Tens of thousands of people protested across Slovakia on Thursday, the 1st of February, against plans by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government to scrap the prosecutor’s office that investigates high-profile financial crimes, including cases linked to the prime minister, reports Reuters.
In Bratislava, protesters crowded the city’s main square chanting “Enough with Fico” and holding signs reading “Hands off our democracy!”.
Similar protests have taken place in other cities, making this one of the biggest protests since anti-government protests began in December.
An estimated 30 000 people took part in the protest in Bratislava.
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Opposition KDH lawmaker Jozef Hajko addressed the protesters, saying that the situation in Parliament is slowly changing and that MPs are starting to listen to the people. “They feel your strength,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters, “Please persevere and carry on.”
Slovakia’s left-wing government, led by Prime Minister Fico, insists that reforms that would also limit whistleblower protection and reduce penalties for financial crimes are needed to end what it calls the excesses of the special prosecutor’s office.
The government’s aim is to speed up the implementation of these reforms and allow them to vote on them next week, which has alarmed EU and US lawmakers.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has said that the reforms threaten European Union (EU) funds, which Fico has rejected, and has called efforts to speed up the changes unprecedented.
Fico, who himself was once facing charges, has not specified which authorities will deal with financial crimes after the closure of the special prosecutor’s office.
Also read: EU lawmakers concerned about Slovakia’s criminal law reforms
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