A Visit To Remember

When U.S. president George Bush thanked the Slovak people for the cordial welcome extended to him during his visit to Slovakia, he added, "My trip to Slovakia is one I will never forget." And we are remembering too.

The three months that have passed since the February visit represent a long period in politics and diplomacy. Since then, the American president has come to Europe again, visiting the capitals of the countries of the former Soviet Union – Riga, Moscow, and Tbilisi. The Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky paid a visit to the United States. Meanwhile, Russian secret service (FSB) chief Nikolai Patrushev said that at a recent conference in Bratislava, NGOs plotted to overthrow Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

A lot has been written about the visit of President and Mrs. Bush. For the first time in history Slovaks could see and hear an American president speaking in Bratislava's Hviezdoslavovo Square in the very center of the Slovak capital. Bratislava became briefly the center of global media attention– such a positive outcome could hardly have been achieved even if a dozen public relations agencies had been hired. The American president praised Slovaks for their contribution in building America, for the success in the struggle for freedom and democracy, and for being a source of encouragement for other countries.

President Bush's trip is the end result of a systematic and concerted effort by Slovak politicians and diplomats in the ruling government for the last seven years. Already in 1999, Prime Minister Dzurinda in a conversation with then-president Bill Clinton pointed out that Slovakia is one of the few new democracies that a U.S. president had not visited. At that time, Mr. Dzurinda was using a map underscoring the significance of Slovakia for a secure Central Europe with the enlarged NATO as its safeguard. In 2005, we were already firmly on the map: the U.S. president praised Slovakia for the reforms that have been underway and thanked the prime minister for the country's friendship and alliance with America, including Slovakia's involvement in Iraq.

However, on the occasion of the presidential visit to Slovakia, it is important to underline that America's importance to Slovakia is not only in the military field – this may not even be of primary importance. Rather, it is a certain spirit of America, a symbol that is not always understood in the stereotypes people have about Americans. Freedom of human beings, trust in the individual's ability to come together on the grassroots level and to believe they can make a difference in a common pursuit of goals. This kind of activism and optimism goes against the skepticism and self-doubt that are such common traits in Central Europe, including Slovakia.

The visit showed us that Slovakia has become a country that can motivate others to the east and south of its borders. Not in the sense understood by the head of the Russian secret service – to conspire and export revolution - but as a model, as an inspiration in the struggle for freedom and democracy. President Bush underlined topics of democracy and liberty during his stopovers in the capitals of eastern European countries, and similarly, they were also highlighted by Mr. Hrusovsky, in connection with the struggle for freedom in Cuba.

On the eve of the Bush-Putin Bratislava Summit, the Slovak Foreign Policy Association and the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. sponsored an international conference. The focus of the gathering was the quest for democracy. Participants included civic activists, analysts and politicians from Central and Eastern Europe and prominent experts from the U.S. and Western Europe. It was an event combining theory with practice, intertwining examples of hardship with hope, encompassing actual struggles and future visions of democratic changes. During the conference, key personalities from countries that still have a long road ahead in the struggle for democracy listened carefully to stories and experiences of succesful democratic transformation and integration to democratic Europe. But it was a two-way process – the whole auditorium was absorbed by the testimonies of representatives of Serbia and Montenegro, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Russia. Many of the participants highlighted Slovakia as an inspirational example for their undertakings.

Some 20 conference participants were invited to meet informally with the U.S. president and his entourage at the Slovak National Theater. Pavol Demes, the current head of the German Marshall Fund branch based in Bratislava, introduced the invited guests as representing "three generations" of fighters for freedom – ranging from the oldest participant, 86-year old Alexander Bachnár who survived the labor camp in Nováky, and later, along with other prisoners, fought in the Jewish Battalion in the Slovak anti-Nazi Uprising, to people who put up a fight against the Communist regime in its various forms. Other participants included younger Georgians and Ukrainians who succesfully stood up against authoritarian and mafia-ridden post-communist regimes. Irina Krasovskaja, Sonja Licht, and Giorgi Bokeria spoke for every one of us. The first speaker was a Belarus activist whose husband was kidnapped and killed by the regime; the second, a renowned leader of the Serbian civic sector; and the last speaker was a Georgian parliamentarian. All of them have expresed their firm belief that freedom is a value that is worth defending, and if necessary, worth sacrificing for.

