ALMOST a hundred mostly young people gathered in SNP Square in Bratislava on March 15 to protest against fascism, racism and xenophobia.
The event was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the creation of the wartime Slovak state, and according to one of the organisers from the Bratislava Without Nazis initiative, Robert Mihál, it was first and foremost meant to prevent a neo-Nazi march through the city of Bratislava to the grave of the president of the wartime Slovak state, Jozef Tiso.
According to Mihál, the protesters succeeded in preventing the annual neo-Nazi march, which has always been held on the anniversary of the creation of the wartime Slovak state.
The aim of the march was to recall the horrors of the Second World War.
"The event, however, is also a reaction to recent events in our country, as for example, the recent attacks by neo-Nazis in Nitra. Today's march is a clear 'no' to fascism in all of its forms. It publicly rejects nationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism and, on the contrary, voices the message of a tolerant and inclusive society," Mihál told the TASR newswire.
The march against fascism was supported by many public figures, including Bratislava Mayor Milan Ftáčnik, on whose initiative Bratislava City Hall flew a flag with a crossed-out swastika from the balcony of the Primate’s Palace.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
