for safety reasons we are allowed to film only very little nothing should betray our location this is not some covert operation but an interview with Slovak civil rights activist kolina farsa the student is working with an organization which AIDS investigative journalists it's hazardous work because the conflict between the Slovakian political camps is escalating steadily the situation is uh only worse uh and uh that's why uh a lot of uh media uh Outlets media offices have security measures and because there are reasons for that right because journalists are receiving threats attacks Fara leads us to the
memorial for Yan csak he was murdered 6 years ago in an as yet unsolved case she was still going to school when he was killed I didn't want to live in a country where journalists are being killed because of what they do farsa co-founded Slovakia's largest movement to defend civil rights and press Freedom most recently at a large demonstration on the anniversary of yan kak's murder but it comes at a price I receive death threats and any kind of like other um other threats of uh physical violence uh and this hopes that what what everything
should be done with me and uh yeah it's it's it was unexpected for me from the beginning soon I realized that this is something what happens to to journalists to people who are uh active in in public life even Slovak prime minister Robert fito has been on the receiving end last may he barely survived being shot five times at close range we're traveling to levita in Western Slovakia the hometown of the alleged be assassin Ur Cula he lived quietly in this apartment block he and his wife were normal pensioners and didn't cause any problems I
don't know what was going on in his head I know he disagreed with our government and was against the cinti and roma communities but that's no reason to grab a gun and start shooting but Ur Cula did shoot in the woods a few kilometers away remnants of police tape and a tree riddle with bullet holes Mark where he rehearsed violence seems omnipresent in Slovakia in thought language everyday politics be it government or opposition yes the hatred is there in every party Robert fito is an innocent either kolina farsa shows us a video in which fito
then leader of the opposition insulted president Zana chaputa the more someone plays the the worse she is and the more famous she is when uh the institutional representatives are calling uh themselves like this it really tells you something about the state of the country and it's getting worse and at the expense of the rule of law and democracy the government majority of leftwing and right-wing populists has even decided to dismantle independent public television critical reporting which is our job is in danger of Disappearing we will no longer be able to ask questions critical of the
government the people we have elected to run our country anyone with a different opinion is immediately labeled an extremist and is permitted no public voice we have to change that attitude political scientist gva feel Slovakia is on a dangerous course this is no longer about objective political dialogue it's little more than insults hateful opinions and statements and if we look at the role social media is playing we have a very toxic and dangerous mixture in Slovakia today axit but kolina farsa refuses to give up the struggle for [Applause] democracy you know maybe even worst cases
will will happen in the future and it doesn't matter that we should uh like stop trying with uh making this country a better place for your for our lives because you know like we don't have any other a difficult job in a country straying further and further from democracy
