Tens of thousands of people came out to the streets of Slovakia. Protesters clearly show Prime Minister Robert Fico that they do not accept his trip to Moscow. The prime minister, in turn, shows that he does not accept those who do not accept him. He talks about provocations inspired by Ukraine and the USA and threatens with special services.
“Collaborator”, “Hands away from our democracy” – Slovaks loudly and more and more demanding the departure of the prime minister. – Robert Fico understood that the society did not like his December journey to Moscow. So he came up with the theory that a coup d'état is being prepared – Marian Kulich, the organizer of the initiative for peace in Ukraine, is being prepared.
Fico accuses the protesters and opposition that they want to overthrow his government. – Special services confirm that in the territory of the Slovak Republic there is a group of people who actively participated in the Ukrainian Maidan and is financed from funds from the United States – says the Prime Minister of Slovakia.
Read also: Fico accuses the opposition to prepare a coup
The head of government refers to a report of special services, according to which a mysterious group intends to occupy government buildings, block roads, cause a general strike and destabilize the country.
– It is dangerous and shameful that the prime minister uses special services to sow panic and divert attention from his failures – says Michal Šimečka, leader of the Slovak opposition.
– Robert Fico plays on low instincts and social emotions of this group of voters, his group of voters, who believes in conspiracy theories – believes Wojciech Przybylski, editor -in -chief of “Visegrad Insight”, the Res Publica Foundation.
Anti -government protest in BratislavaReuters
“Calka Russian and Hungarian methods”
The report is compared to the operation of the Communist Security Service. The opposition ensures that the protests are peaceful.
– We call people not to use violence and behave decently, so in our case we are certainly not dealing with some kind of blockade of government buildings – assures Zuzana Janíčková, citizens' activist on the initiative of “Not in Our Country”.
Robert Fico does not listen to explanations and fuels anxiety with questions. Didn't they have firearms with them when they freely crossed the Slovak-Ukrainian border? Could they not be contractors of the provocation who could cause huge tension? – Fico suggests.
In the pictures from last week from Moscow you can see that next to the chairman of the Russian pride is the vice -chairman of the Slovak Parliament. This is one of the closest associates of the Slovak prime minister, who admits that the country can leave the European Union and NATO. Robert Fico defends Tibor Gaszpar and claims that just as the Warsaw Pact disappeared, the world events can send Unia and NATO to history.
Tibor Gašpar next to the chairman of the state pride Reuters
– We want to be in the European Union and NATO, we do not want to be associated with Russia and we want to continue to help Ukraine – says Frantisek Valach, one of the participants of the protests.
The coalition creaks, the country is struggling with release. After the decision of the Ukrainian president to suspend gas transit by Slovakia, the country does not earn on it, and Fico continues to force its changes. – He took de facto political control over public media. Now he wants to influence private media, scaring them with taking money from advertising. This is a carbon paper of Russian and Hungarian – notes Tomaš Valašek, a former Slovakia Amabasador at NATO, a member of the Slovak National Council.
The opposition intends to vote for the vote of distrust for the prime minister. The previous such great protests from seven years ago after the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak led to the resignation from the position of Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA/Jakub Gavlak