Archive of articles - August 2003, page 2

Around Slovakia

Giant sunflowerMelon-eating marathonBiting off less than he can chewCandlelit toilet goes up in flamesNew cycle route openedCrumbling kindergartenActivist caught drug-driving

Minorities council urges extended language rights

REPRESENTATIVES of national minorities living inSlovakia have urged the government to lower the threshold of eligibility for their native-language rights.However, thus far, few ethnic Hungarians have taken advantage of the minority language law that allows for theuse of minority languages in the public sphere, and in dealing with the authorities.Media reports have suggested that Deputy Prime Minister Pál Csáky has called for more citizens to be allowed touse their minority languages in dealings with officials. However, he claims that it is the government's entire 14-member Council for National Minorities, which he chairs, that has proposed lowering the requirement forprotected minority language use from the current 20 percent to 10 percent of the population.

No Islamic centre for Bratislava

Football hooligans attack rival fans on bus

The battle of the potatoes continues on Slovak fields

THE SUMMER has once again become a period characterised by farmers struggling to protect theirfields against attacks by potato thieves, while present legislation fails to provide effective assistance in thateffort.On July 23, police caught a group of seven potato thieves, aged 19 to 39, on a field in Dražkovce, a village inCentral Slovakia. The men had collected as much as 720 kilos of potatoes between midnight and 4am, whenpolice officers detained them.Reports of similar cases have come throughout the summer from different parts of the country. Farmers claimthat most perpetrators are from the Roma minority, who often readily admit their criminal actions, saying thatthey are driven by despair.

KSS apologises to victims of Warsaw Pact invasion

WITH MIXED statements from theparliamentary Communist Party (KSS), Slovakia is marking the 35th anniversary of the invasion of formerCzechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops in order to crush the democratic reforms that were taking place in theSoviet satellite state.In an unexpected move, KSS chairman Jozef Ševc declared a few days before the anniversary that he and hisparty wanted to "apologise to all who suffered any wrongdoings" during that period. Ševc also said that hewould support legislation aiming to reimburse those victims.

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PM received cool welcome

Coalition plight eases

COALITION partners have managed to reachagreement despite what has been perceived as a major coalition crisis marked by one of the four partners, theNew Citizen's Alliance (ANO), standing against the remaining three ruling parties.After a six-week summer break, the coalition council meeting between members of the ruling parties took placeon August 19 with Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda announcing that "all four partners agreed that during theremaining election term we want to abide by the rules of the coalition agreement".

Time for Csáky to finally move out of the spotlight

POLITICS, especially in countries where coalition governments are the norm rather than theexception, often seems to have little to do with improving the lives of the common people and more to do withsqueezing a few more percentage points out of the opinion polls.This summer has seen the coalition bickering and points-scoring reach boiling point, which could lead to thecollapse of the coalition in the autumn. It seems like a good time to pour oil on troubled waters.

Reader feedback: Xenophobic organisation

Politician's wife found dead

Slovak airports face privatisation

Roma ask Pope to lift curse

Sk61 billion deficit planned

Symbol of national history

ONE of the oldest castles in Slovakia, Devín, sits on a huge rock overlooking where the Morava river meets theDanube. The name Devín probably derives from Dowina, which in Old Slavic meant girl.The rocky hill on which the castle stands was first settled around 5000BC. Celts lived in the area between the2nd and 1st centuries BC. In the early centuries AD, Romans built a small settlement there, part of the LimesRomanus fortified system that created the border of the Roman Empire north of the Danube.

Events Countrywide

BRATISLAVAOUTSIDE THE CAPITALWESTERN SLOVAKIACENTRALSLOVAKIA EASTERN SLOVAKIA

Cabinet approves restitution bill