The Slovak Prosecutor-General has filed a motion with the court to dissolve the ultra-right “Kotleba-Lidová strana Naše Slovensko” (Kotleba-People’s Party Our Slovakia, or LSNS). The party is currently seated in Parliament.
Boris Urbančík, spokesperson for the Slovak Supreme Court, informed the Czech News Agency of that fact on 25 May, saying that the court had received the motion on 24 May. The prosecutor calls the LSNS an extremist party with fascist tendencies which, through its actions and program, violates the Slovak Constitution, the laws of Slovakia, and international treaties.
The party is chaired by Marian Kotleba, who is currently the Governor of the Banská Bystrica Region. “According to the prosecutor, the aim of this political party is to destroy the current democratic system in the Slovak Republic,” Andrea Predajňová, spokesperson for the Prosecutor-General, told the TA3 television station.
The LSNS became the biggest surprise of last year’s elections, winning 8 % of the vote and taking 14 seats in the 150-member legislature. The party makes no secret of its sympathies for the wartime Slovak State, which was an ally of Nazi Germany.
The LSNS also takes a negative position toward Romani people and is collecting signatures for referenda to be held on Slovakia leaving the European Union and NATO. In April, the Slovak Police charged two LSNS MPs because of controversial remarks they made in the media and through online social networking sites against Jewish people and Roma.
The LSNS is the third most popular party in the country, according to public opinion polls and did not immediately comment on the Prosecutor-General’s move. According to earlier analyses made by lawyers, should the court decide to dissolve the LSNS, its current MPs would not lose their seats.
The hnonline.sk portal has reported that the LSNS may be prepared for the possibility that the court will dissolve it. Two of Kotleba’s party members are already the sole members of the constitutive body of a different political party with a similar name.
According to the law on political parties, the Slovak Prosecutor-General is authorized to file a motion to dissolve a party if the party violates the Constitution, the laws of Slovakia and international treaties through its actions, program or statutes. After last year’s elections, the Slovak Prosecutor-General received more than 160 motions seeking the dissolution of the LSNS.
In its own filing, it has pointed out that the LSNS is identical to a party that was dispersed previously by the courts for violating the Constitution. That party, “Slovak Solidarity-National Party” (Slovenská pospolitost – Národní strana) was dissolved in March 2006.
Those involved with the party continued its activities as a civic association, however. They later gave birth to the current LSNS, together with Kotleba.
