Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned the opposition ethnic Hungarian SMK leader Pál Csáky that his statements about autonomy in southern Slovakia hurt the image of Slovakia and harm Slovak-Hungarian relations.
Csáky told foreign media that he felt threatened in Slovakia and that he saw a solution in autonomy.
"There is no doubt that the SMK leader and the extremist SMK leadership pose the biggest danger to the quality of Slovak-Hungarian relations," Fico said.
Fico said he hopes that Slovak citizens of Hungarian origin will be wiser than Csáky. He also rejected comparing statements by the SMK’s leader with statements by the Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Ján Slota.
“We have always distanced ourselves from expressive and unacceptable statements,” he said. “However, there should be a difference between the government's steps and actions. And the Slovak government did not do anything that would entitle Csáky to claim that his and his daughters’ lives can be in danger, as if he wanted to indicate that there was the atmosphere of a fascist state," Fico said. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
