On Saturday, 29 August, politicians and members of the public commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. In their speeches at a memorial in the central Slovak town of Banská Bystrica, the President, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Prime Minister agreed on the importance of commemorating significant historical events that shaped the Slovak nation. At the same time, they criticized the opposition and the media.
Peter Pellegrini highlighted the visionary foresight of the Uprising's political leaders. "Let us realize that it is no coincidence that, during the period of the harshest political terror in the 1950s, almost everyone who played a significant role in the Uprising was tortured in prison dungeons," he noted.
According to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), every state must respect the legitimate security interests of other states. He emphasized that while Russia should be criticized when it makes mistakes, it must not be demonized or pushed out of Europe. "The European Union is a peace project, not a tool for fighting against Russia," he declared.
According to Michal Šimečka, leader of the largest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia (PS), freedom, democracy, and the rejection of extremism remain the legacy of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) to this day.
The Slovak National Uprising (SNP), which broke out on August 29, 1944, was a major armed resistance movement against the Nazi-aligned regime in Slovakia and the German occupation. Its main objective was to overthrow the authoritarian regime of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (HSĽS), associated with President Jozef Tiso, and to reintegrate Slovakia into a restored democratic Czechoslovak Republic.
Source: STVR, ÚPN
