operations in the year 2000.According to a survey published on November 18 by the SNAZIR agency for foreign investment, fully 91% of the 150 largest foreign firms doing business in Slovakia plan to expand their operations next year.The agency said that these companies predicted on average that their sales would grow by 10% in 2000. Firms in the automotive industry expected to see sales up by 41%, while chemical sector companies expected 18% growth and engineering firms 17%.

Art - Revue

Ján Abelovský, director of Soga, Slovakia's only fine art auction firm, laments that great works of art in his country find relatively few domestic buyers, despite the fact that Slovaks have a dear love for their national art heritage."Slovaks don't seem to be interested in the art market, even though every Slovak town has two or three antique shops and Slovakia has a great tradition of fine art and artists," he said. "Many Slovak houses are beautifully furnished, with furniture from the 19th and the early 20th centuries."

Under-21's go through to finals

MOSCOW: When the Slovak national Under-21 football team drew the strong Russian side in the semifinal round of the European Championships, they knew they would have their work cut out for them. "The Russians are very tough," said František Laurinec, the president of the Slovak Football Association, a day before the first match on November 13. "But I think we can get through them."To make sure of victory, Slovak Coach Dušan Radolský gave his players extra incentive by promising to let them shave his head if they won an aggregate score victory in a home and away series against the Russians. "I'll die on the pitch just to see my coach's head naked," responded one player.Coach R is today a very happy - and very bald - coach. The Slovak U-21's beat Russia 4:1 on aggregate, thereby securing a place in the European Championships final round of eight. The victory was lauded in the domestic media as the country's greatest football success in the six year history of independent Slovakia.

Animal shelter quarantined

On the surface, the Sloboda Zvierat ('Free the Animals' - SZ) animal shelter on Polianky Street in Bratislava appears to be a standard 'pound' - walking down its prison-like corridors is as disheartening here as it is anywhere else in the world. But a deeper look at the shelter's animals and the conditions they must live under reveals a far more disturbing and depressing picture.On November 24, SZ was in the second week of a quarantine imposed by the Regional Veterinary Authority because of an outbreak of the 'parvo' virus, which is deadly to dogs. But because the shelter does not have the space to properly separate the healthy dogs from the sick ones, the virus is spreading, said SZ Veterinarian Karol Hudec.

Letter to the Editor: Slovakia should avoid 'terrorist organisation'

SNS MP Andel refuses to vacate parliamentary seat

Schuster to honour Alexander Dubček and Milan Šimečka

Slovaks leery of post-1989 economic reforms

Around Slovakia

Mammals not going extinct in SlovakiaOtto von Habsburg celebrates 87th birthdayBig fire at major gas pipelineCrowds descend on High Tatras for New Year's EveTruck driver murder investigation wrapping up

Albright at 'home' in Slovakia

"Whenever I come to Bratislava, I feel like I'm coming home," said US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during a highly symbolic one-day visit to Slovakia on November 22. Speaking in Slovak to students at Comenius University in the Slovak capital, Albright said "I was born in Prague... when I was young, I was Czechoslovak, and thus I will always remain... I will do everything in my power to support you."Albright's stopover in Bratislava - the first ever by an American State Secretary, the country's highest ranking diplomat - followed two meetings in the past three months between Slovak Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda and US President Bill Clinton, and an October 6 visit to Slovakia by US First Lady Hillary Clinton.

HZDS MPs' meet with Milosevic "not political"

Letter to the Editor: University accreditation comments offensive

Letter to the Editor: Americans should appreciate what they have

KOZ declares national strike alert

Following a series of recent protest actions, a Slovak umbrella labour group declared a 'strike alert' on November 22 to press the government to do more to lower unemployment, increase real wages, reduce the tax burden on citizens and compensate lower income groups for recent price hikes to gas, rent and travel.The alert, called by the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ), follows a September protest in Bratislava attended by an estimated 35,000 people, a series of road blockades in recent weeks and a September 17 one-hour teachers' strike called by the of Education and Science Employees Trade Union.KOZ President Ivan Saktor said after the strike alert was approved that "this is a serious step - we've moved to the second level of pressure that the KOZ has approved in its strike policy."

Poll: HZDS would win elections, Smer would show

PM Dzurinda meets with EC Chairman Roman Prodi

Vladimír Mečiar: 1989 was 'beautiful'

After dominating Slovak politics for almost a decade, three-time Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar has spent the last 12 months almost in seclusion at a penzión he owns in the western Slovak spa town of Trenčianské Teplice.Mečiar gave a rare interview to Daniel J. Stoll, one of four owners of The Slovak Spectator, on November 19 in the dining room of the Hotel Atria in Trenčianské Teplice. During the almost two hours he spoke, Mečiar reflected on the 1989 revolution, the division of Czechoslovakia, the current political situation - and on the part he had played in each. In this, the first instalment of a two-part interview, the undisputed father of independent Slovakia tells the story of how his country emerged from communism.

Corporate tax cut by parliament from 40% to 29%