List of author's articles, page 31
Valuch, held by Iran, is back home
MATEJ Valuch, a 26-year-old Slovak national who was detained in Iran over what Iranian officials allege is a case of espionage, is back in Slovakia, and on February 8 he appeared unexpectedly at a press conference accompanied by Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák, the SITA newswire reported.
When politicians lecture historians on the past
“I HAVE a problem with anyone whose opinions presented before 1989 [the fall of communism] differ from those [expressed] afterwards, who has not gone through any self-reflection,” said Juraj Kalina of the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in an interview with Sme daily, who for a brief period of time appeared to the ruling Smer party to be the best candidate to run the Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN), which among others things administers the files of the communist-era ŠtB secret police.
President objects to judges
RESOLUTION of the long-running saga to appoint Slovakia’s next general prosecutor seems no closer after President Ivan Gašparovič on January 28 lodged an objection to the composition of the Constitutional Court senate that is due to hear an appeal by the general prosecutor-elect, Jozef Čentéš. Čentéš is appealing against Gašparovič’s decision, made at the beginning of this year after an 18-month delay, not to appoint him, despite his election by MPs on June 7, 2011. Čentéš is also seeking a preliminary injunction to block the election of an alternative general prosecutor. He said he would not comment on the objection lodged by the president.
Smer rejects its own candidate for ÚPN job
THOUGH the opposition parties had nominated their own candidate for the top post at the Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN), which among other things administers the files of the communist-era ŠtB secret police, they did not object to Juraj Kalina, whom the ruling Smer party picked as its candidate in mid January. One political scientist even commented that Kalina was one of the best nominations Smer had ever come up with for a public post. But then, at the last minute, Smer dropped Kalina, who currently works for the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, as its official candidate, with Prime Minister Robert Fico’s spokesman Erik Tomáš telling the Sme daily simply that “new information emerged that Juraj Kalina had concealed [something] and this, according to most deputies, disqualifies him”.
British recipes: Elan Valley soup (video included)
Ingredients: : One medium onion; 350g of sweetcorn kernels; 1 litre of vegetable stock; 100ml of milk; 1 teaspoon of cornflour; 200g of salty Welsh cheese (feta/Balkan cheese or possibly bryndza could be substituted), 1 teaspoon of laverbread (Welsh seaweed, but herbs such as parsley or dill could be substituted), 1 handful of chopped spinach, or more if preferred; 200ml of buttermilk or sour cream.
Filmmaker sees charges dropped
DOCUMENTARY maker Zuzana Piussi and journalist Zuzana Petková, who had both been threatened with criminal prosecution in association with their work, found out in mid January that their cases will not be going to court. The developments provoked a sigh of relief not just from Piussi and Petková but from political ethics and journalism watchdogs who regarded the prosecutions as threats to freedom of expression in Slovakia.
British recipes: The Great British Breakfast (video included)
Ingredients and preparation:Scottish haggis (vegetarian version). Cook by steaming for 45 minutes (different haggises vary). Northern Ireland potato flatbread (you can buy this from Marks and Spencer). Serve grilled, with salted butter.
British recipes: Northumberland picnic chocolate cake (video included)
Ingredients:110g of self-raising flour; 1 teaspoon of baking powder; 110g of butter at room temperature; 110g of caster sugar; 2 large eggs; 2-3 drops of vanilla essence; 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. For the icing: 200g of best quality milk or dark chocolate; 30g of butter.
British recipes: Banana custard (video included)
Ingredients: Half a pint (275 ml) of double cream; 3 egg yolks; 1 level tablespoon of caster sugar; 1 level teaspoon of cornflour; 2 drops of vanilla essence.
Ireland aims to contribute experience
A RECOVERY country driving recovery in Europe: this is how Brian McElduff, Ambassador of Ireland to Slovakia, envisions the performance of his homeland while it occupies the rotating presidency of the European Union over the next six months. The country, which joined the European Union exactly 40 years ago, is embarking on its seventh EU presidency at a time when the union is facing a severe financial crisis and Ireland itself is feeling some of its harshest effects.
