List of author's articles, page 34
When 'justice' is a mockery
SIXTEEN years after one of the most traumatising cases of the mid-nineties, evoking serious concerns about the rule of law and the state of democracy in Slovakia, the country’s top court said that the father of the victim must apologise to the man who at that time ran the agency that was suspected of committing the crime. This crime has never been properly investigated because the then prime minister, Vladimír Mečiar, blocked any further investigation by granting controversial amnesties covering the case.
Opposition's woes continue
THE SLOVAK Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), once the pre-eminent force in Slovak centre-right politics, would not make it into parliament if a general election were held now, according to at least two recent polls. The party appears to be racked by internal disagreements over its future direction – a crisis partly mirrored over in the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), another centre-right opposition party. As well as seeing a former deputy leader break away to set up his own party, the KDH recently witnessed one of its remaining MPs, Radoslav Procházka, attack the party’s present course and then establish his own so-called ‘platform’, named Alfa, within the party.Daniel Lipšic, the breakaway deputy leader, claims that hundreds of former SDKÚ and KDH members are interested in joining his New Majority party, which has now been registered with the Interior Ministry. And a third opposition party, Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), has seen Alojz Hlina, one of its leading figures, quit, complaining about its leader’s style.
Canadian cuisine: Hearty soups and maple syrup
THERE is no great secret behind Canadians’ passion for rich creamy soups and maple syrup: it lies in their country’s climate.
Canadian recipes:Braised fennel with blue cheese
Ingredients and preparation.
Canadian recipes: Baked garlic and onion cream soup
Ingredients and preparation.
Canadian recipes: Pork tenderloin with maple syrup and mustard
Ingredients and preparation.
Canadian recipes: Maple syrup pie
Ingredients and preparation.
Still no end in sight to prosecutor saga
JOZEF Čentéš, who was elected by parliament to be Slovakia’s next general prosecutor on June 7, 2011, and has been waiting ever since for President Ivan Gašparovič to appoint him to the post, will have to wait some more, despite a long-awaited Constitutional Court ruling on the saga.
The important role of activism – and women
THEODORE Sedgwick believes that encouraging women to develop entrepreneurial pursuits, and giving them the opportunity to do so, would lift the economy of any country. “If you tap this untapped resource, it would be incredibly valuable for the economy of Slovakia,” adds Sedgwick, the US Ambassador to Slovakia who, along with encouraging women’s entrepreneurship, has been preoccupied with explaining different aspects of the presidential elections in his homeland for the Slovak audience, which, he says displays considerable interest in the American presidential race. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Sedgwick about the presidential campaign in the United States, the state of the judiciary in Slovakia and its impact on the business environment, as well as his ambassadorial passion for Slovakia.
Shining some light on the ailing 'Third Power'
THE CONTINUING reluctance of President Ivan Gašparovič to appoint Jozef Čentéš, who was elected by parliament to be Slovakia’s next general prosecutor on June 7, 2011; the €150,000 in damages awarded to Štefan Harabin, the president of Slovakia’s Supreme Court in a court case in which he sued the Office of the General Prosecutor; and the criminal prosecution of Zuzana Piussi, a documentary maker, for making a film about the critical state of Slovakia’s judiciary all make the approaching anniversary of the Velvet Revolution a rather gloomy prospect.
Harabin sues prosecutor, wins
ŠTEFAN Harabin, the president of Slovakia’s Supreme Court, has once again denied the authenticity of a transcript of a phone conversation that he is alleged to have had in 1994 with Baki Sadiki, an Albanian later convicted in Slovakia of serious drug trafficking offences and widely reported to be the head of a local drugs mafia. His denial came on the heels of news that Sadiki, who was convicted in absentia, had been arrested on October 25 in Gnjilane, a town in Kosovo. A couple of days later Harabin called the transcript “an intelligence game”. Back in 2008, the opposition cited the transcript in a motion seeking to get Harabin sacked as justice minister in the first government of Robert Fico. The initiative, which failed, was led by opposition MP and former justice minister Daniel Lipšic, who called Harabin’s ties with Sadiki “friendly”.
Education scrutinised
WE ARE entering a new, digital age where new technologies are not only rapidly reshaping our economies, but also quickly changing our way of life, and these aspects should be taken into consideration when devising political measures to boost the economy and create jobs, Jake Slegers, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia (AmCham) said when addressing the challenges of shaping labour legislation.
Filmmaker faces prosecution
THE SOUND engineer working on ‘The Disease of the Third Power’, a critical documentary about what its creators call the “black holes” in Slovakia’s judiciary, chose to remain anonymous – “out of fear”, according to the film’s credits. The documentary’s director Zuzana Piussi, who did attach her name to the film, is now facing criminal prosecution and up to two years in prison.
Dutch cuisine: Cheese-eating traditionalists, but with a taste for the new
WHEN Daphne Bergsma talks about ‘Old Amsterdam’ she is not referring to the historic heart of her home town, the capital of the Netherlands.
Official 'Roma Reform' is launched
CHILDREN belong in school and the Roma Reform will bring them back there, so said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and Government Proxy for the Roma Communities Peter Pollák when introducing the education-related part of a long-heralded reform to address problems of the Roma community on October 22. Authors of the reform pitched 14 solutions which include obligatory three-year pre-schooling for children of families regarded as being at risk, in order to prevent the further “creation of professional receivers of social subsidies”.
