Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic
The protest movement aims to reaffirm the EU’s importance for Slovakia as the country’s government tilts towards Russia.
ADVERTISEMENTAs massive anti-government demonstrations in Slovakia reach the three-month mark, protest organisers and political observers alike say that the country is at a crossroads in the face of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico’s turn away from the EU and towards Moscow. On Friday, crowds will take to the streets across the country once again to voice their discontent with Fico, who has pivoted to the east since taking office for a fourth time in October 2023. Since then, critics have decried his government as increasingly authoritarian and repressive. “The sense is that on many issues, the government is trying to cross the line when it comes to the rule of law or civil society, and that by organising, protesting or taking legal action, these steps can be slowed down or stopped,” said Jana Kobzová, a Slovak political scientist and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).The protests began in late December after Fico met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, making him one of only three EU leaders to do so since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Slovakia’s premier had already wooed the Kremlin by halting military aid to Ukraine and vowing to thwart its NATO aspirations, while opposing EU sanctions on Russia. About a month after that visit, Fico raised the possibility of Slovakia leaving the EU and NATO and referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “an enemy”, raising further alarm among large swathes of Slovak society who are staunchly pro-Western. His views are well out of line with public opinion: nearly two-thirds of Slovaks align with the West, according to a survey published this month by the Future Slovakia Forum, an NGO advocating for a “stronger EU”.Local media outlets estimated that about 100,000 people in the country of 5.4 million took to the streets in late January, representing Slovakia’s biggest street demonstrations since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when decades of communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia ended peacefully weeks after the Berlin Wall fell.Over the last three months, tens of thousands of people have rallied every fortnight in Bratislava and beyond, demanding Fico’s resignation with the slogan “Slovakia is Europe”. Protests have also taken place in cities such as Berlin, Brussels and London. While attendance numbers have fallen since, the civic group orchestrating the protests, Mier Ukrajine (Peace for Ukraine), says there is still momentum behind the movement and that Slovakia’s stronger-than-ever civil society is “ready to defend democracy”.”The protests have evolved from one-time gatherings into a systematic movement aimed at maintaining pressure on the government and keeping public debate alive about the country’s direction,” Lucia Stasselová, one of the group’s founders, told Euronews.The Slovakia information ministry and the prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.In late January, Fico accused the opposition of trying to “organise a coup” as the anti-government demonstrations escalated, but did not present any evidence of this.The prime minister said at the time he would “let them (people in Slovakia) protest and shout as much as they want”, but criticised unspecified “atrocities” allegedly being prepared by the opposition, Slovak media and NGOs funded from abroad.Fico’s anti-EU turnOne of the most surprising aspects of the protests, according to analysts, is that they have not been confined to major cities but have also taken place in areas where support for Fico’s ruling leftist-nationalist Smer (Direction) party is particularly strong. ADVERTISEMENT”The protests are spreading to smaller towns, which is not usual in Slovakia,” Juraj Marušiak, a political scientist at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, told Euronews. “The mobilisation of participants in such regions, where Smer and its allies usually have a comfortable majority, is also a breakthrough.”The demonstrations happening in Smer strongholds could cause a headache for Fico given that his party won 2023 parliamentary elections by campaigning on a pro-Russian platform and focusing on previously untapped anti-state and anti-establishment voters.That represented a significant shift for the 60-year-old, who started his three-decade political career on the left and previously said Slovakia should be at the “core of the EU”. The turning point came in 2018 when journalist Ján Kuciak — who had been investigating high-level graft — and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová were murdered by a contract killer, triggering huge protests that forced Fico to resign from his third spell as prime minister.ADVERTISEMENT”(Fico) had been a staunch supporter of Europe up until his forced resignation following the murders of Kuciak and Kušnírová,” said Samo Marec, a Slovak columnist and author.”His pro-Russian, authoritarian and pro-conspiracy turn has thus been years in the making.”Smer lost power in the 2020 parliamentary elections, defeated by parties vowing to tackle corruption. With the party marginalised, it polled at under 10% at one point. But Fico eventually started adopting more extreme positions and espousing pro-Moscow rhetoric that attracted many Slovaks.According to a recent poll by the agency Focus, almost half of Smer voters are in favour of closer bilateral ties with Russia — the highest proportion of supporters of any Slovak