Slovenian bikers stage anti-government protest

LJUBLJANA: Thousands of Slovenians bikers on Friday blocked the capital Ljubljana’s centre in a protest accusing the centre-right government of using the coronavirus crisis to increase police power and tighten control of some media.

“Wake up”, “Slovenia is not Hungary”, read some of the banners carried by bikers shouting “thieves!” in front of the EU country’s parliament.

For the sixth week in a row, thousands of people in Ljubljana and other cities rode their bikes on Friday evening in support of the protest organised by civil society groups that also accuse the government of corruption.

“The resignation of (Prime Minister) Janez Jansa is only a first step,” Tjasa Prosek, one of the organisers, told AFP adding that the action would continue and gradually put forward more demands.

The protest has been backed by left-leaning political parties but also by intellectuals, including well known Slovenian poet Boris A. Novak who addressed the crowd on Friday telling them they represented “the only hope for our country’s future”.

“Freedom is currently at stake in Slovenia,” Novak told AFP adding Jansa’s “ideal of democracy is that of Orban’s Hungary or Poland”.

Shortly after taking over the government in March, Jansa’s four-party coalition imposed strict virus measures, including a two-month-long lockdown, closing the borders and banning travel.

Slovenia – a country of two million – was the first European Union country to declare the end of the epidemic this month after around 1,500 cases and 108 deaths. Initial wide public support for Jansa’s government has dropped over recent weeks after a scandal emerged over alleged corruption during the acquisition of protective gear. — AFP