Slovakia Prime Minister Attack
Slovakia Prime Minister, Robert Fico, was in serious condition in the hospital on Wednesday after being shot several times in an assassination attempt.
The shooting happened after a government meeting in Handlova, a town in central Slovakia. The suspected shooter was in a small crowd of people waiting to see the prime minister outside the cultural center where the meeting was held, according to local news.
Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being helped into a car by his staff. The car then quickly drove away with him inside. Fico was first taken to a local hospital and then flown by helicopter to a major trauma center 20 miles (30 kilometers) away in Banska Bystrica.
A statement on Fico’s official Facebook page and his party’s website said the attack was “an attempt to kill.”
“The statement reported that he sustained multiple gunshot wounds and is in critical condition. The upcoming hours will be decisive.” No one else was hurt in the attack, according to Slovak Labor Minister Erik Tomáš.
Fico is the most powerful leader in Slovakia. Unlike the president, who has a limited role, the prime minister is the top decision-maker in the government.
The official statement said the Prime Minister was taken to Banska Bystrica instead of Bratislava because he needed urgent medical care. Handlova is about a two-hour drive from Bratislava.
Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová announced that the police have arrested the suspected gunman. She mentioned that the police will provide more details soon and asked people not to spread rumors. A video showed several officials detaining a man on the ground.
Čaputová condemned the “brutal and reckless” attack on the 59-year-old politician. “I’m shocked. I hope Roberto Fico has the strength to recover from this attack,” Čaputová wrote on Facebook. Later, she said at a news conference that the attack was “an attack on democracy too.”
Slovakia’s interior minister, Matúš Šutaj-Eštok, said that the country is going through its toughest day in terms of democracy after the shooting incident.
In a historic departure from our 31 years of democracy, political views were not voiced through voting, but rather through gunfire on the streets.
Opposition politician Maria Kolikova said the assault was like someone attacking Slovakia’s safety from within.
Felt like a ‘nightmare’
Someone who saw what happened when Fico was shot described it like a bad dream. They heard three fast shots, one after the other, like the sound of popping a firecracker on the ground.
Lubica Valkova, who saw what happened, said she heard three shots. They were fast, like when you throw a firecracker on the ground one after the other. She mentioned that Fico fell down close to the barrier.
“I feel like I’m in a bad dream. I can’t believe something like this could happen in Slovakia.”
Valkova had been waiting a long time to meet Fico. She took pictures of him when he came out of the building in Handlova.
“At that time, we heard a loud noise. We thought someone was playing a joke by throwing a firecracker on the ground. That was my first thought,” Valkova remembered.
The Slovak resident told Reuters that she had been waiting since 10 a.m. She said the police didn’t search the people waiting at the event, so they could have shown their empty hands.
Also Read: Boat Seized In Probe Of Ella Adler’s Death
Ally of Moscow
Last October, the controversial politician Fico made a surprising comeback by winning a third term as the Prime Minister of Slovakia. He ran a campaign where he criticized Western countries for supporting Ukraine. Fico promised to stop Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine right away and vowed to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. This went against Slovakia’s usual strong support for Ukraine.
Before the election, Fico openly showed he liked Russia and said that “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” made Putin attack Ukraine. This is the same story Putin tells to explain why he attacked.
When Fico was not in power, he became good friends with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. They often teamed up to criticize the European Union together.
Fico used to be Slovakia’s prime minister for a long time, starting in 2006 and then again in 2012. But he had to quit in March 2018 because many people were upset about the murder of a journalist named Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. Kuciak wrote about how some powerful people in Slovakia were involved in corruption, and some of them were linked to Fico and his political party, SMER.
Leaders from around the world quickly criticized the attack.
The Russian ambassador to Slovakia, Igor Bratcikov, strongly criticized the violent attack in a letter to Fico, urging that those responsible be punished.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that she strongly condemns the terrible attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Violence like this doesn’t belong in our society and hurts democracy, which is very important to us. She’s thinking of Prime Minister Fico and his family.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said: “I was very surprised and saddened by the terrible attack on my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We hope he gets better soon! God bless him and his country!”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed support for the people of Slovakia after the terrible attack on Fico.
“We strongly condemn the violent assault on the leader of our neighboring nation. We need to work hard to stop violence from becoming common in any place.”
US President Joe Biden said he was really worried about the attempted assassination of Fico. He called it a terrible act of violence.
“He mentioned in a message that both he and Jill are wishing for the person’s speedy recovery. They’re thinking about his family and the people in Slovakia.”
Join WhatsApp channel: weekly wakeup
