Gaspar: Migrant Transport Claims Nothing But Conspiracy Theories

Bratislava, 16 April (TASR) – Parliamentary vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) on Thursday described opposition claims about organised transport of migrants to Slovakia's borders ahead of the last parliamentary elections as conspiracy theories. Speaking at a press conference, Gaspar stated he could not assess to what extent the statements of Hungarian prime ministerial candidate Peter Magyar were based on his imagination or stemmed from political criticism of Hungary's current Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "I consider it absurd (...) for someone to speculate in this way and claim that this was an agreement between Robert Fico and Viktor Orban. One needs a certain boldness and sense of humour to come up with such a conspiratorial claim," Gaspar said. He reaffirmed that the anti-migration policy of Smer-SD is clear and unchanged. "We will always approach it in a way that protects Slovakia from illegal migration that could harm the country's security and economy," he added, noting that the party had taken the same stance in 2015. According to Gaspar, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) also opposed any decisions calling for the acceptance of illegal migrants in 2015. He pointed out that between 2022 and 2023, under a different government, around 60,000 illegal migrants arrived in Slovakia. Gaspar described the opposition's steps in response to Magyar's statements as ridiculous, including convening a session of the House Defence and Security Committee and filing a criminal complaint over suspected misuse of the migration crisis in cooperation with representatives of a foreign power ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections. mf