Communists allege discrimination in official commemoration of Slovak resistance

Slovak National Uprising Museum authorities have denied permission to the KSS, saying the 76th anniversary of the uprising will be held as an apolitical event. This is despite ruling party representatives being invited

August 28, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch
Slovak National Uprising Museum authorities have denied permission to the KSS, saying the 76th anniversary of the uprising will be held as an apolitical event. This is despite ruling party representatives being invited

On August 25, the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment with the decision of the authorities to reject their request to take part in the official event marking the 76th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP). The SNP museum authorities have denied permission to KSS saying this year the event will be held as a limited apolitical event without political parties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is scheduled to be held on August 28 and 29.

The Slovak National Uprising (SNP) was an armed resistance mounted against the Nazi German troops and Nazi collaborator Jozef Tiso’s regime between August 29–October 28, 1944, during the second world war. Communist partisans were an active contingent of the resistance.

KSS has stated that “we consider the decision to hold the celebrations of the 76th anniversary of the SNP in a very limited way from the point of view of the COVID-19 pandemic to be acceptable and we fully respect it. However, we cannot agree with the statement that another reason why the KSS delegation cannot participate in the official act of reverence is the apolitical nature of the SNP celebrations. The SNP celebrations have never been and will never be apolitical. We consider it ridiculous to say that the act of reverence, as well as the whole commemorative celebrations of the SNP, have nothing to do with politics.” The statement goes on to point out that if this were the case, what would explain that an invite only event has invitees that includes representatives of political parties who are in power.

“The Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica symbolizes the courage and heroism of the Slovak people, who resisted Nazi enslavement and rebelled against the Nazi occupiers. Historical facts about the entire anti-fascist movement in Slovakia, as well as the preparation of an armed action against fascism and its domestic collaborators at the end of August 1944, are clear evidence that the Communist Party was one of the main organizers of the anti-fascist resistance. Whether someone likes it today or not, it was mainly the communists and their family members who cruelly paid for their actions and attitudes and paid for the most valuable – with their lives. This fact must be clear to you as well as to the professional employees of the SNP Museum in Banská Bystrica,” the statement adds.