List of author's articles, page 6
President won't address rights in China
PRESIDENT Ivan Gašparovič has decided not to bring up human rights with Chinese officials during his visit to the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Anachronism or asset?
PRIME Minister Robert Fico has proclaimed his deep respect for it; Ján Slota, chairman of the Slovak National Party (SNS), considers it the ‘mother of the nation’. But political analysts, as well as historians consider the Matica Slovenská (MS), a Martin-based, state-funded cultural heritage institution, an anachronism and accuse it of having become politicised.
Who will confront the skyward urge?
BRATISLAVA is the eighth fastest-developing city in Europe, astonishing those who decades ago were sceptical of its potential. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Štefan Šlachta, the capital’s chief architect, about its phenomenal success, as well as its many growing pains.
The implications of the Izák case
ROBERT Fico’s fourth cabinet minister may be on his way out, but it’s having little effect on the stability of the coalition, or on the popularity of the ruling parties. However, political analysts say that such failures by cabinet members are not part of a normal political environment, and that the Prime Minister has not reacted with equal strictness towards each such failure.
Inspirational tolerance for others
SWITZERLAND sees its multiplicity of cultures and languages as an advantage for the country – something which could serve as an inspiration to Slovakia, according to Slovakia’s ambassador to Switzerland, Štefan Schill. “We could also follow the example of Switzerland when it comes to generosity, tolerance, patience, and their respect for the identity of others,” Schill said, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator. Schill also spoke about investment and tourism potential, education exchanges and cultural ties between Slovakia and Switzerland. The Slovak Spectator (TSS): Unlike Slovakia, Switzerland is not a member of the European Union (EU). Has Switzerland’s presence outside the EU influenced bilateral relations in any way? And if so, how?
President vetoes Traffic Code
IN A SURPRISE move, President Ivan Gašparovič on July 25 vetoed the new Traffic Code, whose main provisions raised fines for speeding and lowered speed limits on roads and highways.
Floods ravage Slovak countryside
EASTERN and northern Slovakia were hit by five days of severe floods that started on July 23.
Clever marketing or fraud?
SO-CALLED ‘manipulators’ may face tough times ahead in Slovakia. The country’s Justice Ministry is now proposing to imprison salespeople who use ‘unfair’ psychological manipulation to sell their products while targeting the most vulnerable groups.
Smer polls at historic high
A NEW poll has found that the Smer party, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico, would receive 48.5 percent of the vote if parliamentary elections were held in July.
€ info campaign excludes dailies
THE FICO government has dropped the country’s largest quality dailies, Sme and Pravda, from its information campaign on introducing the euro, which began in earnest this summer. The move has quickly given rise to suspicions that the dailies were jilted because of their frequent criticism of the ruling coalition over the past two years.
Tiso fund-raising approved
THE INTERIOR Ministry has given its approval to the Association for the Preservation of Traditions (SPZT) to organise a public fund-raising effort to allow reconstruction of the house where Jozef Tiso was born. Tiso was the president of the wartime Slovak State, a satellite of Nazi Germany.
Justice minister criticised
JUSTICE Minister Štefan Harabin has been under the spotlight recently, with a parliamentary committee examining whether he abused his authority by appointing an unqualified person associated with the communist-era secret police to the position of executor. Opposition MP Daniel Lipsič, who is a member of the committee and Harabin’s predecessor as justice minister, accused the minister of violating the law by appointing the man and also suggested that Harabin had maintained friendly relations with a person suspected of drug trafficking.
Discrimination pervades EU, survey finds
ALMOST half of European Union citizens believe ethnic discrimination is the most common form of prejudice in their country, and that it is on the rise, according to the newest Eurobarometer survey. Homophobia is the second most frequent form of discrimination, respondents said.
ÚPN: No cooperation from prosecutor, despite law
A SECTION of Slovak law passed in 2002 requires the Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN) and the General Prosecutor’s Office (GP) to work together to investigate and prosecute crimes committed during the country’s fascist and communist eras.
Top state official has no security clearance
THE MAN appointed to serve as vice-chairman of the Office of the Security Council of Slovakia, the body which oversees the security of the state and plays a crucial role in the event of emergencies, has not yet obtained security clearance. This means that Svätopluk Ratuský should not have access to classified information, normally considered vital to his role. If this were not unusual enough, Ratuský was formerly a member of the communist-era border guard, a particularly repressive part of the communist security apparatus.
Top Slovak court halts terror suspect extradition
SLOVAKIA'S Constitutional Court has overturned the Supreme Court's extradition order against Mustapha Labsi, an Algerian national wanted in his home country for alleged links to terrorist groups, including the Al–Qaeda network.
Roma tongue recognised
SLOVAKIA officially designated the language of Europe's most deprived minority, the Roma, a standardised European language on June 29. As well as enabling the language to be preserved and taught at schools, the designation strengthens the identity of the country's 300,000-strong Roma community, its advocates say. “We have now created the conditions for the development and preservation of the Roma language,” Anina Botošová, the government's proxy for Roma communities, told The Slovak Spectator.
Senior judge fears smears
A SUBSTANTIAL quantity of high explosive was found in the grounds of the house of Constitutional Court Judge Juraj Horváth in Komárno, southern Slovakia. Police Special Unit members found the explosive on June 20 close to a dog pen. "This amount of explosive would have been enough to destroy a seven-storey building," Horváth told The Slovak Spectator.
Russian-Slovak cultural links revive
THOUGH the arts from Russia are not presented in Slovakia – nor the arts from Slovakia in Russia – to the same extent that they were before 1989, the last few months have witnessed several bilateral cultural events.
Počiatek: the fallout
THE OPPOSITION knew that it did not have sufficient votes to oust Finance Minister Ján Počiatek, but it nevertheless forced a no-confidence vote in Parliament on June 25. Political analysts agreed that the debate served to expose weaknesses in the governing coalition, but said the long-term political consequences remain unclear.
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