Around 300 protesters gathered in Košice’s City Park in front of Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paška’s residence on Tuesday afternoon to demand his resignation over what they view as his involvement in the scandal of an overpriced CT (computerised tomography) scanner bought by Piešťany Hospital (Trnava region).
“The people from Košice have surprised me. This represents a critical mass in Slovakia”, said independent MP Alojz Hlina, who attended the demonstration. “Another protest is set to take place in Bratislava on Friday. It may be enough [for Paska's resignation]”, said Hlina, adding that the time has arrived where the Opposition now needs the help of the public. “A person [Paška] who represents what we didn't do properly in November 1989 should step down in honour of the 25th anniversary [of the fall of Communism]. We allowed the smooth transition to the new times for figures from the old regime and we provided them with constitutional protection of their property”, explained Hlina. According to news site Topky.sk, Paška allegedly asked for increased protection during the protest, avoiding the windows of his top floor luxury apartment.
