Open Letter to Anna Záborská

This is a reaction to Ms Anna Záborská's open letter. Even though addressed to Oľga Pietruchová, I felt nevertheless an urge to step into the discussion as well, as I feel more than uncomfortable about the continuous superficial reasoning, which in effect sends completely wrong signals into society as a whole. As Slovak Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), your 'prominent role' requires however a slightly more prudent approach to matters:

With your open letter you respond to Ms Pietruchová's article in concurrence with your earlier press statement (13th April) as published on your website, that the 'EU should not tolerate the unjust persecution of christians in some if its member states'. In this matter, even I myself have addressed to you a correspondence, to point you to the fact, that your assumptions which you state in your press statement - as both Germany and Great Britain were to persecute persons for their christian believes - are unfortunately taken out of context, and a dangerous demagogic rhetoric, which evoke unwanted discussions in society.

The mere fact, that you opened your statement by referring to the totalitarian 1950s, I was more than dismayed to read such a historical hoax. The very cases you refer to (a baptist family of Kazakh origin in Germany refusing to send their children to school, or a British hotel owner denying lodging for a homosexual couple) have in no possible sense similarities or parallels with the stalinist era persecutions, and you know that more than well. The said people in Germany e.g. would have had many more (legal) alternatives, and therefore their religious believes or practices have in no way been limited at all. 

I am more than grieved by such a cheap comparison, in which you seem to wish to appeal to the sense of pity of the masses in order for a few individuals made into 'quasi martyrs' who withheld their children from universal pedagogic standards  by refusing them to be send to school (as opposed to submitting them to uncontrollable indoctrination by individual parents) - which is a rule of law applicable to every citizen - or who discriminate and support intolerant conduct of others, just because they 'appeal to their christian convictions (as opposed to practice tolerance - just as your Bible teaches you).

Ms Záborská, keeping in mind, that our European civil society has more than a tolerant place for believers as you are, it would be civil from your side, to accept that large groups of people adhere to other convictions and that acceptable laws should be obeyed. Thus taking things completely out of context is a very dangerous game in politics. In both your press release a couple of days ago as well as your letter to Ms Pietruchová, you clearly walk on very thin ice, not only have you consciously mislead your readers (perhaps you have not properly read the German original sources. /sic/) but equally your reasoning is rather ill construed: contradicting, inconsistent and most of all incomplete. Further legal details of the mentioned cases by you as well as other ramifications of your somewhat misconception are systematically elaborated by Ms Pietruchová's open letter.

My discomfort is however from a more holistic point of view; since I see much danger in your performance: Therefore, I hope that such a resentful political faux pas, in order to - in my view - almost hysterically appeal to unhealthy underbelly sentiments of certain masses, could be refrained from in future. We may perhaps not agree on certain religious doctrines, but using half truths is first of all a bad argument. By sticking to true facts instead of false emotions it can avoid much unnecessary and painful polarisation between groups of people and avoid fueling damaging prejudices.


Although I am quite skilled in online applications, I wonder one thing; why is it, that your 13th April-statement is only published in Slovak and with absolutely no equivalent in English, German or French at all?
I must admit to say, that this reeks of pure demagogy. Slovak demagogy that is.

Thank you,

Michael Srba