In support of Slovak culture, a march from SNP Square to Slobody Square took place in Bratislava on Thursday. The protest culminated in the Concert for the Future of Culture. Pavol Habera, Michael Kocáb with Karpatské chrbátmi, Vec, Mrs. Elvis Pudding and others performed on stage. In the beginning, Martin Huba, Rebeka Poláková and Robert Roth spoke to the people.
The most surprising speaker was Habera, who mentioned that he last publicly spoke on the square back in 1989.I’m not much of a singer who walks around the squares, but at this moment I feel that being here is very important.” said one of the most prominent faces of Slovak culture.
“Culture and education are the calling card of a nation. These two attributes affect all areas of our lives. If education doesn’t work, nothing else can work, and as soon as people start talking into culture and try to direct it according to their tastes and the strange things they wake up with in the morning, it can’t work and the nation has a problem. We as a nation have a pretty big problem right now,” pointed out.
He did not spare criticism even on the question of the political situation. In his opinion, current challenges are the result of past mistakes. “Of course, it is also our fault that we have this problem. If we had been able to convince a large number of people during the last election, then we would not have had to be here today and we would not have had to solve these things.” he declared at the protest.
In the end, he called for patience and communication. “Let’s calmly and patiently explain to our friends, families, friends and people we don’t know what it is all about and what awaits us if it doesn’t work,” he appealed to the singer present. “We don’t want to go back to the past. I don’t want anyone to ban me from long hair,” he joked in the end.
The demands of the Cultural Strike
With its flame of protest, the Slovak Cultural Torch supports the demands of the Cultural Strike. It demands professional and competent management of the department of culture, immediate cessation of ideologically motivated censorship and financial stabilization of the sector.
On November 17, the Open Culture platform launched the Slovak Culture Torch event, and the symbolic torch was carried from Humenné to Bratislava. The protest action on Thursday was also supported by the members of the Drama of the Slovak National Theater in Bratislava.
