when two members of the Slovak-Chinese expedition hoisted the flag of the governing HZDS on the peak of the Mt. Everest earlier this week. "I declare, as the chair of JAMES, that I distance myself from this act and I condemn it as an attempt to drag mountaineering into politics, which is not in the accordance with JAMES guidelines," he said. All expedition members except its president are JAMES members, Šajnoha explained. The photo of the HZDS flag on the summit of Mt. Everest should be a symbol for ruling movement in the 1998 election campaign, an anonymous source told SITA on Wednesday. Slovak mountaineers hoisted the flag during their May climb of the highest peak in the world. Head of the expedition Vladimír Ondruš justified hoisting the flag as a symbol of the upcoming elections so that HZDS head Vladimír Mečiar can lead Slovakia to the peak of prosperity. Mečiar also received the team at the Cabinet's Office before it set off for their journey. Gabo Zelenay, anchor of the regular Pasienky HZDS rallies took part in the expedition as well, and the head of the expedition's hikers, Pavol Lazar, is the son of parliamentary deputy Zora Lazarová, nominated by the HZDS. Official information records that Mečiar sent Ondruš congratulations, in which he wrote that all his secret desires were fulfilled.