Opposition: Anti-Kalinak Protests to Go on in Bratislava and Regions

Bratislava, July 19 (TASR) – The Opposition will continue to organise protests calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, staging them in regional capitals, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) vice-chair Lubomir Galko said at a press conference following an Opposition Council (SaS and OLaNO-NOVA) Tuesday.

The protest rallies will take place throughout the summer, when no extraordinary parliamentary sessions are planned. At the moment, the Opposition doesn’t intend to launch motions aimed at the removal of Parliamentary Chairman Andrej Danko (SNS) or Vice-chairman Andrej Hrnciar (Siet), according to Galko.

“We want to focus on seeing minister Kalinak terminated,” said Galko.

OLaNO-NOVA leader Igor Matovic said that the protests will continue, as the Opposition feels public support on the issue. “It would be a sin to scrap the protests,” he said, adding that apart from demonstrations in the regions, weekly rallies in front of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s flat in the Bonaparte housing complex in Bratislava will continue unabated.

SaS and OLaNO-NOVA are complaining that by blocking parliamentary sessions with no-confidence votes in Kalinak and Fico on the agenda, the governing Coalition has stamped upon its constitutional rights.

“We’ll keep protesting until a parliamentary session takes place. If we can’t engage in a political battle in Parliament, we’ll do it on the streets,” said SaS chief Richard Sulik.

According to the Coalition, the no-confidence motion in Kalinak will continue in September. The Opposition wants him removed over allegedly covering up the purported tax frauds of businessman Ladislav Basternak. Meanwhile, in Opposition’s view, Fico is suspect for living in a luxury flat belonging to Basternak.