party. ADVERTISEMENT”I think Fico is trying to balance between Europe and Russia, while being aware of Slovakia’s embeddedness in the EU,” said Marušiak.He compared Fico’s position with that of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been the main EU critic and antagonist within the bloc, as well as Putin’s most ardent ally. “(Fico’s) main objective is to stay in power for as long as possible and to prevent a repeat of the events of 2018,” Marušiak added. “That is why he is trying to mobilise the pro-Russian part of society, as this is the segment where he can still draw voters.”Smer did not respond to emailed questions from Euronews.ADVERTISEMENTA ‘Slovak Maidan’?Under his increasingly authoritarian drift, Fico’s three-party coalition government, which is led by Smer and supported by the left-wing populist Hlas party and the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), has been accused by civil society groups and the opposition of attacking democratic values and institutions, justice and the rule of law. His administration has shelved the Special Prosecutor’s Office — which handled high-profile graft cases — reformed the penal code to soften penalties for corruption, and transformed the public broadcaster into what is now widely considered to be a state-controlled operation.These and other policies that have drawn severe criticism from civil society, not least since several of Fico’s associates and people linked to Smer, including its politicians, face prosecution in corruption scandals.Slovakia dropped 12 places in Transparency’s International’s latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranked it 59th out of 180 countries analysed. ADVERTISEMENTThis was due to the government’s political appointments, bypassing of legislative procedures and undermining of independent institutions and media, as well as attacks against NGOs, the watchdog said.Stasselová said Fico’s goal was to “weaken the rule of law, control the media, and marginalise the opposition so that he can govern without real oversight”.An assassination attempt against Fico last May, in which he suffered multiple wounds after being shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters, appears to have entrenched his hostile rhetoric towards civil society, the media and the opposition. In January, hundreds of Slovak psychiatrists and psychologists wrote an open letter to Fico in which they raised concern about his government’s impact on the nation’s democracy and global standing. ADVERTISEMENTIn the letter, the health professionals said the “aggressiveness and emotional explosiveness in your public appearances have become more pronounced after the assassination attempt”.Fico responded to the letter in a Facebook post, accusing the authors of disrespect and claiming they would support a “Slovak Maidan, which the Slovak opposition, with the full support of foreign-funded NGOs and the anti-Slovak media, is working hard on”.And last month, Slovakia’s PM shared on X a letter he penned to Elon Musk, praising the tech billionaire and key ally of US President Donald Trump for dismantling the US Agency for International Development, or USAID. Fico said the agency’s funds had been used to “distort the political system and favour specific political parties”, but did not provide any evidence of this.ADVERTISEMENTCoalition chaosWhile the protesters are calling for Fico to step down, he is unlikely to leave power anytime soon. Several analysts and activists told Euronews that he is benefiting from the disjointed state of the Slovak opposition.”I think the opposition has a problem that it is only reacting to the government’s activities,” said Marušiak. “The fact is that there is no clear political response and there is also no initiative on the part of the opposition, since Smer, unlike the opposition, is prepared for possible early elections,” he added.This was echoed by Stasselová, who said the opposition “must offer real solutions and become more proactive”, rather than waiting for the government to slip up. Fico’s parliamentary coalition is not impervious. Since the end of last year, it has been rocked by the defection of three SNS lawmakers and the rebellion of four Hlas politicians against the government; two of them were expelled from the party.ADVERTISEMENTWhile the government holds 79 seats in the 150-seat parliament, the disputes and defections at one point left it without a clear majority. Fico’s grip on power was tested further in mid-January when opposition parties attempted to initiate a no-confidence vote against the government. Yet the motion was withdrawn after Fico demanded that half the parliamentary session be made private on the grounds he was sharing confidential information.Michal Šimečka, leader of the main opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, accused Fico of being “afraid to discuss his failures,” and said he would be preparing to bring the vote again soon. ADVERTISEMENTAmid the turmoil, Fico said last month that the government had regained its slim majority after a deal with the coalition partners to reshuffle the cabinet and boost Smer’s power.Nevertheless, the government will continue to face pressure over economic instability, declining living standards relative to other EU member states, and Fico’s unpopular turn towards Moscow.But while the protesters will keep playing their part, more action is needed, said Stasselová.”Protests are just one tool — we need pressure from all sides: the media, civil society, and even international actors,” she said. ADVERTISEMENT”Slovakia is at a critical crossroads, and its future direction is being decided right now.”
