Thousands rally in Slovakia to condemn a government plan to overhaul public broadcasting

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands Slovaks have rallied in the capital to condemn a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to overhaul the country’s public broadcasting amid a wave of anti-government protests. The protesters at the Freedom Square at downtown Bratislava joined President Zuzana Caputova, local journalists, the opposition, international media organizations, the European Commission and others who warned that the changes would result in the government’s full control of the Slovak public television and radio. Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova who drafted the plan says the changes are needed because the broadcaster known as RTVS is biased. Its employees dismissed that.