Premier: Anti-fascism Must be Basic Backbone of Educational Programme

Sered, September 9 (TASR) - Anti-fascism and commemoration of Holocaust victims must be the basic backbone of the state educational programme, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), who honoured the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and racial violence at the Holocaust Museum in Sered (Trnava region) on Monday. "Everyone attending a secondary school should visit this kind of a museum ... so that they can see with their own eyes, through photographs, what kind of atrocities the Nazis and fascists committed," said Fico. The premier stated that the world is full of falsehood and lies, as on the one hand we talk about committed crimes, but on the other hand incredible compromises are made over time that offend the victims of the Holocaust and racial violence. "We all talk about fascism, Nazism, while silently tolerating units moving across Ukraine that have a very clear label and are connected to movements that we consider dangerous and forbidden today. Since it is a geopolitical fight, nobody cares," stated Fico. According to the premier, the word 'fascist' is currently used with great ease in Slovakia. "If you have any other opinion, you are immediately called a 'fascist'. Therefore, I want to pay tribute to the victims, not with pathetic speech, but I want to call for action. The international community should recognise that troops using Nazi insignia, who often appear to act as such, cannot fight in Ukraine," he said. Fico said that we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII next year and that plenty of events will be organised in Slovakia on this occasion. ko/mcs