The American president listened carefully, and at the end, he expressed his gratitude and offered to be an ally in their efforts. Minutes later, he gave a speech on freedom in Hviezdoslavovo Square to approximately 20,000 people. I was standing among those brave Serbians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Belarusians and others who came to Slovakia for hope. "We will remember this visit," they repeated.

Thus the visit of President Bush in Slovakia has not only confirmed close Slovak-American ties but has also signaled our common dedication to the cause of freedom beyond our borders.

Martin Butora
Institute for Public Affairs
Ambassador to the U.S. (1999-2003).

Slovak VIPs on the Washington Circuit

The Slovak Embassy arranged a full schedule for a visiting Slovak Parliamentary delegation led by Chairman Pavol Hrusovsky including a reception at the Embassy April 18 and a small informal supper at the Residence April 19. Additionally, Ingrid Aielli hosted the group at her Teatro Goldoni restaurant on April 19. Many FOS Board members and supporters were in evidence at these events and had the opportunity to talk at length with the Chairman and the four other members of the delegation: Lazlo Nagy (SMK- MKP), Robert Kalinak (Smer), Pavol Kubovic (SDKU) and Tibor Cabaj (HZDS). Several delegation members expressed appreciation for the work of FOS members in support of Slovak democracy. Friends of Slovakia attending the events included Board of Directors and Board of Advisors members Amb. Jay Niemczyk, Vice Chairman Bill Tucker, David Frankel, Ingrid Aielli, Scott Salmon, FOS Secretary Julie Slavik, Juraj Slavik and Founding Chairman Amb. Ted Russell. Ambassador and Mrs. Ron Weiser came in from Michigan to meet the delegation on April 19.

The delegation met with a number of U.S. Legislative and Executive Branchleaders including House Speaker Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Frist, Senators Voinovich, Martinez and Santorum, FOS Advisory Board member Congressman John Mica and State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Burns. Chairman Hrusovsky was reported to have raised the visa issue with all his interlocutors, and press reports suggest he received a sympathetic response.

In Florida, the delegation had a rich program arranged by Honorary Consul and FOS member Robert Petrik, including meetings with Cuban-American community leaders, Cuban dissidents and relatives of dissidents jailed in Cuba, members of the Czech and Slovak-American communities, Bishop Roman and the Mayor of Miami, Manuel Diaz. Chairman Hrusovsky recorded a message for Radio Marti to be broadcast to the Cuban people. .

FOS, AFoCR Jointly Sponsor Forum on Visa Liberalization

In an effort to promote greater public awareness of the need to increase the ability of Slovaks, Czechs and nationals of other Central European allies to visit the United States, FOS and the American Friends of the Czech Republic sponsored a Roundtable on Visa Issues in Central and Eastern Europe February 11 on Capitol Hill organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A large audience including many Congressional staff members, U.S. executive branch representativesfrom the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, members of the press and FOS and AFoCR supporters and Board members attended. A full account of the meeting is available at www.csis.org/ee/ and www.friendsofslovakia.org.

The meeting focused on the impact of current U.S. visa regulations on political and public relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with particular reference to Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Pavol Demes, Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the German Marshall Fund, Ivan Gabal, founder of Gabal Analysis and Consulting in Prague, and Mark Brzezinski, partner at McGuire Woods LLP were the distinguished panelists. Janusz Bugajski, Director of the CSIS East Europe Project, moderated the discussion.

Mark Brzezinski described the criteria for entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which includes most EU countries and requires a visa refusal rate of less than 3%. While statistics have not been made public for the Slovak and Czech refusal rates, they are believed currently to be well above the 3% figure cited in U.S. visa law. The post 9/11 environment has resulted in Congressional pressure to tighten border security and scrutinize the Visa Waiver Program.

Pavol Demes noted the importance of student and business exchanges and stated that current U.S. visa policy does not reflect the high quality of the U.S.- Slovak relationship. He cited Slovakia's contributions to supporting democracy building and fighting terrorism and expressed the view that liberalizing U.S. visa regulations would help diffuse current potential anti- Americanism stemming from the current visa regime. He urged that the U.S. provide a clear path to admittanceto the Visa Waiver Program so that Central and Eastern European states willing to comply would understand the requirements and timetables involved.

