THE PARLIAMENTARY opposition will lend support to the bid made by Christian Democrats (KDH) seeking the abrogation of Vladimír Mečiar's amnesties, the TASR newswire reported on September 11.
KDH turned to the parties in question with a letter that emphasises that the amnesties must be abolished in the name of justice. KDH calls them the "moral and legal sewage" of modern Slovakia's democratic history.
"These amnesties in their parts concerning the kidnapping of Michal Kovac Jr. abroad in 1995 and the obstructed referendum of May 23-24, 1997, are chaotic and represent a flagrant abuse of state power," reads the letter that KDH leader Ján Figeľ sent to the parliamentary parties, as quoted by TASR. Furthermore, the text raises suspicion that state authorities participated in crimes that are subject to amnesty and declares that the termination of prosecution processes undermined the legal certainty in Slovakia and trust of its citizens in the justice system.
It is mostly KDH that has attempted a number of times to abrogate the amnesties, with the last such motion tabled in December 2012. Back then, KDH proposed - unsuccessfully - to have the Parliament condemn the amnesties as amoral and unprecedented decisions not in line with principles of justice and rule of law. The opposition, however, lacked the votes of the ruling Smer, whose chairman Robert Fico (a lawyer by trade) also claimed that although amoral, the amnesties cannot be taken back from the legal point of view.
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.
