Bratislava: Protest March Against NGO Act

Bratislava, April 3 (TASR) - A protest march against a new legislation on NGOs is being held in Bratislava on Thursday evening, with the organisers claiming that the purpose of the bill is to muzzle the people and organisations that dare to criticise the government. Protests are being organized also in Kosice, Humenne, Liptovsky Mikulas and Nove Mesto nad Vahom. "Slovakia is gradually leaving the civilized Europe because Robert Fico decided he wants to rule like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin: without criticism and supervision," declared one of the protest march organisers, the Peace for Ukraine civic association. The organisation claimed that the legislation has nothing to do with transparency and pointed out that according to an analysis by Via Iuris the bill flies in the face of the European law as well as the Slovak Constitution. "Together we're ready to use all transparent and democratic means at our disposal to stop this bill from being passed," added Peace for Ukraine. mf