THE SLOVAK National Uprising (SNP) has been one of the most important events of the current history of Slovakia, President Ivan Gašparovič said in a statement on the 61st anniversary of the SNP on August 29.
"We pay tribute to the bravery and courage of all participants of the uprising," he said. According to the SITA news agency, the president was referring not only to Slovak citizens but also to members of other European nations who contributed to the national fight for liberation.
He also asked Slovaks to remember the victims of the uprising as necessary martyrs for the victory over fascism.
Gašparovič said that Slovaks are unambiguous members of the international antifascist coalition. He added that the uprising proves that Slovak nationals and minorities living in Slovakia never reconciled with the fascist dictatorship or accepted the Nazi ideology.
Slovakia has been celebrating the anniversary of the SNP as a national holiday since the end of World War II. In the face of Nazi Germany's troops entering Slovakia on August 29, 1944, the Central Command of the Slovak Army ordered Slovak troops to begin armed resistance, thus initiating the SNP.
