The demonstration took place parallel to the start of the EU-Western Balkans Summit. The police used tear gas and water cannons.
In the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, the protest against the Corona measures and the government of the right-wing conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa, which took place parallel to the start of the EU-Western Balkans summit, escalated on Tuesday. The police used tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators to prevent a march through the city center and to break up the protest. The security precautions were significantly increased this time.
The situation escalated soon after the demo began. Several thousand demonstrators, who, according to the media, initially gathered on the sealed-off Republic Square in front of the parliament, set out on a protest march through the city. The police then broke up the protest, but the people did not allow themselves to be dissuaded. After the arrest of the well-known rapper Zlatko, who made a name for himself as one of the leading figures in the protests and who had previously called on people to roam the city center, the situation threatened to worsen.
After the use of the water cannon and tear gas, the people temporarily parted, but then gathered again on Republic Square. The police had once again prevented the demonstrators from spreading into the surrounding streets. Among other things, they were stopped in front of the seat of government and the presidential palace, which are located nearby. The water cannon and tear gas were used again. Three hours after it started, the protest was not resolved.
Threatened with summit blockade
The police were prepared for the protest with a large contingent after the organizers threatened to block the summit in order to get international attention. The government issued a resolution on Monday that allowed the police to restrict or prohibit movement in certain locations. Ljubljana, where the EU heads of state and government arrived on Tuesday, was even more tightly sealed off than during the protests in recent weeks. The fences not only extended around the parliament building, as usual, but also near hotels where EU leaders will stay overnight.
Also near the congress center in Brdo bei Kranj, where the summit will take place, additional fences have been erected and the police presence increased, according to the media. The complex, around 30 kilometers north of the capital, where all meetings will take place during the Slovenian Council Presidency, is already fenced off due to the summit.
For the fourth week in a row, the new protest party “Resni.ca” (Wahrhe.it) called for a protest.
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