Slovak Director peterโ Bebjak Delivers Scathing Rebuke to Fico Government at โPoprad Protest
Poprad, Slovakia โข – Slovak film director Peter Bebjak unexpectedly took the stage at a protest in Popradโข to deliver a stark condemnation of the current Robert Fico government, statingโ that “The only thing that remains โafter you who are involved in the current rule is a shame.” Bebjak’s impromptu speech joined a chorus of criticism from prominent Slovakian figures voicing concerns overโ the nation’s political directionโ and societal divisions.
The protest, which featured speakers โฃincluding Peter Tatรกr of the โฃMilanโฃ ล imeฤka Foundation and Academyโข of Fine Arts Rector Bohunka Koklesovรก, highlighted growing anxieties over the government’s foreign policy alignment with Russia, treatment of women in public life, and the curtailing of freedoms. Bebjak’s blunt assessment encapsulates aโข broader sentimentโฃ of disillusionment with the current administration and its policies.
koklesovรก, โin her address, specificallyโ called out politicians from the Smer party – Robert Fico, Richard Glรผck, Erik Kalinak, and ฤฝubos Blaha – for what she described as a trend of disregard and aggression towards women, โฃboth in โpolitics and society. She further expressed โdeep concern โคover โSlovakia’s foreign policy,criticizing Fico’s perceived subservience โto Vladimirโ Putin and the prioritization of the Druzhba pipeline over โthe lives of Ukrainians.
Tatรกr, a co-founder of theโค Milan ล imeฤkaโค Foundation,โ lamented the cancellation of November 17th as a national holiday, โnoting a proposal to rename it “the day of the struggle for freedom and democracy.” He suggested the cancellation stemmedโ from a โขfear of thoseโข veryโฃ principles.
Singer Katka โคKoลกฤovรก โconcluded the event with a musical performance and a plea for reconciliation,urging protesters to “findโฃ the power toโ break the thread of hatred” and build a future together.