Several hundred people gathered in the center of the capital of Slovakia. The organizers of the event decided to send a message to the government that many citizens do not agree with the signing of a defense agreement with the USA. People chanted multiple passwords.
Harabin, Uhrík and Marček also performed on the protest
“We are here at home! We will not have Slovakia! FROMcounselors resign! ” people shouted in the square. Protesters reject the presence of American soldiers and bases on Slovak territory. Member of Parliament for the Republic Movement Ondrej Ďurica and MEP and leader of the movement Milan Uhrík also addressed the protesters. Later, Štefan Harabin and Peter Marček, who moderated the event, also joined them.
Protest against the defense agreement with the USA
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
People brought a lot of banners and there were also Slovak flags. Apart from them, the Kotlebovs also flew in the air. The assembly was also supervised by the police and everything went without major incidents. According to the police, the situation was calm.
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
“The situation was calm, we did not notice any violations of public order,” said Michal Szeiff, Bratislava’s regional police spokesman. At the end of the protest, people sang the Slovak anthem.
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
Extraordinary sitting in Parliament
The defense agreement with the USA is rejected by the opposition, and an extraordinary meeting initiated by Smer-SD will be convened on Tuesday. In a referendum, he wants to ask citizens if they agree for parliament to give its consent to the agreement. The government approved the defense agreement with the USA at Wednesday’s meeting. It has yet to be approved by parliament and must also be signed by President Zuzana Čaputová. Deputies for the opposition parties Smer, Hlas and ĽSNS and some non-attached deputies reject the agreement.
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
The agreement would allow the US Armed Forces to use the Malacky-Kuchyna and Sliač military airports, or other agreed facilities and premises. It should be valid for ten years. It then remains valid or can be terminated with one year’s notice.
It is just a framework agreement
On the margin of the defense agreement with the United States, Prime Minister Eduard Heger declared that it was only a framework agreement. “The US military cannot bring anything to Slovakia under the framework agreement,” stressed that the treaty only regulates the general conditions and that they will be used to negotiate possible future agreements, which will still be approved by the government and parliament. He noted that there are currently, for example, 20 or 30 Russian soldiers in Slovakia.
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
“They take care of four planes, four migas. These soldiers have free movement in Slovakia and it costs us 50 million euros a year,” underlined. He reminded that the treaty began to emerge during the previous government. He stressed that his cabinet has managed to achieve better conditions in comparison with other countries. He called criticism of the current opposition hypocrisy. He noted that it was the previous government that decided to buy American fighters, and for them we need to reconstruct the airports, for which the USA should provide Slovakia in accordance with the agreement.
Source: Topky / Ján Zemiar
We reject such a circus
The coalition SaS rejects the spread of misinformation in connection with the defense agreement with the USA. The agenda will not support an extraordinary meeting. The same attitude is announced by the For People party. “SaS will not support the extraordinary meeting program that Robert Fico and the opposition want to hypocritically spread hoaxes. It is a shame that the treaty is criticized by the guards and ex-officers who participated in its preparation.” SaS spokesman Ondrej Šprlák said.
The People’s Party sees it similarly and also talks about the hypocrisy of politicians of the opposition Smer-SD and the non-parliamentary Voice-SD. He claims that the current text of the agreement is even stricter in favor of Slovakia. “We will not support an extraordinary circus,” she added. The agreement with the USA is intended to strengthen mutual cooperation between the Slovak Republic and the USA. The Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď and the head of the Ministry of Diplomacy Ivan Korčok (SaS nominee) declared that they fully respect the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic. They refuse to create a precondition for the permanent presence of the USA on the territory of the Slovak Republic.