A drama in too many acts
THE STORY of Jozef Čentéš’s tortuous (and still uncompleted) path to the general prosecutor’s job would serve as the perfect theme for an absurd theatre play set in an obscure state where people believe that they live in a parliamentary democracy and, by electing their representatives, have some control over how the society is run – but where in fact power is wielded elsewhere, serving interests far removed from the public good. One might perhaps enjoy the show and even applaud the surreal twists in the story line if it did not resemble so closely the farce now being played out for real. Moreover, the story of Jozef Čentéš is far too grave to amuse anyone who wants to have some confidence that the country is being run in line with dependable and firm rules, and not just arbitrary decisions made by individuals who are in office merely because they were the lesser evil.
'Principle of inclusion is needed'
IN SLOVAKIA too many children from marginalised communities are being wrongly classified and sent to special schools as a result. They later find they are unable to get out of this trap to return to the regular education system, and thus leave school very poorly prepared for life. These are the views of sociologist Oľga Gyárfášová, of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), a think tank. She suggests that the “principle of inclusion and civic approach should infuse every statement of every state official and each public policy. But we are not handling this mental turn yet”.
Court rules in general prosecutor case
THE PRESIDENT of Slovakia must “deal with” a proposal of parliament to appoint a new general prosecutor based on the 150th article of the Slovak constitution, and if the candidate was elected in accordance with the law the president must either appoint him/her “within an appropriate time frame” or inform parliament of his refusal. These were among the conclusions included in the latest ruling by Slovakia’s Constitutional Court to form part of the ongoing saga of Jozef Čentéš’ appointment to the top prosecutor’s job.
Anti-Roma demos lead to warning
‘DECENT’ is a word that the organisers of anti-Roma rallies have taken to using to describe recent protests against people they describe as ‘anti-social elements’ or ‘inadaptable citizens’. But Roma rights activists and human rights watchdogs complain that the rallies and their language are contributing significantly to growing tension between Slovakia’s Roma and non-Roma populations, especially in places where there are large, marginalised Roma communities.
When ‘decent’ is no longer decent
CONFORMING to standards of morality, good taste, but also fairness, goodwill and kindness are all expressions that dictionaries use to define the word ‘decent’. However, the organisers of recent anti-Roma rallies in Slovakia, which turned instantly into popular forums for extremists, are now attaching a new, rather scary meaning to the word ‘decent’ with slogans such as ‘together for a decent and safe life’ or ‘marching for the rights of decent people’. Many of these ‘decent’ people refuse to be labelled extremists or neo-Nazis when attending these ‘decent’ marches, yet they talk about ‘Roma parasites’, suggesting that they should be either deported somewhere out of sight where they will not bother ‘decent people’ or severely disciplined and given food and aid only if they are ‘decent’.
- Cypriot recipes: Mahalepi (video included)
- Slovak folklore making a comeback: Unique diversity survived
- Is Slovakia a mafia state?
- Estonian recipes: Estonian potato salad (video included)
- Talking tourism, trade and tapas
- Slovakia is not a mafia state yet, but it is in danger
- Norwegian recipes: Reindeer filet/sirloin (video included)
- Slovakia’s economy enters increasingly troubled waters
- Kanye West is heading to Bratislava. The controversy is not far behind
- Caught by the gravitational pull of Europe, this American is rediscovering his Slovak roots
- Foreign workers fill record number of jobs, but fewer are highly skilled
- News digest: Pellegrini backs NATO’s defence target, praises extended deadline Photo
- Slovakia’s place in Europe’s economy is shifting
- Scientists in Slovakia helping create ‘breathing’ glass Photo
- Slovak AI startup raises millions to scale globally and boost legal tech innovation
- Kanye West is heading to Bratislava. The controversy is not far behind
- Slovakia’s economy enters increasingly troubled waters
- Caught by the gravitational pull of Europe, this American is rediscovering his Slovak roots
- Foreign workers fill record number of jobs, but fewer are highly skilled
- News digest: Pellegrini backs NATO’s defence target, praises extended deadline Photo
- Scientists in Slovakia helping create ‘breathing’ glass Photo
- Slovakia’s place in Europe’s economy is shifting
- News digest: Hungary hijacks Slovakia’s foreign policy – for several awkward hours
- Bratislava’s Nová Tržnica reinvents itself with Yellow Thursdays Photo
- Kanye West is heading to Bratislava. The controversy is not far behind
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- Slovakia has given up on attracting quality people. It is disgusting, says expert
- Rare brain-eating amoeba kills child in Slovakia
- Slovakia’s economy enters increasingly troubled waters
- Europe rearms - but can Slovakia be trusted?
- Caught by the gravitational pull of Europe, this American is rediscovering his Slovak roots
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- A year later, Bratislava’s laser spectacle goes global
- From not knowing an English word to being a noted radio announcer in the US Video
- Rare brain-eating amoeba kills child in Slovakia
- Two Slovaks deported from US and Vietnam in separate incidents
- Slovakia has given up on attracting quality people. It is disgusting, says expert
- Bratislava’s Nová Tržnica reinvents itself with Yellow Thursdays Photo
- Last Week: Revenge-hungry Smer voters feast on donated ammunition case
- Slovak AI startup raises millions to scale globally and boost legal tech innovation
- Slovakia’s economy enters increasingly troubled waters
- News digest: Pellegrini backs NATO’s defence target, praises extended deadline Photo
- Don’t you want to?
- Slovak roots: feeling the gravitational pull of Europe
- Kanye West is heading to Bratislava. The controversy is not far behind
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