'Slovakia' and 'For the People' Parties Urge President to Oust SIS Director

Bratislava, January 22 (TASR) - The 'Slovakia' and 'For the People' parties have called on President Peter Pellegrini to dismiss head of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Pavol Gaspar and asked him to address the current political situation either by calling for an early election or forming a caretaker government. Such a course of action is necessary in 'Slovakia' chair Igor Matovic's view because Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has put the running of the entire country in jeopardy. "Therefore, we urge the president to ensure that constitutional bodies will operate properly in the spirit of fundamental rights," said Matovic. The opposition parties also warned of the alleged misuse of the secret service to engage in the surveillance of civil activists. "Tibor Gaspar, the House Vice-chair, conceded that the secret report read out in Parliament was based on wiretaps, which, in practice, means that the secret service and security forces have been wiretapping and tailing the opposition," said 'For the People' chair Veronika Remisova. According to Remisova, this means a massive case of trampling on human rights and the constitutional right of the people to assemble. She called on the European Commission and other European institutions to take action using all and any available means in order to ensure compliance with the rights of Slovak citizens. mf/df