The poet and translator Ľubomír Feldek received the Czech Medal of Merit for Diplomacy, which was presented to him by Ambassador Rudolf Jindrák on behalf of Minister Jan Lipavský. Jinrák described Feldek as a symbol of friendship between Czechs and Slovaks.
Feldek received the medal for his contribution to Czechoslovak and subsequently to Czech and Slovak cultural cooperation, as well as to relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
"Ľubomír Feldek is a man deeply connected to Czechoslovakia by his family roots and, not least, by the fact that he has lived alternately in Prague and Bratislava. He is a man who is aware of the importance of partnership and the deep alliance between Czechs and Slovaks," said Jindrák.
He added that Feldek can speak out against injustice. In this context, he recalled Feldek's 1989 protest against the imprisonment of Václav Havel in communist Czechoslovakia.
"The Czech and Slovak nations have been linked for centuries not only by political and cultural, but also by human and emotional relations," Feldek said.
Feldek, now 88, has also made a name for himself in prose writing, and some of his plays and adaptations have been staged by theatres in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He has become an acclaimed translator, writing, for example, the screenplay for director Juraj Jakubisko's popular fairy tale Perinbaba.
Source: ČTK, Denník N
