Liberation80: Fico: WW2 History Must Unite Humanity (2)

Bratislava, April 4 (TASR) - The history of WW2 must unite humanity and those who purposefully forget and ignore what happened during the war act the same way as those who were pulling the trigger, shooting from cannons and dropping bombs, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared in his speech at the Slavin Memorial to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bratislava from fascism on Friday. "We must fight once again for our historical memory. We can't let anyone take it away from us," stated Fico. In his view, we can't let society forget about young soldiers who died during the liberation of Bratislava, as that would be inappropriate and disrespectful towards WW2 victims. "I pay my respects to every single victim of the WW2," said Fico, underlining that that's why he visited the military cemetery in France and the United States. He plans to visit also London to thank Slovak pilots who served in the Royal Air Force. "The greatest sacrifices were made by nations and states of the former Soviet Union, 21 million people." In his speech, Fico challenged the need to embrace defence hikes. "Why are small countries such as Slovakia being forced to keep pace in armaments and spending with big countries, the geopolitical powers that play their great games in the world?" asked Fico, adding that Slovakia is aware of the responsibility it has for its own security and commitments towards its partners. "It's appropriate to raise a question - shouldn't we ask Slovak citizens in a refendum: Dear Slovak citizens, are you in favor of militarization at the expense of your living standards? The government should do its utmost to prevent the arming to cause further reductions to living standards," claimed Fico. He added that it's necessary to say a clear 'no' to war and 'yes' to peace, as he believes "someone is preparing for war". Prime Minister Fico also criticised ambassadors of the EU countries, who chose not to attend the event due to the presence of Russian and Belarus ambassadors. "Small children can sulk, but the duty of ambassadors is not to sulk but work. The ambassadors must engage in communication and if they have such a great opportunity to meet with ambassadors from other countries, it's their duty to be here," he stated. Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Bratchikov declared in his speech at the Slavin Memorial that the task ahead of us is to preserve the real memory of history. "Without it, no future can be built," he said and voiced his happiness that the nations of Russia and Slovakia share the same truth about WW2. mf