Plavcan: Extremism Masquerades as Patriotism

Plavcan: Extremism Masquerades as Patriotism

Bratislava, February 16 (TASR) – It’s important for young people to be able to distinguish truth from lies, said Education, Research, Science and Sport Minister Peter Plavcan (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) in a discussion on rising extremism organised by the Open Society Foundation on Thursday.

The discussion focused on the prospects for disabled people and was part of the Know Your Past and Don’t Forget project, which is aimed at pointing to the dangers of ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust against the backdrop of growing extremism and radicalism in society. Young disabled people paid a visit to the Auschwitz museum at the former Nazi extermination camp in Poland.

Plavcan, under whose official auspices the project was organised, took part in the discussion. “In our society many forms of extremism exist, so there’s a need to speak about the Holocaust. The worst problem is that extremism masquerades today as patriotism,” he said, adding that the issue forms an integral part of education reform. It’s important for young people to develop critical thinking that would allow them to distinguish truth from lies.

The project was created by former investigative journalist Monika Scevovichova, who was confined to a wheelchair following a car accident in 2008. “Extremism doesn’t respect any minority group,” she stated.