Krupina Mayor Radoslav Vazan, a nominee of the ruling Smer party, criticised what he called “the glorification of Jews on Facebook”. He reacted to a story on František Kriegel, who was the only Czechoslovak leader who did not sign the country’s treaty with Moscow after the Warsaw Pact invasion to Czechoslovakia in 1968.
“A heroic Jew once again, who else,” Vazan wrote under the public profile of political analyst Juraj Marušiak, reacting to information on the Jewish origin of Kriegl on the idnes.cz Czech news website. In his further contribution, Vazan took on Israel, the Sme daily wrote in its Tuesday, August 27 issue. Vazan softened his statements later and said that it was just a private exchange between him and Marušiak, not meant for the public, and that he did not mean it as anti-Semitism, only as a protest against one nation acting as superior to others.
The Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia slammed his statements through its spokesperson, Lucia Kollárová. Other participants of the Facebook chat also criticised Vazan. The ruling Smer party has distanced itself from his statements. Jana Laššáková who is at the helm of the party's Banská Bystrica organisation, of which the mayor is a member, says that they will consider disciplinary measures against Vazan.
(Source: Sme)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
