Tens of thousands of people protested across Slovakia amid growing anger over Prime Minister Robert Fico’s apparent push for closer ties with Russia.
Friday’s rallies, which saw up to 60,000 people gathering in Bratislava, marked the latest show of public anger against Fico whose visit to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin last month prompted a series of protests.
Civic group Mier Ukrajine – “Peace for Ukraine” – said it called the rallies in defence of “democracy”, following the prime minister’s remarks on switching Slovakia’s foreign policy and leaving the European Union and NATO.
“We do not want to be with Russia … We want to be in the European Union, we want to be NATO and we want to stay that way,” protester Frantisek Valach said in Bratislava.
On Friday, tensions escalated after the prime minister’s left-wing nationalist government accused organisers and political opponents of attempting a “coup d’etat” in league with an unspecified group of foreigners.
Fico, who was wounded in an attack by a gunman last year, alleged that a group of unidentified experts present in Slovakia had assisted protests in Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia last year, linking his claims to a secret report from the country’s intelligence services, known as SIS.
He did not present specific evidence but publicly said the opposition planned to occupy government buildings, block roads, organise a nationwide strike and provoke clashes with police forces as part of plans to overthrow his government.
Opposition parties have sought a no-confidence vote against Fico’s government, but Fico has so far looked set to survive the vote as he maintains a thin majority.
Friday’s protests neared levels seen in 2018 when the murder of Jan Kuciak, a journalist investigating high-level corruption, forced Fico’s resignation.
Fico’s private trip to Moscow in December saw him hold talks with Putin, a rare encounter for an EU leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
He has been in open dispute with Ukraine after Kyiv halted the transit of Russian gas supplies heading to Slovakia on January 1, and has threatened to end humanitarian aid in retaliation.
“Mr Fico is very aggressive and that disturbs me. He has lost all sense and should quit public life,” said Jozef Betak, a 49-year-old telecoms specialist, at the protest. “We can’t stay silent, otherwise nothing will change.”