Ivan Gabal took a similar view and indicated that current U.S. visa policy harms the U.S.-Czech relationship, which was based on Czech appreciation of U.S. help in the transition to democracy and support for entering NATO. He urged the U.S. make clear the criteria necessary to allow liberalized visa treatment.

Slovak Ambassador Kacer and Czech Ambassador Palous both weighed in during the discussion period to support the need to liberalize U.S. visa policy while recognizing that bilateral cooperation will be needed. A consensus emerged among participants in the discussion that measures should be taken to revisit the current visa regime to assure continued good relations between the U.S. and the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe whose emergence the U.S. so strongly supported. Hopes were expressed for the development of a "roadmap" that would permit progress on the visa issue with individual CEE countries while recognizing U.S. and EU security concerns. During his visit to Bratislava February 23-24 President Bush announced that the U.S. would indeed address the visa issue and seek to make it easier for Slovaks to travel to the United States. A bilateral working group on the issue has been established in Bratislava and similar "roadmap" efforts are underway on a bilateral basis in other CEE countries. .

FOS Sponsors Slovak Speaker at Conflict Resolution Forum

Friends of Slovakia was pleased to sponsor the participation of Dr. Frantisek Sebej in a high level conference on "The Triumph of Reason: Celebrating the Peaceful Resolution of Conflict" April 12 in Washington. Dr. Sebej is a prominent Slovak political analyst, editor of Tyzden weekly, former member of Parliament and former vice chairman of the Civic Conservative Party.

The well attended conference, organized by the Alliance for International Conflict Prevention & Resolution, assembled distinguished speakers from Sweden, Norway, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to discuss the peaceful resolution of disputes as exemplified in the peaceful breakup of the union of Sweden and Norway a hundred years ago and of Czechoslovakia in 1992. Slovak Ambassador Rastislav Kacer and Czech Ambassador Martin Palous presented a panel discussion of reflections on peaceful resolution based on the "Velvet Divorce" experience following Dr. Sebej's lecture. A number of Friends of Slovakia attended including Brooks and Olga McClure, Miro Neovesky, Bill Tucker, David Frankel and Ambassador Ted Russell, together with several State Department representatives who have been involved with Slovak affairs in Washington or Bratislava.

Dr. Hugh Agnew from George Washington University described a number of factors that favored a peaceful division of the CSFR, including the breakup of the Soviet Union, no tradition of mutual violence between Czechs and Slovaks, peaceful relations with Hungary and the absence of the former large German minority, few border issues and no large enclaves of Slovaks in the Czech Republic and vice versa. Dr. Sebej pointed out that by the time of the split substantial progress had been made in establishing democratic and free market institutions in Czechoslovakia so both the new Czech and Slovak Republics had a relatively firm foundation upon which to build their civil society. Panelists pointed Journalist and former Parliamentarian Frantisek Sebej at Conflict Resolution Forum. out that while no referendum was held preceding the breakup and public opinion polls at the time showed a minority (10-15%) favoring independence, the Slovak and Czech Republics have succeeded in building successful democracies, joining NATO and the EU and have very friendly mutual relations. .

Slovak Harvest Songs Inspire Artist's Exhibit

New work by Slovak-American artist Eleanor Kotlarik Wang is on exhibit at Studio Gallery from May 25 through June 19. The images are based on Slovak folk harvest songs (‘travnice") and are a creative tribute to the early immigrants who kept the spirit of their home culture alive through song and dance and passed this legacy to their children and grandchildren. The opening reception is Saturday, May 28 from 3 to 6 pm. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 to 5 and Sundays from 1 to 5. An open house with Galleries of Dupont Circle is on Friday, June 3 from 6 to 8 pm. Studio Gallery is located at 2108 R Street NW, Washington DC. Directions available at www.studiogallerdc.com. Eleanor had a solo exhibit last June at the Embassy of Slovakia called Vykrucaj ("Turn, turn, turn"). She was also a part of a group exhibit in Eastern Europe, which was seen in Bardejov and Banska Bystrica in 2004.

For more information, call 703-352-7212 or email at kotlarik_wang@hotmail.com.

