IRST Anatolia Daily

Known by his famous pseudonym as ‘father of nation’ or ’ Otec Národa’ as they country-wide refer to adress him here in Slovakia, Vladimír Mečiar without doubt, constitutes the most controversial political figure of the Slovak political history.

Stating that ‘no other Slovak even 1600 years before has achieved and done, which I have done for Slovaks and Slovakia’ Vladimír Mečiar is, even nowadays, continuing to draw the attention of many –including outsiders- here in Slovakia, though he still remains a subject-of-criticism.

Mečiar, known also as the first Prime Minister of independent Slovak Republic and current leader of the People’s Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) last Tuesday paid a working-visit to the University of Matej Bel located in his favorite city and region of Banska Bystrica.

On the margins of his visit to the University of Mateja Bela’s Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, he hold a speech at the conference titled ‘Circumstances of the Creation of the Independent Slovak Republic and Defending Her Strategic Interests in the Current Crisis of the European Union’ which was co-organized by the Tridom Institute a Mengusovce-based Civic Association and Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of the University of Matej Bel.

As a participant-listener, together with other students, I was fascinated with the symbolism which he was representing, in terms of being a political spot light political figure; initiator of many constructive but also controversial things during his ruling-epoch here in Slovakia but also wider in the region of Central and Easter Europe, including, even, the region that I am coming from: the Balkans.

Therefore, the conference was beyond simply being an ordinary event as ‘father of Slovak nation’ did spoke more about his memories which he has had with his fellow-counterparts, the leaders whom I prefer to call as ‘naughty politicians’! In addition, he was keen enough to talk about many different political developments which had taken part during his ruling term but also about the Slovakia’s state policy on regard of those issues, including the Process of Succession of the Czech and Slovak Republics, Formation of the Independent Slovak Republic and as a matter of interest that made me to write this issue is His role as mediator during the bloody wars in ex-Yugoslavia or most commonly referred as the Yugoslav Wars of Succession!

On the other hand, the tet-a-tet meetings and negotiations with the famous revolutionary-writer-president Vaclav Havel and Vaclav Klaus of Czech Republic, febrile discussions with than German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on regard of the recognition of new emerged Slovak Republic or the quarrel –even bullying- with than the United States State Secretary Madeleine Korbelová Albright(ová) were among the memories of his speech which he shared with the audience: the information’s which many hardly knew before! But above all, as I mentioned prior, my focus was on the part of his speech related with the Balkans, particularly the Slovakia’s role in that region.

Countries had Dissolved but the Regimes Remained

The collapse of Soviet Union had taken part; new countries were emerging day-by-day. During this period, in those new-born countries, Vladimír Mečiar had gained reputation and fame as political personality which had contributed to split the country of Czechoslovakia without streaming even a single drop of human blood.

During this painful period of political developments Vladimír Mečiar had visited those countries. ‘I went to Ukraine to see how it works there and they told me that we keep on ruling as before’ Mečiar said asking them ‘so why did you declare your independence than?’ getting the answer ‘we have our Presidents now instead of General-Secretary’ by which as Mečiar told that they were trying to convince him in a way which it was not really clear and defined enough.

Franjo Tudjman Lived and Worked in Slovakia

Asked by the participant-audience to share his memories with the Balkans leaders or the ‘naughty boys’ as I refer to call them, such as Slobodan Milošević of Serbia, Milan Kučan of Slovenia or Franjo Tudjman of Croatia he told that he had met them frequently during the period of crisis in different places.

Talking especially about Franjo Tudjman the famous Croatian historian-writer-politician and than President, Mečiar told the audience that Franjo Tudjamn –referring him as ‘Brano’ which is very common male name here in Slovakia instead of Franjo- for many years had lived and worked in Slovak Academy of Science in Bratislava and that even he had shared the same working room with Gustáv Husák , well known Slovak politician, president of Czechoslovakia and a long-term Communist leader of Czechoslovakia and of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.

Thus, their bilateral relations, as Mečiar told the crowd, have been in the capacity of fellow-countryman rather than meeting between two politicians of foreign countries.

Slovenians Didn’t Keep Their Promise!

‘The things in Yugoslavia, on the other hand, were different. Josip Broz Tito was uniting personality there. After his dead, the things began to go wrong. During this period there began to emerge frozen problems of WW II, the problems between Catholic and Orthodox Christians and Muslims. The things were bad also in military. There was Yugoslav Peoples Army and in addition every republic formed her own Territorial Defense Units. They, also, formed so-called rotating presidency system’ told Mečiar adding ‘the system which in fact did not mean anything and was a signal for death of Yugoslavia’ stating that ‘hose army members at the end began to fire to each other`.

