Word: slovaks
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Czech and Slovak Ministers of Privatizationhave already put a 10-day moratorium on couponsales in an effort to prevent speculators fromfurther depleting coupon stores, according toJezek...
...hard it is to shut down such an important industry. As many as 80,000 jobs, the bulk of them in the restive and depressed region of Slovakia, depend on it. The federal government has pledged to cut output to 25% of 1988 levels by 1993, but already Slovak politicians have slowed down that timetable to stave off mass unemployment. Last month federal Prime Minister Marian Calfa took a scolding from his Israeli counterpart, Yitzhak Shamir, over a still pending agreement to sell 100 T-72 tanks to Syria in a deal worth $200 million. "Czechoslovakia is not interested...
...joined Israel in condemning the sale to Syria. The deal also set off a fierce struggle within Czechoslovakia between government officials who want to bolster the nation's international reputation and others who think the agreement could help bridge the gap until the industry retools for nonmilitary production. Says Slovak Prime Minister Jan Carnogursky: "We've asked the federal government to clear the matter up and persuade complaining governments that the deal is harmless...
...Slovak leaders universally acknowledge the need to decrease their economy's dependence on military production. But many think the federal government is moving too fast and is sacrificing Slovak jobs without providing credible alternatives. "The federal government understood conversion as a gesture of cooperation toward the West," says Vladimir Meciar, the combative former Slovak Prime Minister who railed against federal policy and flirted with separatism until his ouster in late April. "They hoped there'd be a payoff, but they're still waiting." Unemployed factory workers, though, may become restless waiting for new jobs...
Czechoslovakia's brief ethnic feud also illustrated the hair-trigger sensitivities that vex Eastern Europe. Slovaks, who account for a third of the nation's 15 million people, have long nursed a sense of victimization. Wary of Czech domination, Slovak leaders hinted at secession unless Prague agreed to extensive decentralization of core institutions, from the national bank to oil pipelines to management of minority affairs...