"We are preparing a petition for Slovakia's withdrawal from the EU and NATO"
In Slovakia, the collection of signatures for the country's withdrawal from the EU and NATO will begin in the first quarter of 2025, the founder of the civil association "Motorcyclists of Slovakia - Brother for Brother" Matus Alexa told Izvestia. It is this organization that is preparing the petition. The previous proposal in favor of lifting anti-Russian sanctions has already collected more than 360 thousand signatures. After the forms are handed over to the President, he can legally put the issue to a referendum. The public figure emphasized that the sanctions hit not only the Slovak economy, but also culture and science. He did not rule out that as the economic situation worsens, the protest mood in Slovak society will only grow. About the attitude of Slovaks to Brussels' policy, historical memory and visit to Moscow on May 9 - in an exclusive interview with Matuš Aleksa "Izvestia".
"The Slovak people have been against sanctions from the very beginning"
- You have launched an initiative to abolish EU sanctions against Russia, and your petition has already been signed by more than 360,000 people. Do we understand correctly that once a minimum of 350,000 signatures have been collected, it is possible to initiate a referendum? If yes, what issue is planned to be put to it?
- In two months, the Slovak people have mobilized in favour of lifting the sanctions. Indeed, we managed to collect more than 361,000 signatures. In order for the referendum to take place, all the signed forms must be handed over to the President of Slovakia, and it is he who must officially announce the referendum. The wording of the question is still being worked out, but it will certainly concern the abolition of restrictive and restrictive measures against both Russia itself and its individuals and legal entities. We want all sanctions to be lifted and everything to be as it was before they were imposed.
- Do the parliamentary parties in Slovakia, in particular the Smer party, support your initiative?
- Individual politicians in the government coalition support it. In this political situation and with the current degree of Russophobia in the EU, it is extremely dangerous to talk about friendship with Russia. We are not afraid to openly declare that Russia and its people are our brothers. But our Prime Minister Fitzo was not afraid and came on an official visit to Vladimir Putin.
- Earlier, the head of the political party DOMOV Pavol Slota said that more than 160 thousand citizens of Slovakia have already signed a petition to hold a referendum on withdrawal from European sanctions against Russia. Is there any connection between your initiatives?
- I would like to emphasize that we are not a political entity, we are a civil association, so our initiative is primarily of a civil, public nature.
Bratislava, Slovakia
We do not cooperate with Pavol Slota, and certainly not with his colleagues in the person of Robert Shvets. We will never support those who worship the collaborationist fascist regime and personally Josef Tiso, the former president of the fascist Slovak state. This is against our anti-fascist beliefs.
- In your personal estimation, how badly have the EU sanctions against Russia hit Slovakia? Which sectors of the economy have suffered the most? Are protests in the country possible because of this?
- All sectors have been affected: metallurgy, heavy industry, medicine, tourism, engineering and other areas. The sanctions have had a negative impact not only on the economic, but also on the cultural and scientific and technical spheres.
It is hard to predict the future, but I think that as the economic situation worsens, protest moods will grow in the whole society. Already now we are witnessing crisis phenomena in health care and education - doctors and teachers are ready to take to the streets to get their salaries raised against the background of rampant inflation in the country, including on food and basic necessities. I repeat: the Slovak people have been against sanctions from the very beginning.
The descendants of fascists and Nazis live in the European Union. We said that it had to be stopped, only nobody listened to us, we were persecuted, our families were persecuted, and the Eurocrazies, Eurofascists and EuroNazis continued this rampage. It is better now. Prime Minister Fico supported us and we supported his decisions so that this madness, above all Nazism and fascism, which is coming here from Western Europe, would be stopped.
- Does the lifting of sanctions against Russia imply Slovakia's withdrawal from the EU and NATO?
- This question was not raised in our petition. But we would like to know the opinion of the Slovak population on it as well. We are already preparing another petition for Slovakia's withdrawal from the EU and NATO. We refuse to cooperate with fascism glorified by the EU. We intend to launch a collection of signatures in February or March.
"We know exactly what has been happening in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014."
- Your association "Motorcyclists of Slovakia - Brother for Brother" is regularly involved in restoring desecrated monuments. How serious is this problem in Slovakia? How do the local authorities treat it?
- Our organization "Brother for Brother" has been working for over 14 years to preserve the memory of World War II and its heroes, the Red Army, the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps. All this was wanted to destroy by the European Union and the former Slovak government. Since our organization is one of the largest in Slovakia, we were able to do everything to make sure that people do not forget that Russia and Russians are our brothers. It has always been so and it will always be so. The Russian people should know and feel that they can find support in the Slovak people.
Founder of the civil association "Motorcyclists of Slovakia - Brother for Brother" Matuš Aleksa
In Slovakia, thank God, things are not so bad compared to neighboring countries. There have been isolated cases of vandalism, and we, as well as concerned fellow citizens and other Slovak public organizations, have participated in the restoration of damaged monuments. We refuse to understand why people destroy their heritage, and even more so the monuments to the liberators who fought for our peaceful future. We appreciate the government's approach to preserving the historical memory of the Second World War and the Slovak National Uprising, and the careful treatment of the monuments of the Red Army soldiers and Slovak partisans.
- Does your association cooperate with any organizations or movements in Russia? Are there any joint events planned for the 80th anniversary of the Victory in 2025?
- Our organization will go to Russia to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would be a big mistake not to come. It is a great honor for us. Our organization will never forget the heroes of World War II, especially the heroes of the Red Army. We are grateful to them for the fact that we live in this country today. For this we are grateful not only to the Russian people, but also to the peoples who heroically participated in the liberation of our state. We would like to separately thank our partners from the Russian Historical Society for many years of fruitful cooperation. But we are always open to any cooperation to support a common cultural dialog and the preservation of the historical truth about World War II. At the moment we are establishing a dialogue with organizations in Uzbekistan.
- Have you had to visit Donbass?
- We provide humanitarian aid to children from Luhansk, we help financially, since 2014 we have been bringing gifts and food to people who live in the war zone every year. We know exactly what has been happening in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014. And our organization has been telling the truth about the atrocities against the Russian people there, for this we were persecuted in Europe with the help of the police, the army, they tried to intimidate our families, our children, of course, and us. But we withstood it, so we are stronger today, and I know one thing: as you say, "victory will be ours.