Thus, during this period, Mečiar was frequent visitor of Yugoslav capitals. ‘Firstly, Slovenes went out. They requested me to mediate between Milošević’ said Mečiar adding that he had travelled to Belgrade to meet Milošević. ‘He was like Tsar! I was not sure how he will greet me, but I think I was good enough to persuade him because we reached an agreement. Federal army would leave Slovenia but the Slovenes didn’t respect the agreement and they, using their Territorial Defense Units fired at Yugoslav Peoples Army which led to 10 days war between Yugoslavia and Slovenia!’

I Could Have Ended the War in ex-Yugoslavia!

Unfortunate wars in Yugoslavian territory had begun to escalate. The things were going bad gradually. It was and ideological and nationalist oriented war emerging. The Serbs were welcoming the split of Yugoslavia but they had a condition, they were saying: ‘Ok, you may go out of Yugoslavia but we, the Serbs, won’t go. So wherever is single Serb we will stay there’ a condition by which in fact, they didn’t want to split it!

Antagonism had already started and as a consequence the most brutal war had begun to take place in the heart of Europe. During this period, Mečiar had shuttled between Belgrade and Zagreb. He was meeting Milošević and Tudjman ‘in order to find peaceful solution and finally end the war’ as he describes.

‘We were meeting and we begun the negotiations. Our Foreign Ministers were also meeting regularly’ told Mečiar.

‘Once I had to meet with Milošević and was told that we have to fly under some special air-corridor and we were not given exact directions. They told us that once you get to the Serbian air-space we will find you and we will give you the exact coordinates. Our translator’ he adds ‘was dressed like a pilot because we didn’t want to make it public that we are negotiating. We had our meeting and negotiations with Milošević, somewhere in the mountains but I don’t know exactly the location. We, than, agreed on the points and conditions of peace. Than later’ he continued ‘I informed Tudjman on the same issue with the same conditions, Tudjman agreed and we all agreed that we will sign peace agreement in Vysoké Tatry’ which is a mountain range of a corrugated nature and famous winter holiday location here in Slovakia, but as Mečiar added ‘unfortunately three days before the signing of agreement the Americans bombarded the Repulika Srpska’ one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Thus, Mečiar told the crowd that, ‘haven’t the Americans bombed the Serbs, I could have ended the War with Peace in ex-Yugoslavia’ a wish that almost all politicians did say after the things had emerged and by which the fate of Yugoslav nations and states went totally to the different spheres.

Lessons to be Learned from Slovakia

If you had traveled to Slovakia some ten years ago, you could hardly differentiate it from Serbia or any other Balkan state, which were stagnating almost in every sector. Even though the former, in terms of geography is closer to Central and Western Europe, an outsider could not find that difference between the capitals of Belgrade or Bratislava.

But what happened than, is a miracle. Above all, it is a lesson for the Balkan states.

Thanks to the reform-and-liberal-minded politicians, Slovakia went far away from her suspicious situation. They overthrow their communist past and concentrated on reforms. It was not an easy task for them, for sure, but at the end they became to the condition that you could hardly recognize today. You can not differentiate that Slovakia once has been the closed-communist country, unless you talk to elders!

Serbia, on the other hand, missed too many things during that period of changes. They concentrated on ‘border reforms’ instead of economic ones. The energy, which they had from Yugoslavia, was spent in different, destructive things.

Today, leading by the Europe-and-liberal-minded reformative politicians, Serbia has made some steps in order to change its past habits. But there still remains much to be done. Dilemmatic-nationalists should change their mind and should take Slovakia as an example in order to continue to deepen their reforms in different spheres. Serbia, unlike Slovakia, should be transformed from being problem-maker into problem-solver state.

Slovakia, on the other hand, thanks to her well-skilled diplomats such as Miroslav Lajčák has raised countries prestige as a country-lobbyist for democratic reforms.

But is Slovakia still playing a constructive role in the Balkans, remains not clearly defined yet. Considering the latest Kosovo’s independence issue, which is a taboo-topic here, seems that Slovakia is becoming bigger Serb than Serbs themselves, though the Serbs, on the other hand, have already started their negotiations with Kosovars in order to overcome their ‘bilateral’ issue.

Thus, don’t you think that, it is Slovakia’s turn to make step-forward for the stabilization of democratic and free Balkans, without bearing on mind other possible negative developments, which they bother Slovaks the most?

Furkan Čako

University of Matej Bel