Fico criticises Zelenskyy for supporting protests in Slovakia

Robert Ficoprime Minister

The government can only be changed if there are elections,

Fico said in an interview with the public broadcaster on Saturday when asked about the protests

Tomáš Maštalíractor

We understand that this country’s political leadership can’t imagine that anyone could act freely and independently without some kind of personal gain,

Maštalír said

Tomáš Maštalíractor

We’re here to remind you, politely but clearly, that we already chose years ago where we want to belong,

said actor Tomáš Maštalír in front of 60,000 people in the capital Bratislava, in a reference to Slovakia’s membership in the EU and the North Atlantic defense alliance since 2004.

Your prime minister’s claims of a foreign-organized coup are a cry of despair,

he told the Bratislava crowd

Those debts [from Communism] will continue to be paid by generations of our descendants,

she said

The most important thing is that Slovakia remain free,

he said

Peter Pellegrinipresident

The establishment of our constitution is being threatened; there are groups of people who want to escalate tension within the country and attack the institutions of government,

said Pellegrini,

We started to organize the rallies in Bratislava, and slowly, other cities began to coordinate with us. More than 20 cities and towns are currently involved. The protests in each town are organized by different people,

said Stasselova

The SIS is being abused. It serves a political purpose of this government, it spreads hatred and fear of the critics of the government,

said lawmaker Maria Kolikova of the center-right liberal Freedom and Solidarity party

Listen to Erdogan in Turkey, Orban in Hungary, Irakli Kobakhidze in Georgia, Serbia, they all use the same narrative. In my opinion, Slovakia is just one of the countries that are submitting to the Moscow regime — thanks to our prime minister,

he told DW

The protest will continue as long as the people want to protest,

said Stasselova of Peace for Ukraine

It's what all of them say,

added Marian Kulich, another of the protest's organizers

When I was 12 years old, I took to the streets with my father, protesting against communism in November 1989, and here I am, fighting for democracy, once again,

he tells DW

I feel really disappointed by our government,

says a 47-year-old protester named Richard who has tied an EU flag around his shoulders

I feel unhappy about what is happening in this country and the people who rule it, and I want to voice my opinion,

says 26-year-old Alexandra

It's very difficult to react to such delusions,

said Lucia Stasselova, one of the organizers of the protest in Bratislava, ahead of Friday's protest

I'm afraid that the prime minister is suffering from delusions,

he said

I have feared for my safety ever since Fico won the election,

she says

It is an attempt to organize a typical coup in Slovakia so that the government falls and those who cannot get into power through democratic parliamentary elections come to power,

he said

Bratislava is not Moscow, Slovakia is Europe,

Zelenskyy commented on the events