Fico: Backi Petrovac events not linked to status of Slovak minority

Police in riot gear were deployed on the approaches to the town to prevent protesters from attending the opening of an exhibition of photographs taken during the months of protests in Serbia. Backi Petrovac is a majority ethnic Slovak town.

Fico told a news conference that he was informed in detail about the confrontation between police and protesters during the celebration of the Slovak National Holiday. “The information confirms that citizens of Serbian-Slovak nationality are, like other citizens of Serbia politically divided into several camps. Different views on governmental and opposition politics in Serbia create space for political conflicts of different scale and intensity,” he said.

“The event from Bácki Petrovac is purely a domestic political matter of sovereign Serbia and has nothing to do with the status of the Slovak national minority,” he added.