The thrill of procurement
THE PROSPECT of a flutter is not the only thrill that Slovakia’s state-owned lottery company provides to the citizens of Slovakia. The history of Tipos involves a long and confusing saga, which began in January 2000 when another lottery company, Športka of the Czech Republic, sued the Slovak lottery firm over what it called unauthorised use of lottery trademarks as well as its technical know-how and which has already consumed considerable amounts of public money.
The Swiss commitment to common sense
A glossary of words as well as an exercise related to this article are also published online.
UPDATED: Slovak held by Iran over spying claims (video included)
“MY NAME is Matej Valuch and I am from the Slovak Republic.” This is how a 26-year-old Slovak national, who has been detained in Iran over what Iranian officials allege is a case of espionage, introduces himself in a video recording called ‘Hunter in Trap [sic]’, shot by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. In the video, posted on YouTube, Valuch speaks in English, dubbed into Persian, and appears to confess to working clandestinely for the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Theatre of the absurd
PRESIDENT Ivan Gašparovič deserves to be impeached for the way he has handled the issue of the appointment of parliament’s chosen candidate, Jozef Čentéš, to the post of general prosecutor. Even though on January 17 the opposition submitted a proposal signed by 44 deputies from all five opposition parties to have the president impeached and taken to the Constitutional Court, it is highly unlikely that this will be the next turn in the ongoing saga of Slovakia’s struggle to locate its next general prosecutor.
European court rules in Pezinok case
THE DECADE-LONG fight by the citizens of Pezinok to block construction of a new waste dump near the centre of their town has long since come to embody a wider societal significance. Among the important questions it has thrown up is that of how far the public should be involved in decisions that have a major environmental impact, and what duties state licensing and administrative authorities have towards citizens. The European Court of Justice, in a recent ruling pertaining to the controversial Pezinok landfill, has offered answers to some of these questions. In the process it pleased the anti-dump activists and many Pezinok residents. Nevertheless, the firm set up to run the dump as well as the environmental inspectorate which consented to the site but originally refused to publish its reasons for doing so, have both portrayed the verdict as confirming their versions of the story.
Caution and jobless rate tame prices
CONSUMER caution fuelled by slower economic growth, a continued high unemployment rate as well as lower regulated prices will further tame the growth of prices next year, say market analysts, adding that inflation in 2013 will dip well below 3 percent.
No new prosecutor lined up yet
EVEN though earlier in January Prime Minister Robert Fico responded to the decision of President Ivan Gašparovič not to appoint parliament’s chosen candidate, Jozef Čentéš, to the job of general prosecutor, by suggesting that parliament faced no hindrance to launching a new vote for the top prosecutor, it now seems that the process will not be as smooth as the prime minister had expected. After Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška on January 8 set a term for the submission of candidates for the post of general prosecutor, the parliamentary constitutional committee was scheduled to discuss the candidates on January 18. However, the ruling Smer party admitted on January 16 that it has no confirmed candidate to discuss.
State still in talks over steel mill
REPORTS last year about the potential sale of the country’s largest steelworks and one of the flagship United States investments in Slovakia to an unspecified buyer not only prompted speculation about who that buyer might be, but also prompted the Slovak government to look at possible ways to convince U.S. Steel, the current owner, to stay put. Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský confirmed on January 9 that the state is still negotiating with U.S. Steel over its ownership of the Košice steelworks, the SITA newswire reported.
Independence day overshadowed
“WHAT Slovaks had failed to achieve over more than 1,200 years, they have achieved in 20 years,” Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič said on January 1, 2013 when marking the 20th anniversary of Slovakia’s independence. The president noted that the first 20 years of independent Slovakia make up the most significant, most dynamic and most surprising period in the history of Slovaks. The anniversary also brought a presidential pardon for 753 prisoners in Slovakia – and unlike in the Czech Republic, where the president pardoned about 7,400 prisoners, including some who committed serious economic crimes in the mid 1990s, the act did not result in such fiery public debate.
1993-2013: Shame and pride
“THE STATE can be neither better nor worse than we ourselves are,” Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič stated in his New Year address, marking the 20th anniversary of Slovakia’s independence. Yet shortly after making this comment the president announced that he would not appoint Jozef Čentéš to the post of general prosecutor, despite him having been elected by parliament for the post on June 7, 2011 and the Constitutional Court subsequently confirming the legitimacy of the parliamentary ballot by which he was chosen.
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