Eight 'For a Decent Slovakia' Rally in Bratislava Draws Thousands
Bratislava, June 22 (TASR) – The SNP Square in Bratislava on Friday saw the eight ‘For a Decent Slovakia’ rally that was attended by thousands of people, TASR learnt on the same day.
According to the organisers, people have shown that they do care about Slovakia and they aren’t afraid of intimidation and threats.
People took the streets four months after the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova. The protest march begun in front of the Government Office at 5.p.m. and the demonstrators further walked peacefully to the SNP Square holding banners saying ‘Fico is Evil’, ‘Our Farmers – Our Daily Bread’, ‘Students Won’t Give Up’ or ‘The Earth is Crying’.
This time the protesters were joined by the dissatisfied farmers who had parked three of their tractors directly at the square. In their emotional speeches the farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation in the agriculture sector and the passivity of the Government. On the other hand, they thanked the people of Bratislava for their friendly welcome in the capital during their one-week tractor protest ride from the east to the west of the country.
“We have been told that the situation has calmed and stabilised, but we won’t give up. We will continue to fight together for a decent and fair Slovakia. Premier Peter Pellegrini can be ashamed of himself. (In a picture posted on Facebook) he pretends to be a farmer who plants potatoes but when real farmers come to Bratislava, he doesn’t event meet them,” said organisers Karolina Farska and Juraj Seliga on the stage, adding that four months have passed since the murders of Kuciak and Kusnirova but no progress in the investigation has been presented.
During the rally, actress Petra Polnisova read out a letter written by Kuciak’s sister.
In the end of the demonstration, Farska and Seliga pointed out that it’s been three months since the new Government of Pellegrini was appointed, but no striking changes or at least efforts have been made.
Since it’s the time when pupils receive their end-of-term school report, the dissatisfied people symbolically gave the incumbent Government the worst mark.
