Smer-SD Urges Opposition and Protesters to Respect Different Opinions

Nitra/Bratislava, 17 November (TASR) – Respect for differing opinions was the central theme of an event organised on Monday evening in Nitra by the Smer-SD party to mark the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution [the end of totalitarian rule in erstwhile Czechoslovakia — ed.note]. Parliamentary vice-chair Tibor Gaspar said that many public expectations after the 1989 regime change have not been fulfilled and that the current situation is in several respects worse than it had been in 1989. “We experienced the shooting of the Prime Minister — but above all of a human being, Robert Fico — because he holds a different opinion, because he dared to speak about the values he upholds,” Gaspar stated. He noted that public commemorative gatherings organised by the opposition are described as protests. “I ask myself, what are you protesting against? In 2023, free elections were held, producing a government led by Robert Fico. Respect these results,” Gaspar urged the opposition. MP Jan Richter (Smer-SD) also called on the protesters to respect differing views. “The government arose from free, democratic parliamentary elections. However, the reality is that our opponents, the opposition, have spent two years proving that they have never accepted the outcome of these elections. They want to overturn it in the streets through hatred directed at us, the result of which is the assassination attempt on our chairman and the Prime Minister of the Slovak government,” Richter said. He added that the entire coalition has concurred that they want to conduct foreign policy in all four cardinal directions. “We value our partners in the West and in the East. We are doing everything we can to bring the armed conflict to an end as soon as possible, so that Europe — and ideally the world — may be free of war. Even though some developments seem to point in the opposite direction,” Richter added. mf