Kiska: The government has ignored Mafia warnings

The president also confirmed he will meet with Andrej Danko and Robert Fico on March 9.

President Andrej KiskaPresident Andrej Kiska (Source: Sme)

The Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency has been warning government members of the activities of the Italian Mafia in eastern Slovakia for a long time. However, the government has been ignoring it for years, said President Andrej Kiska, referring to the information obtained by SIS head Anton Šafárik.

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Kiska is convinced that the public deserves to receive the information now, not after a month or a year.

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“People have the right to know why our institutions have been ignoring the warnings from the Italian authorities concerning the activities of people linked to Mafia in eastern Slovakia,” Kiska said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “They have the right to hear why government members have been ignoring the warnings from our own intelligence service for years.”

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The president repeated that the solution to this situation is either a government reshuffle or early elections.

SIS warns against speculations

The intelligence service provided the president with the information in compliance with the law, said SIS spokesperson Branislav Zvara. However, he refused to give more details about the meeting with the SIS head and the president concerning the results of their intelligence activities, claiming it's confidential information.

At the same time, SIS has warned against media speculation and wrong interpretation of this kind of information.

“Regarding its confidentiality, SIS considers it undesirable to discuss this information in public,” Zvara said, as quoted by TASR.

Talks with political parties

The president meanwhile started talks with parliamentary parties on March 7, meeting with the representatives of Sme Rodina and the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO).

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Read also: PM Fico wants to keep Most-Híd in coalition Read more 

Kiska is pleased that not only him, but also Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko wants to calm down the current political situation.

He also confirmed his participation in a March 9 meeting with the top three constitutional representatives initiated by Danko. PM Robert Fico also confirmed he would come.

“The constitutional representatives need to speak with one another,” Danko said, as quoted by TASR. “Such meetings are important for stopping political moods whose aim is to destabilise the state. The tensions emerging in society harm Slovakia’s reputation. It’s our duty to do everything possible to solve the current situation.”

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