It is unacceptable for the leading representatives of the state to spread fear in such a way. There is no threat of a coup. This was stated by the chairman of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) Michal Šimečka at a press conference in response to the meeting of the Security Council of the Slovak Republic in connection with the report of the Slovak Information Service (SIS).
According to Šimeček, if a coup should really take place in Slovakia, the state representatives should act and take measures. “No concrete conclusions, no measures, no decisions emerged from the meeting of the Security Council. Again, it was just the same ‘bunch’ of paranoia, delusions and some talk about a conspiracy that is controlled from abroad and unclear financial flows. Nothing concrete,” he concluded, saying that Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) was abusing the SIS. Šimečka told the Prime Minister that their only goal was to defeat him in the next elections. He urged people not to be intimidated.
PS security expert Peter Bátor claims that intelligence services are being abused in recent days in a way that they haven’t been in a long time. “In a standard democracy, the procedure would be that the intelligence service, if it has suspicions, will process the report. He will notify those responsible and they will quietly take action to prevent the wrongdoing. With us it was exactly the opposite, we went with a drum for rabbits,” said Bátor. He also criticized the low level of secrecy of the SIS report. According to him, it is a purposeful networking of people, contacts and circumstances.
Member of Parliament Zuzana Števulová (PS) pointed out that the head of SIS Pavol At the meetings of the control committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic to control the activities of the SIS, Gašpar never once spoke about the indications that would indicate a coup d’état.
The reaction of the Slovakia movement and the For the People party
The prime minister is not afraid of anyone more than active people who are not indifferent to Slovakia. So he decided to intimidate them. This was announced by the leader of the Slovakia movement, Igor Matovič, at a Thursday press briefing in response to the extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of the Slovak Republic. The representatives of the movement emphasized that Slovakia does not belong to Fico, but to the citizens and urged them not to be intimidated.
According to the movement, the prime minister is afraid of people who go freely to protest against the actions of his government. Therefore, according to him, he wants to scare them and suppress democratic gatherings. “The only chance to show the government that we do not agree with its actions is to go to the streets and not be afraid. Because that’s what Robert Fic wants, so that people are afraid, be quiet, don’t gather and let him dismantle Slovakia into parts,” declared the chairman of the parliamentary club Slovakia, For the People, KÚ Michal Šipoš. At the same time, he appealed to people not to get involved in potential skirmishes at the gatherings.
Former Minister of the Interior Roman Mikulec called on members of the armed forces to follow common sense and not allow themselves to be manipulated. “Slovakia does not belong to Robert Fico, but to the citizens who have the right to freedom of assembly and expression enshrined in the constitution,” he added.
Veronika Remišová, MP and chairwoman of the For the People party, also claims that Fico is only concerned with inciting fear. According to her, he wants to intimidate people so that they don’t gather, because that’s how he lost his prime ministership a few years ago. She emphasized that the protests always took place peacefully and decently. “The only violent and vulgar protests were those organized by Robert Fico,” she pointed out. At the same time, Remišová considers it sad that President Peter Pellegrini joined the “absurd game of scaring citizens”. She also urged people not to be intimidated.
On Thursday, the Security Council of the Slovak Republic discussed the SIS report, which is supposed to contain information about the attempt to destabilize the Slovak Republic. She advised the government to take the necessary preventive measures. President Peter Pellegrini, the leadership of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and Prime Minister Robert Fico consider the situation serious. The prime minister fears a possible attempt to organize a coup in Slovakia. He appealed to citizens not to allow themselves to be abused by groups to attack the constitutional establishment of the Slovak Republic. According to him, the government will not take any steps regarding the constitutional right to assemble and organize protests.
