Ombudsman to Attend Friday Protest as Independent Monitor

Bratislava, January 23 (TASR) - Public Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky will attend Friday's (January 24) public protest in Bratislava to make sure in person that the police won't use inappropriate or unjustified force against protesters and informed the police of his planned presence as well, TASR learnt from Ombudsman's spokesperson Branislav Gigac on Thursday. "I'd like to emphasise that I'm not going to attend the protest gathering as a participant," he stated in his press release, underlining that his role will be to serve as an independent monitor instead. The Ombudsman also apprised the protest organisers of his approach. "I firmly hope that the protest gathering will run a peaceful course and the Police Corps won't be required to use any force," he added. Protests are slated for Friday in several Slovak towns and cities, under the joint title 'Slovakia Is Europe', organised by civic initiatives. The aim of the protests is to voice dissatisfaction with the current foreign policy of the government and accentuate that Slovakia belongs to the EU and NATO. mf/mcs