Plavakova: NGO Bill Must Be Withdrawn, It's Unfixable

Bratislava, April 15 (TASR) - MP Lucia Plavakova (Progressive Slovakia/PS) has called on coalition lawmakers to withdraw the proposed amendment to the law on non-governmental organisations, as she believes that it cannot be fixed in any way. Speaking during the House debate on Tuesday, Plavakova claimed that the sole aim of the proposal is to intimidate and harass people involved in the non-profit sector. "We consider this bill to be extremely serious in terms of its impact on human rights and the democratic foundations of Slovakia, which is why we are prepared to file a motion with the Constitutional Court," said Plavakova in her speech. She recalled that the proposal came to Parliament over a year ago, and its form has changed significantly since then. According to her, NGOs have been labelled as those who receive foreign funding or as lobbyists. "We support transparency, but it must apply to everyone," she declared, adding that the amendment targets only NGOs, however. According to Plavakova, people in the non-governmental sector who work to change public policies are mainly driven by the good feeling of contributing to the development of society. She emphasised that these organisations take care of people whom the state "doesn't care about" and in areas where the state fails. She mentioned, for example, minorities, people with disabilities and children born prematurely. Opposition MP Ondrej Dostal (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) pointed out that the new legislation would introduce an administrative burden for NGOs by requiring them to publish data via the Free Information Act. "You want to divide NGOs into good and bad," he said to the coalition, adding that even those engaged in specific activities — such as protecting nature or providing social services — occasionally speak out on public matters, especially when the issues concern them directly. mf/df