Anti-government protests organized by Slovakia's opposition parties and attended by tens of thousands of people in recent months have resumed after a five-week hiatus, citing the government's continued attacks on Slovakia's democracy and reputation.
The Progressive Slovak Party (PS) and the Party of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) will stage another protest in Bratislava on Friday night, saying they cannot absolve Prime Minister Roberto Fico's government of everything it has done.
“The government has announced a frontal attack on… RTVS” said PS party leader Michal Šimečka, referring to Slovakia's controversial reforms that tighten state control over the country's public broadcasters.
“They have already taken control of Slovakia's top intelligence agency and police, abolished the Special Prosecutor's Office and [they] Threatening the Constitutional Court. They embarrass us abroad and threaten billions of dollars from European funds. Together we will show them that Slovak democracy will protect itself,” he added.
The protests, which began in December 2023, were originally aimed at opposing controversial criminal law reforms. His last protest took place on February 7, 2024.
Political protests ceased in February when the reform plan was sent to the Constitutional Court for consideration at the request of the opposition and President Zuzana Čaputova. The protesters did not want to give the impression that they were putting pressure on the court.
However, residents remain dissatisfied, as evidenced by the regular small-scale protests organized by civil society groups and non-governmental organizations in Slovak cities.
A large protest was held in Bratislava on Tuesday, with more than 5,000 people taking part. The protest was organized by the citizens' initiative “Peace in Ukraine” in response to the government's pro-Russian foreign policy.
“We need to say that we refuse to be Russia's wartime collaborators,” said Rastislev Karunovich, spokesman for Peace in Ukraine. “We refuse to be partners with totalitarian regimes and with states that label Slovakia and the entire democratic world as enemies.”
The fourth Fico government was notorious for its pro-Russian stance. He spread the rhetoric used by pro-Kremlin officials and organized a meeting between Slovak Foreign Minister Vladi Branár and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Since Fico took power in October 2023, the country has begun to face isolation on the world stage. Slovakia is no longer invited to various closed-door forums within the EU and NATO, and even its closest neighbor, the Czech Republic, has suspended intergovernmental cooperation.
(Natalia Silenska | Euractiv.sk)