Meet Our New Board Members

Julie Brčs Slavik, Secretary to the FOS Board and Executive Committee, brings forty years of non-profit experience to the organization. Born in Wallace, Idaho, her childhood years were spent in California and Washington, DC. She graduated from the Madeira School and Vassar College, with a major in English poetry and a minor in religion. Her professional experience includes: Executive Secretary of The Junior League of Washington, Program Associate at Sister Cities International, founding Executive Director of the William A. Wendt Center, Director of Development at the Lab School of Washington, and Director of Development and Board liaison at the Council for Basic Education. Currently, she is an independent consultant working with The Lohman Group in Falls Church, Virginia. Prior board memberships include The Junior League of Washington, St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School, St. Andrew's School (Bethesda, Maryland), and the Vestries of St. Patrick's and St. Margaret's Episcopal Churches.

A Slovak-by-marriage to Juraj L. J. Slavik, Julie and Juraj have two sons. Juraj Michal Daniel Slavik, II (named for his grandfather, Ambassador Juraj Slavik), is Vice President of Ventex, married to Kim Trazkus Slavik, and the father of two daughters, Cassidy and Delaney. William Nicholas Allen Slavik is a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps. He is currently stationed in Hawaii, where he lives with his wife, Ashley Taylor Shelton. Traveling (a lot), playing bridge (as often as possible), entertaining, and doing needlepoint fill her spare time. Julie and Juraj have been supporters of FOS since its founding.

Dr. Sharon Fisher is Senior Economist with Global Insight's Emerging Europe Service (formerly PlanEcon). In this role, she conducts economic and political analysis, risk assessment, and forecasting on a number of Central European and Balkan countries, focusing primarily on Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She has also contributed to several consulting projects, dealing with such subjects as European Union enlargement and Turkey. During the past decade, Fisher has published more than 100 articles on Central and Eastern Europe and has presented her work at numerous local and international conferences, on subjects such as Slovak politics and economics, the transition in the Visegrad countries, civil society in Croatia, the economies of the Balkans and Moldova, and the role of international donors in the post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe.

In summer 2002, she taught a course entitled "Emerging Markets in Central and Eastern Europe" at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. In the mid-1990s, she spent four years as the Slovak analyst at the RFE/RL Research Institute in Munich and the Open Media Research Institute in Prague. Fisher earned a Doctorate of Philosophy from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London, a Master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, and a Bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary. She has lived in Germany, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Slovakia, Croatia, and Belgium. .

News Briefs from the Board of Directors

FOS Gala Dinner in Bratislava

Lord George Robertson, the immediate past Secretary General of NATO, has agreed to deliver a keynote address, along with John Surma, President & CEO of U.S. Steel at an FOS Gala Dinner in Bratislava on November 9, 2005 at the Carlton Hotel. Parliamentary Speaker Pavol Hrusovsky will also be an honored guest.

The gala dinner would be modeled after the successful 2002 gala dinner where former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was the keynote speaker. FOS would again present awards in the areas of politics/diplomacy, business/eco- nomics and culture/sports. The keynote speakers at the 2005 gala dinner would discuss what advantages NATO membership brings to a country and the business climate in Slovakia from the standpoint of the President & CEO of the largest foreign investor in Slovakia.

FOS Strategic Planning Committee

FOS Chairman Jan Surotchak has appointed a Strategic Planning Committee chaired by Vice Chairman Bill Tucker. Members include Jan Surotchak, Julie Slavik, Ted Russell, Joe Senko, John Miller, Scott Salmon and Ingrid Aielli. The Committee has held four meetings. The Board of Directors has already adopted some of the Strategic Planning Committee's recommendations. Other suggestions will be presented before the end of 2005.

Luncheon with Slovak Ambassador Rastislav Kacer and Ken Walsh, Dean of the White House Correspondents

FOS Vice Chairman Bill Tucker arranged a luncheon for Ambassador Kacer with Ken Walsh, Dean of the White House correspondents, prior to President Bush's February 23-24, 2005 visit to Bratislava. Ambassador Kacer was able to provide Mr. Walsh with background information on Slovakia and then hosted a reception for the White House press corps in Bratislava on February 23, shortly after the President's plane arrived in Bratislava. .