Prague correspondent
EPATens of thousands of people across Slovakia demonstrate against Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, rejecting his warnings that provocateurs related to liberal opposition will use protests to cause a coup.
Relinks are held in about 25 Slovak cities, the last of a series of protests against its populist-nationalist coalition.
Protesters are angry that they believe Fico undermines the institutions, culture and position of the country in the EU and NATO, especially from its increasing attacks against Ukraine and rapprochement with Moscow.
Fico says she follows a “sovereign” Slovak foreign policy aimed at “all four cardinal points of the compass”.
EPAHe denies the opposition's allegations that he wants to bring Slovakia from the EU and NATO, saying that his country's membership in the two institutions is not in question.
The Dennik N website estimated that about 100,000 people in Slovakia attended the protests, with at least 40,000 in the capital alone.
It is reported that about 10,000 have taken the streets of Banska Bistritsa, a city with 75,000 inhabitants.
On Thursday, 15,000 demonstrated in the second city in Slovakia, Kosice, to avoid a collision with a separate event that took place there tonight.
There are no reports of violence or disorder, contrary to Fico's warnings this week that provocateurs will encourage protesters to attack public buildings, causing a police reaction leading to greater protests.
Earlier on Friday, Fico told reporters that police would soon start deporting several foreign “instructors”, which he claims to be in Slovakia to help the opposition try to overthrow his government.
On Wednesday, he convened a meeting of the Government Council for Security, stating that intelligence services have specific evidence that a group of foreign provocateurs who participated in recent protests in Georgia and in 2014 in Ukraine were active in Slovakia.
The internal intelligence of Slovakia SIS confirmed the allegations, but gave some details. The opposition does not have much faith in SIS, as it is governed by the son of a Fico Sme MP.
Fico said that a “large -scale” cyberatta that struck the country's health insurance company on Friday is a curriculum “How to eliminate a rebellious government that has unorthodox views on certain things” – a reference to his opposition to the arms of Ukraine and his efforts to Improving relationships with Moscow.
He said that such activities are being carried out “by representatives of the opposition, non -governmental organizations organized from abroad, foreign instructors and media.”
Dennik N later reported that the incident was actually an attempt at phishing, not a cyber and not particularly large in scale.
Slovak employees claim that a previous cyberattack against the country's land register may have come from Ukraine. Kyiv categorically denied the prosecution.