List of author's articles, page 3
Former top prosecutor dies
FORMER General Prosecutor Milan Hanzel, who led investigations into crimes allegedly committed by Ivan Lexa, Slovakia’s intelligence chief under former prime minister Vladimír Mečiar, was killed in an accident on November 22. He was 61.
Winning ticket slips from state's hand
THE WINNING ticket from the eight-year dispute between Tipos, Slovakia’s national lottery company, and another lottery company, Športka, is now in the hands of a Czech businessman to whom Slovakia will have to pay almost Sk2 billion.
Doubts over security chief
FRANTIŠEK Blanárik, the head of Slovakia’s National Security Office (NBÚ), probably informed on an army colleague during the communist era, documents unearthed from the former Czechoslovak Army Counter-intelligence (VKR) archives suggest. TV Markíza reported the archive find on November 26.
Slovaks could be fined for using poor Slovak
SLOVAKS who make mistakes when using their own language could face financial penalties from next year. The Culture Ministry has proposed an amendment to the existing language law which would impose fines of €100 (Sk3,012.60) to €500 (Sk150,630) for those whose use of the Slovak language does not conform to (as yet unspecified) official guidelines. If approved, the amendment would come into force on July 1, 2009, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak and Hungarian far–right groups
Slovenská Pospolitosť (Slovak Solidarity) THIS ultra–right civic association, which was a political party until it was outlawed in 2006, was dissolved by the Interior Ministry shortly before the talks between Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsány, on November 15.
Nation marks anniversary of Velvet Revolution
AS THOUSANDS of people across Slovakia observed the 19th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on November 17, Prime Minister Robert Fico let it be known that he was treating it like any other day. And polls published by several media showed that today’s teenagers know little, if anything, about its significance. But groups who are concerned about the direction and tone that politics has taken in Slovakia lately didn’t let the occasion pass unnoticed. Some organised rallies at Bratislava’s SNP Square, while others, such as the non-parliamentary Civic Conservative Party (OKS), as well as environmental groups and non-governmental organisations, organised concerts and discussions.
PM talks end without major agreement
PRIME Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány emerged from talks in the town of Komárno on November 15 having made a number of lofty promises but little progress in resolving the disputes that have caused a surge in tension between the countries.
Journalists ponder effect of ruling on their freedom
A BRATISLAVA Regional Court verdict imposing a large fine on a radio station has raised new concerns about freedom of speech in Slovakia.
Gyurcsány & Fico meeting
POLITICIANS and political observers in Hungary and Slovakia have welcomed a decision by the prime minister of Hungary and Slovakia to meet on November 15 (after The Slovak Spectator went to press). Ferenc Gyurcsány and Robert Fico were due to hold their meeting in the Slovak-Hungarian border town of Komárno/Komárom.
Keeping the lessons of November 17 alive
SLOVAKIA will mark the 19th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which signalled the end of communism in Czechoslovakia, in two ways. It will contemplate to what extent parliamentary democracy has taken root since that fateful day, and it will celebrate the cancellation of the visa requirement for Slovak and Czech citizens travelling to the United States.
Raise prices and go straight to jail
PARLIAMENT passed on November 6 an amendment to the Penal Code that imposes prison sentences of up to 12 years on businesses found to have raised prices without justification during the lead–up to euro adoption.
Analysts hail Obama win
POLITICAL analysts in Slovakia have welcomed the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. They expect the domestic political situation in the US to improve during his presidency and international relations to prosper.
Profiting from persecution
THE NATION'S Memory Institute (ÚPN) has published on its website a list of 2,223 Jewish businesses, which were ‘aryanised’ during the Second World War. Since Jews were banned by law from owning any property between 1940 and 1945, the state (at that time a pro-Nazi independent republic) took their businesses from them and assigned them to non-Jews (or, as they were referred to by the state, ‘Aryans’).
Football riot stokes tension
AN INCIDENT at a football match in Dunajská Streda on November 1 has become the most recent cause of tension between Slovakia and Hungary.
