2018 Slovakian protests
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck". The 2018 Slovakian protests were mass popular protests sparked by the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak. These series of protests led to the downfall of the government and cabinet. International media outlets have called these protests a ‘popular uprising’.
Background[edit]
Ján Kuciak (17 May 1990 – 21 February 2018) was a Slovak investigative journalist. Kuciak worked as a reporter for the news website Aktuality.sk, focused mainly on investigating tax fraud of several businessmen with connections to top-level Slovak politicians. He and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were shot dead in February 2018 in their home in Veľká Mača, Galanta District, Slovakia. Kuciak was the first journalist murdered in Slovakia since the country's independence. The murders caused shock and disbelief throughout the country, sparking mass popular protests and a political crisis, with the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico on one side, and President Andrej Kiska and opposition parties on the other. The crisis culminated on 15 March with the resignation of Prime Minister Fico and his entire cabinet, followed by the forming of a new cabinet led by Peter Pellegrini. According to the prosecution's indictment, a well-known businessman Marian Kočner tasked Alena Zsuzsová with arranging Kuciak's murder, with which she in turn tasked Zoltán Andruskó, who ordered Tomáš Szabó and Miroslav Marček to carry out the murder. On 3 September 2020, a first-degree court acquitted Kočner and Zsuzsová of involvement in the murders. The prosecutor appealed against the ruling and the case is to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Zoltán Andruskó, a businessman from Chotín, admitted to ordering the murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Marček, a former soldier, admitted to shooting Kuciak and Kušnírová and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His cousin Tomáš Szabó, a former policeman, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for participating in the murder.
Protests[edit]
The murders sent shockwaves throughout Slovakia. The day after the news broke, gatherings were held around the country in tribute. Candles were lit at the Slovak National Uprising Square in Bratislava and in front of the editorial office of Aktuality.sk, where Kuciak worked. Similar gatherings were also organised in the Czech cities of Prague and Brno. President Andrej Kiska stated that he was "shocked and horrified that something like this happened in Slovakia". Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, called on Slovakia to launch a thorough investigation, offering international support if needed, adding that "the European Parliament will not rest until justice is done". Ringier Axel Springer, the parent company of Aktuality.sk, called the murders a "cruel assassination", vowing to redouble their journalistic efforts.
On Friday 2 March, up to 25,000 people gathered in Bratislava to commemorate the murdered couple.[24] On 9 March, protests were held in 48 towns and cities in Slovakia as well as 17 other cities around the world. In Bratislava alone, about 60,000 people held a protest march, the biggest turnout of any demonstration since the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The protests were endorsed by several universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, teachers, school associations, artists and non-governmental organizations. 21 universities cancelled afternoon lectures to allow students and employees to attend the protests. Two days after Prime Minister Fico's resignation, an even larger demonstration was held in Bratislava with over 65,000 people participating under slogans such as "Enough of Smer" and "Early elections". Former Speaker of Parliament and ex-presidential candidate František Mikloško made an impassioned speech during the protest saying that "the revolution started by the parents has to be finished by their children". He argued that only twice in the history of post-war Czechoslovakia have popular protests managed to make the government resign: in November 1989 and now, adding that "when somebody tries to abuse their power in the future, they should remember March 2018 and the mass protests". Mikloško's speech was accompanied by the ringing of keys, reminiscent of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Political crisis[edit]
The same day the murder was announced, Prime Minister Fico called on the political opposition not to "exploit" the situation. Meanwhile, a number of opposition politicians accused the ruling Smer-SD party of indirect involvement. Member of Parliament Veronika Remišová, from the opposition OĽaNO party, compared the killings to the infamous murder of Róbert Remiáš, a police officer who was assassinated in 1996, in an act widely believed to have been a contract killing by the Slovak mafia on the orders of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar. On 27 February, Freedom and Solidarity and OL'aNO demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and Police President Tibor Gašpar.
Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák speaking with Prime Minister Robert Fico The crisis escalated on 4 March when President Kiska made a live broadcast on state television, warning the government against further polarising the country. He called for either a "radical cabinet reshuffle" or a snap election. Kiska's speech infuriated Fico, who accused him of "joining the opposition". Furthermore, he accused the president of conspiring with Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros in the planning of a coup d'etat, based on the fact that President Kiska met with Soros at Soros' apartment in New York City in September 2017, ostensibly to discuss issues related to the Roma minority. On 28 February, two days after the news of Kuciak's murder broke, Minister of Culture Marek Maďarič announced his resignation.Announcing his decision to the press, Madaric stated that "as a culture minister, I can't cope with the fact that a journalist was killed during my tenure." Robert Kaliňák, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, resigned on 12 March 2018 after weeks of mounting pressure. The Most-Híd party, the junior coalition partner in the government, had demanded the resignation of Kaliňák in exchange for continued support of Smer-SD. The next day, Most-Híd joined the calls for snap elections, announcing that it would leave the government if it failed to reach a deal with its two coalition partners, Smer-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS). Most-Híd Chairman, Béla Bugár, announced the decision after an eight-hour session of the Most-Hid Republican Council, the party's decision-making body.
See also[edit]
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