STA, 6 November 2020 - Senior coalition figures as well as opposition leaders strongly condemned on Friday the violence that broke out during Thursday's protest in Ljubljana, which was directed against the government's coronavirus measures. The opposition also distanced itself from the riot, rejecting the claims it was behind it and calling to investigate it.
The government's Covid spokesperson Jelko Kacin said it was irresponsible and inadmissible for riots to be organised in the centre of the capital amid the biggest health crisis in the country.
National Assembly Speaker Igor Zorčič tweeted that blame for the violent protest is on those who resorted to it, and congratulated police officers on decisive action. "Looking for a culprit in the government, opposition or the media takes us away from appeasement and from addressing the distress caused by the epidemic."
Already yesterday, Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted support for the police officers, saying that peaceful protests when there is no epidemic are a constitutional right, but riots and physical violence against the police are criminal acts and will be punished. He commended the police for being professional.
Similarly, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs commended the police on Twitter, saying "they were well prepared and contained the riot to the greatest extent possible". Noting the police would launch adequate procedures against the perpetrators, he condemned any form of violence.
Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, the leader of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), stressed that now we need peace and cooperation regardless of different views on the health crisis. "Slovenia is committed to peaceful resolution of conflicts, Slovenian society is committed to co-existence and mutual respect."
"Violence has no place in Slovenian society and cannot be acceptable even as a form of expressing disagreement," tweeted Defence Minister Matej Tonin, the leader of New Slovenia (NSi). He condemned yesterday's violence as irresponsible to say the least while the country is fighting the coronavirus.
Distancing themselves from the riot and condemning it, the opposition LMŠ, SD, Left and SAB said they believed the violence at the protest was staged, announcing they would investigate its background on the parliamentary Home Affairs Committee and the Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services.
"No violence, be it physical or verbal, has a place in a free and democratic society," SocDem leader Tanja Fajon told the press. She believes the riot was a result of several months of tensions created by the government as it divides people and attacks the media.
She also condemned Hojs's yesterday's statement in which he blamed the riot on the media and the Social Democrats (SD), while urging the public to be tolerant and stressing the opposition would do all in its power to change the government.
Similarly critical of the government was LMŠ leader Marjan Šarec, who believes Minister Hojs's presence at the protest proves the violence was staged.
"The minister did not appear at any peaceful Friday protest," he said, calling on people not to be fooled by such provocations, which he believes are meant to discredit Friday anti-government protests.
Left leader Luka Mesec said the government would have to explain how the police had known in advance that Thursday's protest would turn violent.
While the National Assembly worked normally on over 20 Fridays when protests were held, this Thursday MPs were told to leave the premises by 4pm because the police expected violence at the protest scheduled for the afternoon, Mesec said.
Both Mesec and SAB leader Alenka Bratušek recalled the anti-government protests in 2012 when "thugs were sent by one political party" to mix among the protesters.
