Minister Naď awards medals to former political prisoners: “If we want to move forward, we must first learn from the wrongs of the past”

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď today welcomed members of the SVK Political Prisoners Confederation to the Ministry of Defence. He is the first Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic to have awarded them the SVK Minister of Defence Commemorative Medal, 3rd Grade. Along with Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko, Minister Naď expressed his respect for their determination not to give in to the pressure of the totalitarian regime.

Speaking about the political prisoners, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď explained: “The former regime labelled the then young men as politically unreliable. For them, this meant military service without arms – with auxiliary technical battalions, also known as military forced labour camps. For their conviction and courage to disagree with the regime, they ended up doing hard labour in quarries and mines.”

The head of the MOD emphasised the significance of passing the legacy of the political prisoners on to other generations. “If we, as a society, want to move forward, we must first learn from the wrongs of the past by becoming familiar with the stories of these men. Today's award will not right the wrongs of the past, but it attests to the fact that we do not want to turn a blind eye to them and that we want to learn from them,” he emphasised.

On behalf of the awardees, Ján Pecz, member of the SVK Political Prisoners Confederation, thanked the MOD leaders for their time and interest and expressed his belief that the wrongs of the past will not be forgotten in this way. “We, political prisoners, wish to see the truth and love win over lies and hatred,” he emphasised.