Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday that security protections at key government buildings will be strengthened in light of alleged coup plans by his opponents.
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last May, made the announcement after a meeting of his security council.
Security will be boosted at sites like the parliament building and seat of government, the Summer Archbishop’s Palace, but he did not outline further protective measures.
The left-wing nationalist promised there would there not be any restrictions on the constitutionally guaranteed right of assembly and the right to organize protests.
The opposition parties accused Fico of trying to stoke panic to distract from the failure of his government’s policies and improve his standing.
Slovakian President Peter Pellegrini, on the other hand, said that he agreed with Fico that the situation was “very serious,” citing a recent report by the SIS domestic intelligence service.
Fico said the agency has uncovered “structures with links to foreign countries and to the Slovak opposition,” whom he said want to provoke riots and see government buildings occupied.
Fico said this is intended to force a police crackdown, which can then be portrayed as violence against peaceful demonstrators and undermine the government.
Fico accused conservative opposition parties of spreading falsehoods about an alleged change in Slovak foreign policy in order to discredit the government internationally.
“This government will never take any steps that could cast doubt on our membership in the European Union and NATO,” he said.
Fico’s critics accuse him of pursuing a pro-Russian course, comparing him to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in neighbouring Hungary. Their anger intensified in late December, when he made a surprise visit to see Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (C)speaks during a press conference after the extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of the Slovak Republic. Jaroslav Novák/TASR/dpa