Special House Session Aimed at Ousting Ministers Likely to Take Place on Tuesday

Bratislava, August 16 (TASR) - A special parliamentary session with the opposition's no-confidence motions in Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (an SNS nominee) and Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) will probably take place on August 20, TASR learnt on Friday from the Parliament Office. The motions were initiated by the Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) parties. The parties reproach Simkovicova, among other matters, for recent dismissals of the heads of the Slovak National Theatre and the Slovak National Gallery. The opposition is of the opinion that Simkovicova is dismantling the public media, public funds, and jeopardising the restoration of monuments and flag-ship cultural institutions. Susko, according to the opposition, serves criminals and doesn't fight corruption. The parties reproach him for filing an appeal in the case of legally convicted former special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik and at the same time deciding to suspend his sentence until a further decision of the Supreme Court. Both ministers declared that they had the right to carry out their decisions, adding that the moves were legal. Meanwhile, Premier Robert Fico, who on Friday announced that he's set to propose dismissing PS leader Michal Simecka from his post as House Vice-chair to the coalition, said on the same day that he wants the debate on the no-confidence motions in Parliament to be merged with the debate on the attempt to dismiss Simecka. zel/mcs