SaS Asks Coalition Lawmakers Not to Vote for NGO Bill

Bratislava, April 16 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is calling on the coalition to withdraw its amendment to the NGO Act from Parliament or, alternatively, not support it during the vote, while at the same time it's urging President Peter Pellegrini not to sign the amendment if it's approved, SaS representatives declared at a press conference on Wednesday. "The governing coalition, in its fight against enemies or those who it considers to be enemies — whether they be civil society, the media, the opposition, representatives of culture, or experts — has come up with this legislative proposal. They thought they would push it through quickly, but it's taken them over a year. The goal is not to increase the transparency of NGOs, or to increase the credibility of civil society. On the contrary, there's an effort to find a stick to use against NGOs," stated MP Ondrej Dostal (SaS). The vote on the amendment, sponsored by the coalition SNS party, is slated for Wednesday. The amendment is set to introduce several changes, some of which are being modified by additional proposals. For instance, organisations would be required to prepare a transparency report and provide information about their use of public funds. mf/df