President Warns of Potential Consequences of Escalating Hatred in Society

Banska Bystrica, 29 August (TASR) - In a speech that he delivered at celebrations to mark the 81st anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) in Banska Bystrica on Friday, President Peter Pellegrini warned of the possible consequences of escalating hatred in society. The president publicly called on all those who today are contributing towards spreading discord with their perhaps small, but everyday share, to stop doing so immediately. As a contrast to the current atmosphere in society, he highlighted the ability of the Slovak nation to unite during the SNP. "Fighting together despite the many natural differences between those who stood shoulder to shoulder on the same side – on the side of freedom and democracy. And this is no cliché in this case, as at that time there really was a civic democrat and a communist, a soldier and a partisan, a rebel from the south or the north, a city dweller or a villager lying next to each other in the trenches with weapons in their hands," said the president. However, society has currently reached a state from which not only harmony and unity, but also basic tolerance and mutual understanding have disappeared, stated Pellegrini. He views social networks as a gala parade of mutual hatred, which is escalating more and more. "And many media outlets, which for decades prided themselves on being the watchdogs of democracy, today guard democracy by repeating and using this hatred from social networks, and instead of dampening these evil passions, they themselves often add fuel to the fire of mutual intolerance," he emphasised. The president expressed concern about a further growth of hatred. "What if someone suddenly wants to use a real weapon instead of a verbal one? What if someone wants to add physical violence to the mental suffering of their victim? I'm not drawing any imaginary devil on the wall now; I'm talking about a threat that has already had its concrete manifestations in Slovakia. Have we really forgotten that we faced an assassination attempt on the premier in Slovakia over a year ago?" he asked. "Compared to others, politicians bear an incomparably greater share of responsibility for where our common state is heading and how we will exist together as a nation in the future. Politics mustn't turn into a competition of who will offend whom more, who will lower the bar of decency further, and who will be the first to throw away the last remaining inhibitions in the public sphere," underlined Pellegrini, who also called on the media to return to the values ​​on which they were once based. At the end of his speech, the head of state expressed his gratitude to the heroes of the Uprising. "We bow in humility before your courage, determination and the sacrifice that you made on the altar of the homeland. We know how great your sacrifices were, and we will never forget them," said Pellegrini, adding that the evil of Fascism mustn't return in any form. ko/df