Opposition Calls on SIS Chief Pavol Gaspar to Resign

Bratislava, 31 August (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party on Sunday called on Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) director Pavol Gaspar to resign, with the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and 'Slovakia' parties joining the call. PS sees several reasons for Gaspar to resign as SIS head, including suspicion of a violation of a duty set by law in connection with Saturday's (August 30) traffic accident in Nitra, in which he was involved, reads the statement by PS leader Michal Simecka, provided to TASR by Samuel Chrtan of the party's media department. According to PS, Gaspar had no qualifications for this post and became the SIS director only as a "patch" for his father, to protect the interests of the "family clan". "Moreover, a suspicion occurred yesterday that he failed to fulfil his legal duty - the sports car with which he crashed and injured a minor wasn't included in his property declaration. The toughest criteria must apply to the SIS director. Mr. Gaspar doesn't meet them by any chance," stated Simecka. At the same time, PS announced it will file a motion to the parliamentary committee for the conflict of interests to examine whether Gaspar acted correctly and lawfully in this matter. In addition, it will ask vice-chair of the committee for the supervision of SIS Peter Suca (Smer-SD) to include the issue of the traffic accident as the first and main point on the agenda of its session. The committee is due to hold a session on September 17, MP Zuzana Stevulova (PS) told a news conference on Sunday. SaS leader Branislav Groehling claims that Gaspar has endangered other road traffic participants by driving at odds with the traffic rules. According to Groehling, his father and colleagues immediately came to help him after the accident in Nitra, downplaying the accident and attacking the opposition. "Pavol Gaspar is a symbol of the arrogance of power, nepotism and incompetence. This man should never have been the SIS head," stated the SaS leader, urging him to resign. 'Slovakia' party, For the People and Christian Union (KU) caucus head Michal Sipos reacted to the accident as well. "A person who drives at high speed in flip-flops in a village, in a technically unfit vehicle that he even failed to include in his property declaration, causes a traffic accident and injures a minor child while overtaking across the solid line, has no place at SIS's helm," stressed Sipos. The SIS chief was involved in a traffic accident, in which two passenger cars collided in Nitra on Saturday (30 August). A minor suffered minor injuries in the accident, subsequently receiving treatment at a hospital. Both participants in the traffic accident underwent a breathalyser test for alcohol with a negative result. Gaspar on social network wrote that the police patrol that was called to the scene handled the whole situation in a highly professional manner. ko