Defunding Pride and halting educational initiatives dealing with LGBT+ issues. This was the decision of Slovakia’s culture minister, nearly a year and a half after two men were killed outside a gay bar in Bratislava. Robert Fico’s Slovak government, which leads a coalition of social democrats and the far right, risks falling increasingly into line with Viktor Orban’s authoritarian Hungarian government.
Minister’s words
“LGBTI+ organizations […] They will no longer benefit from the culture department’s money. I will definitely not allow this under my leadership,” Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová wrote in an official statement published on Facebook. The minister said that she “rejects the progressive normalization” of homosexuals and that her basic idea for the future activities of the ministry was that Šimkovičvá also addressed the NGO Saplinq, which is committed to protecting homosexuals, in her speech The organization criticized the ministry’s guidance on culture and described its statement as an attempt at “censorship and discrimination”.
Attack on LGBT+ minority
“We are disgusted by the fact that the minister is publicly attacking a certain minority and a certain non-governmental organization with whom the state authorities have had no problems so far,” said Róbert Furiel, director of Saplinq. The organization, which has been operating for 12 years, claims that it “integrates and replaces the State in the protection and defense of the human rights of LGBT+ individuals.” He then underlined that a minister’s personal preferences cannot be the sole criterion in determining whether the state will support certain activities. According to a 2023 study by think tank Globsec, Slovakia remains one of the most difficult places to live in the European Union for LGBT+ people. The report shows that 63 percent of Slovaks oppose the need to guarantee certain rights for gay people, such as the right to marry.
Murder of two homosexuals in Bratislava
In October 2022, the murder of two people in front of a gay bar in the center of Bratislava caused a stir. The attack was classified as a “terrorist attack” and an anti-LGBT hate crime. After the tragedy, many people called for better protections for the gay and transgender community. However, no effective measures have been taken since then. While there is no strengthening of LGBT+ rights, politicians’ verbal attacks against the queer community are repeated.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
