President of the Republic of Austria, Heinz Fischer, pays a visit to the Slovak Republic

The President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, paid an official visit to the Slovak Republic. In the Devín municipality, President Ivan Gašparovič and the Austrian President commemorated the tragic events of forty years ago when Czechoslovakia was occupied by troops of the Warsaw Pact and thus the process of democratisation was suppressed for many years. Both Presidents also paid tribute to the memory of the men and women killed at borders of the then Czechoslovakia in attempts to escape and cross the “iron curtain” in 1945-1989, as well as to the memory of persons forcibly expelled from their country, by laying flowers at Devin Castle’s “Gate of Freedom”.

On this occasion, both Presidents also paid tribute to the memory of Alexander Dubček by laying flowers at his bust in front of the National Council of the Slovak Republic.
In his speech, Heinz Fischer spoke highly of Alexander Dubček, who, both in Slovakia and the wider world became a symbol of the fight for freedom and democracy. “He was a symbol for ideas and goals which were important for a great number of people.” The President of Austria said that “our task in the future is to further develop the possibilities of European cooperation and provide an example of the peaceful settling of any conflicts that arise.

In his speech Ivan Gašparovič emphasised the significance of the Austrian President’s visit, since it was Austria which, in those disturbed times, opened its gates to the people who could not imagine their future in Czechoslovakia.“ According to the President, the year 1968 demonstrated that tanks and force never brought freedom. Not even in the twenty first century can or will tanks bring freedom, the Slovak President said.