Protesters have taken to the streets in 14 Slovak towns, accusing the government of reshaping the country’s cultural sector to fit a nationalist, populist agenda.
Demonstrators, including staff from cultural institutions, on Thursday called for the dismissal of Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, with some saying they feel intimidated by her.
Many prominent Slovak cultural figures have been at loggerheads with Šimkovičová amid deepening polarization in the country following Prime Minister Robert Fico's sustained criticism of Western liberal values.
Šimkovičová, from the far-right, pro-Russian SNS party, has fired management at cultural institutions, overseen a revamp of the public broadcaster, and criticized art deemed to be too liberal.
Protesters in the capital, Bratislava, heard from prominent figures like Slovak-Hungarian filmmaker Péter Kerekes, who spoke on the importance of culture in national identity.
“Without culture, a nation will perish,” he was cited by The Slovak Spectator news outlet as saying.
During a protest in Spišská Nová Ves, eastern Slovakia, Oto Vojtičko and Boris Švirloch, who both worked for a television station and were fired after refusing to broadcast what they say was a biased discussion led by City Hall officials, accused the national authorities of interfering in cultural and media institutions.
Meanwhile, Martin Varga, a volunteer with the civic association Hrad Uhrovec (Uhrovec Castle), said that inaction by the Culture Ministry had left restoration projects without funding, jeopardizing important work on historic sites like castles.
Fico, whose government took power last October, has also faced increasing criticism for his foreign policy, including a push to renew ties with Russia.
The Slovak government’s refusal to continue sending Ukraine military aid in its war with Russia and a controversial meeting between Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in early March have alarmed many Slovaks.
Many prominent Slovak cultural figures have been at loggerheads with Šimkovičová amid deepening polarization in the country following Prime Minister Robert Fico's sustained criticism of Western liberal values.
Šimkovičová, from the far-right, pro-Russian SNS party, has fired management at cultural institutions, overseen a revamp of the public broadcaster, and criticized art deemed to be too liberal.
Protesters in the capital, Bratislava, heard from prominent figures like Slovak-Hungarian filmmaker Péter Kerekes, who spoke on the importance of culture in national identity.
“Without culture, a nation will perish,” he was cited by The Slovak Spectator news outlet as saying.
During a protest in Spišská Nová Ves, eastern Slovakia, Oto Vojtičko and Boris Švirloch, who both worked for a television station and were fired after refusing to broadcast what they say was a biased discussion led by City Hall officials, accused the national authorities of interfering in cultural and media institutions.
Meanwhile, Martin Varga, a volunteer with the civic association Hrad Uhrovec (Uhrovec Castle), said that inaction by the Culture Ministry had left restoration projects without funding, jeopardizing important work on historic sites like castles.
Fico, whose government took power last October, has also faced increasing criticism for his foreign policy, including a push to renew ties with Russia.
The Slovak government’s refusal to continue sending Ukraine military aid in its war with Russia and a controversial meeting between Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in early March have alarmed many Slovaks.
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