STA, 10 July 2020 - Anti-government protests resumed for the 12th Friday running in Ljubljana and some other Slovenian towns, with calls in support of independent media added to the list of demands. Also targeted were those who protesters said supported the "unbearable situation" in the country through inaction.
The protests in the capital were centred on the huge square in front of the parliament building which had not been fenced off, but there was considerable police presence, as an anti-protest by government supporters wearing yellow vests was also held simultaneously.
Medtem ko po ljubljanskih ulicah poteka protivladni shod, nekaj deset "rumenih jopičev", ki so jih obkrožili policisti, pred DZ-jem vladi izraža podporo. #petkovprotest pic.twitter.com/OCyAIvmrFN
— Miha Zavrtanik (@MihaZavrtanik) July 10, 2020
Protesters, many of whom arrived on bicycles, presented a variety of demands, including freedom of movement, decision-making, assembly and speech. They slammed corruption, stealing of public money, the government's attitude to NGOs as well as to the media. They also spoke out against the contact tracing app.
Protesters from the western Primorska region and the neighbouring Italy expressed their opposition to what they called historical revisionism and to the planned laying of wreaths by President Borut Pahor at the Foiba of Basovizza memorial, which they see as treason.
#petkoviprotesti pic.twitter.com/jkGnCBZqtf
— Miha Zavrtanik (@MihaZavrtanik) July 10, 2020
For the third time the anti-government protesters were joined by government supporters, some of whom said they wanted to symbolise the voice of conventional workers who they said the "Marxist international" had forgotten about.
Carrying Slovenian flags, the yellow vests voiced their opposition to the Antifa movement, calling out slogans such as being a patriot did not mean being a fascist.
#petkovprotest pic.twitter.com/UQMiIT57Ze
— Miha Zavrtanik (@MihaZavrtanik) July 10, 2020
The anti-government protesters argued that politics was artificially dividing the nation, they said they too fought for Slovenia and that antifascists were not terrorists.
Many of the anti-government protesters were wearing face masks and some wore carnival costumes to mirror the "political political masquerade" in the country.
Touring the streets of Ljubljana, mostly on bicycles, they stopped at the headquarters of junior coalition partners, accusing them of condoning bad practices.