U.S. confirms end to visas
SPEAKING during a visit to Bratislava on October 28, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff confirmed that Slovaks will be able to travel to the U.S. without a visa as of November 17. The date marks the 19th anniversary of the fall of communism.
Bombing suspect caught
JOZEF Roháč, who has been on the run from Slovak and Hungarian police for nearly a decade, was arrested in Prague on October 26 on charges of driving under the influence.
Queen wows Slovakia
Slovakia greeted Queen Elizabeth II with rare enthusiasm in late October, during the first official state visit by a British monarch.
Sharing views on visas
THE ANNOUNCEMENT by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 17 that the United States is rescinding the visa requirement for Slovakia and six other countries as of next month was the culmination of years of tough negotiations by a number of people from both countries. Two of those most closely involved were former ambassadors to the United States, Rastislav Káčer (2003-2008), who left his position in Washington this September, and Martin Bútora (1999-2003).
Advice from both sides of German politics
SINCE the beginning of the 1990s, several German political foundations have been active in Slovakia, focusing mainly on the development of civic society, pluralist democracy, freedom of speech, or racial and religious tolerance. The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) has ties to the German social democratic movement and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) is associated with the Christian democratic movement in Germany.
U.S. visa–free travel arrives
U.S. President George W. Bush announced on October 17 that the United States is rescinding visa requirements for the citizens of six formerly communist European countries and South Korea.
- We are partners, friends and Allies
- News digest: Bear suspected of killing man in central Slovakia
- News digest: 350 brown bears to be culled as Slovakia declares emergency
- Flats in Bratislava are getting smaller, otherwise no one would buy them
- From Mexico to Slovakia – finding a new life Audio
- Foot-and-mouth outbreak hits major Slovak cattle farm near Austrian and Czech borders Photo
- A paper that wasn’t supposed to last
- Unique underground museum in Košice reopens, major renovation set for next year Photo
- A paper that wasn’t supposed to last
- Foot-and-mouth outbreak hits major Slovak cattle farm near Austrian and Czech borders Photo
- From Mexico to Slovakia – finding a new life Audio
- We are partners, friends and Allies
- Bratislava satellite town breaks records and keeps expanding
- News digest: Bear suspected of killing man in central Slovakia
- News digest: Police brutality detailed, but MPs refuse to listen
- A deadly contagion has arrived in Slovakia: 30 years of stories from Slovakia
- Foot-and-mouth outbreak hits major Slovak cattle farm near Austrian and Czech borders Photo
- France and Slovakia: Believing, loving, and working together
- Last Week: As disease spreads, Fico no longer insists on a “different opinion”
- Trading McDonald’s for the front lines
- From Mexico to Slovakia – finding a new life Audio
- A paper that wasn’t supposed to last
- News digest: Bear suspected of killing man in central Slovakia
- Bratislava satellite town breaks records and keeps expanding
- Slovak dad drops everything for son’s NHL debut — even a flight
- Foot-and-mouth outbreak hits major Slovak cattle farm near Austrian and Czech borders Photo
- The Slovak-American who wants the world to witness the quality of Slovak wines
- France and Slovakia: Believing, loving, and working together
- Then … Now
- Dialects: can west understand east?
- Last Week: As disease spreads, Fico no longer insists on a “different opinion”
- Trading McDonald’s for the front lines
- News digest: 350 brown bears to be culled as Slovakia declares emergency
- Unique underground museum in Košice reopens, major renovation set for next year Photo
- Culture minister, Betliar Museum employees blame each other for problems
- Slovakia’s Gorals gain recognition. Historians say it is a joke. Photo
- Flats in Bratislava are getting smaller, otherwise no one would buy them
- We are partners, friends and Allies
- News digest: Police brutality detailed, but MPs refuse to listen
- Benny Golson played here. This year, Jazz Prešov will have to scale back. More articles ›
