In this interview, Brankica Petković, a researcher and project manager at the Peace Institute in Ljubljana speaks with CIVICUS about the recent right-wing shift in Slovenia. She speaks about the impact of this new government at the start of the pandemic, the treatment of rights-based organisations by media outlets, smear campaigns against NGOs and restrictions to citizen protest.
"Restrictions on citizen protest have increased. The government has taken advantage of the pandemic to restrict protest. Discontent abounds because the government not only attacks civil society and the media, but also has made shady dealings related to the acquisition of personal protective equipment and other COVID-19-related supplies and has attacked a whistleblower and investigators denouncing these deals. It has also arbitrarily dismissed officials heading respected institutions and replaced them with its own people."
