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Around 150 People Commemorate Wartime Slovak State in Bratislava
Sunday 14 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 14 (TASR) - A group of sympathisers of the wartime Slovak state (1939-45) gathered on Hodzovo Namestie in Bratislava on Sunday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of its foundation.
The rally took place shortly after an anti-fascist demonstration called in reaction. The group of around 150 people was made up of members of Slovak National Unity (SNJ) led by Stanislav Panis and members of Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovak Togetherness). They were joined by representatives of nationalist groups from the Czech Republic and Germany.
At the beginning of the rally, the demonstrators sang the anthem of the wartime republic before being greeted by Slovak Togetherness adjutant Marcel Urban with the salute of the paramilitary Hlinka Guard "Na straz!" (On guard!).
The speakers focused on national topics, economic and social issues, unemployment and immigration.
"I'm not ashamed of my conviction, I love my country. I'm a Slovak patriot," said doctor Natalia Grausova, who attended the demo. She stated that the-then Slovak republic was a wartime state and claimed that deportations of Jews were halted immediately when the government learnt that they were being killed. [Thousands of Slovak Jews were murdered in Nazi concentration camps in Poland during WWII. - ed. note].
Panis rejected accusations of fascism that were levelled against the wartime state sympathisers at the anti-fascist rally earlier in the day. "What kind of fascist am I? I confess spiritual values instead," he said, adding that the event is not a revolt but a celebration of the inception of the Slovak state.
If he were to protest, however, he would raise his voice against critics of the Patriot Act, which was adopted recently in Parliament. He said that it would have been better if the Act had been approved at the beginning of the electoral term, as now it has become engulfed in the whirlwind of the election campaign.
After the initial gathering, which lasted around one hour with no disturbances reported, the demonstrators moved on to the Martin cemetery, which contains the presumed grave of Slovak wartime state president Jozef Tiso. They were addressed by Slovak Togetherness founder Marian Kotleba.
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