The Freedom and Solidarity party filed a criminal complaint with the General Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday after the premier cited a classified report to accuse the opposition of organizing a “coup” in collusion with media and non-governmental organizations. The grouping alleged that the spy agency is operating in the interests of the government by surveilling activists to discredit anti-government protesters.
The central European nation has been rocked by anti-government protests for several months. Demonstrators criticize the erosion of the rule of law and Fico’s pro-Russian policies, which they argue endangers Slovakia’s stances within the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Non-violent protests aim to maintain the democratic character of Slovakia, preserve its pro-Atlantic and pro-European orientation, and prevent Slovakia from collaborating with Russia,” Ondrej Dostal, a Freedom and Solidarity member, said before filing the complaint.
Fico has regularly rejected opposition accusations that his government his seeking to amass power and exploit control over key state institutions, including the secret service, police, prosecution and state media.
On Wednesday, Fico reaffirmed his accusations, saying that a group of experts financed by the US is operating in Slovakia and preparing to use protests to topple the government. He also claimed that the group was involved in similar movements in Georgia and Ukraine.
Fico announced the Security Council meeting for Thursday. “We will agree on preventive measures to prevent the destabilization of the state,” Fico said. Rights to peaceful protests should not be threatened, he added.
The intelligence service is headed by Pavol Gaspar. He is the son of a senior member of Fico’s party, Tibor Gaspar, who was recently part of a parliamentary delegation to Russia and suggested that Slovakia might consider leaving the EU in the future.
The Not in Our City platform, co-organizers of the protests, defended them as peaceful and legitimate. The information that the intelligence service described as “dangerous with the aim of destabilizing Slovakia” originated from emails from its accounts sent to 120 people to coordinate protest activities in January and February, the organization said in Facebook comments.
Another round of protests is scheduled for Friday in several cities across Slovakia, including the capital, Bratislava.
(Updates with Premier Fico’s comments in sixth and seventh paragraph)
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Slovakia, Robert Fico, intelligence service, anti-government protests, Freedom and Solidarity
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