Dvorak: Sasko Should Insist on Kotlar's Ouster from Post of Government Proxy
Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) - Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) should insist on the departure of Peter Kotlar from his post as Government Proxy for Investigating COVID-19 Pandemic Management, opposition MP Oskar Dvorak (Progressive Slovakia/PS) has declared in response to media reports by Plus 7 Dni weekly that the police have charged Kotlar with spreading false alarms.
Kotlar has told TASR that he's received no information about any charges against him.
Chair of the 'For the People' party Veronika Remisova shares the same view as Dvorak, while MPs Marek Krajci ('Slovakia'-For the People) and Tomas Szalay (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) agree that Kotlar is endangering public health.
"Long-term questioning of vaccination and spreading fear have tragic consequences. Slovakia has the lowest level of herd immunity in its history, it's facing a hepatitis epidemic, thousands of new cases of whooping cough, and we've also recorded the first deaths among children.
These aren't statistics, but real lives at risk and the failure of the state in terms of prevention and in protecting public health," said Dvorak.
He stressed that Kotlar isn't spreading these views as a private individual, but as a government official.
According to Szalay, Kotlar has long misused his government position to spread hoaxes. He added that SaS considers the alleged charges to be an important step towards restoring public trust in medicine and protecting public health. He noted that the party has filed a criminal complaint against Kotlar.
"I've met investigators, submitted all the evidence, and I'm pleased that the police and the prosecution service have agreed with our arguments. It's a chance to get rid of a person who misuses his office," he said.
Former health minister (2020-21) Krajci noted at a press conference on Friday that despite criticism during his term in office he doubled trust in vaccination, but Slovakia ultimately had fewer vaccinated people than in other countries, which may have cost lives.
"The government proxy is basically not doing the job that he should be doing, namely preparing a report on how the pandemic was managed, from which we could learn lessons for future pandemics," warned Krajci.
'For the People' chair Remisova stated that Kotlar isn't only endangering people but also costing them money.
"If he has any remnants of judgement left, he should resign from his post immediately, because even he must realise that he isn't taken seriously even by Robert Fico (Smer-SD), who needs him there precisely to cover up the monstrous scandals of this government with his nonsense," she said.
Plus 7 Dni weekly has published a report about Kotlar being charged with spreading false alarms. Kotlar told TASR that he has no information about such charges so far.
Bratislava region police spokesperson Michal Szeiff has confirmed for TASR that criminal proceedings are still being conducted by the criminal police department of the Bratislava Region Police Directorate regarding the aforementioned crime.
Bratislava Region Prosecutor's Office has confirmed the initiation of criminal proceedings with respect to statements that Kotlar made in October of last year.
