Tens of thousands of people held demonstrations in Slovakia on Friday against Prime Minister Robert Fico’s policy shift closer to Russia amid the growing tensions between the government and the opposition.
Rallies were held in some 25 Slovak towns and cities, with up to 100,000 people participating in them. Some 60,000 people attended the demonstration in capital Bratislava’s Freedom Square. Protesters shouted “Enough of Fico” and “We are Europe” and at one point lit up the square with their mobile phones after a brief power outage. The protesters were carrying the flags of Slovakia, EU and the NATO. The peaceful protesters demanded that Slovakia remains in these international organizations and that their government does not steer away from its international position.
This wasn’t the first rally of its kind to be held in Slovakia. The protest nearing this level was last seen in 2028 when the murder of a journalist caused large-scale protests and resignation of Fico who was re-elected in 2023. The latest series of protests were held after the far-right, populist prime minister’s surprise visit to Moscow.
According to local newspaper Dennik N, an estimated 100,000 people attended the protests across the country, with at least 40,000 in Bratislava.
On Thursday, before the protest rallies, President Peter Pellegrini convened a meeting of the state Security Council, in which he claimed he had received information about a threat to the state security coordinated from abroad.
"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. Earlier on Friday, PM Fico told local media that the opposition was trying to topple the government, warning that police would shortly begin deporting several foreign "instructors" he claimed were in Slovakia to help the opposition.
