Kollar: We Have a Lot to Be Grateful for to Stefanik

Bratislava, May 4 (TASR) - Slovakia lost a great patriot and person, and I think we have a lot to be grateful for to him, Parliamentary Chair Boris Kollar (We Are Family) said on Thursday marking the 104th anniversary of the tragic death of General Milan Rastislav Stefanik. Kollar pointed out that Stefanik not only founded our state, but was also an important politician, astronomer, artist and philosopher. "Slovakia and the Slovaks lost a great patriot and a great person," noted Kollar. "Stefanik's contribution to the formation of a modern and democratic Czechoslovakia is invaluable," interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger posted on a social network, praising his courage, prudence and perseverance. Interim Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad highlighted Stefanik's influence on the course of our national history. "Thanks to his acquaintances and contacts with representatives of Western states, he brought the idea of an independent republic to the field of international diplomacy. In addition, he organised legions of Czech-Slovak volunteers, whose fighting on various fronts of the First World War formed the basis for the recognition of our state's right to self-determination," he said, stressing that Stefanik's legacy survived various regimes and their efforts to erase him from our common national history. Stefanik, one of co-founders of the 1918 Czechoslovakia and its first and last minister of war, was killed with his entire crew when his Caproni Ca.33 biplane crashed near Ivanka pri Dunaji (Bratislava region) on May 4, 1919. am/mcs