Fico: People Giving Hitler Salute Today Can't Be Sane
Uhrovec, August 26 (TASR) – When it comes to commemorating the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) we should pay less attention to formalities and speak more about the content of the SNP, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico at the Jankov vrsok memorial near Uhrovec (Trencin region) on Saturday to commemorate the Slovak anti-fascist resistance during WWII.
“We have to speak about how brave men and women were in 1944. I can’t imagine how people in Slovakia would respond to a similar challenge today. Just as they [Slovaks] made a decision in 1944, we’ll soon face serious challenges as well. Just as we joined the European Union in 2004, we must now think about whether or not we’re able to take … a leap into the [EU’s] core,” said Fico.
“It won’t be easy to make such a decision, but I believe that our participation in European structures so far has been extremely beneficial to our country. I’ll use all my political power to make sure that we don’t miss this train,” he added.
Fico went on to say that people take the fact that they’ve been living in Slovakia in peace for decades for granted. People no longer remember barriers at the borders, and many young people don’t even remember that people used to pay with Slovak crowns in the past, he added.
“It’s not enough just to attend events of this kind. We significantly support [visits to] the Holocaust Museum in Sered [Trnava region]. I regularly take part in various events concerning villages that were destroyed by the Germans. It would be good if more schools, but this also concerns parents, took children to such places so that they would know that we’re speaking about serious issues. If a person familiarises himself with what happened, for example, in Kaliste [a village in Banska Bystrica region that was destroyed by German troops in March 1945 – ed. note], they’ll realise that those who are now giving the Hitler salute and using Nazi symbols must be fools. They cannot be sane,” said Fico.
