BRATISLAVA, January 24, (WEBNOVINY) — Igor Matovic, independent MP and leader of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities party said on Tuesday that corrupt politicians have no right to accuse him of misusing the national coat of arms“ because (…) whenever any one of them moves around the parliament building or any one of them walks through the parliamentary door or acts as a politician and behaves as if they were defending interests of the people, they defile our national coat of arms,” he told a briefing in the parliament building.
Matovic emphasized that he did not abuse the Slovak national coat of arms. He only created a new one for the corrupt politicians so that they would not hide under the official symbol of Slovakia’s statehood. “And he did not do it because he does not respect our national coat of arms or because he would like to dishonor it but because he actually respects our national coat of arms and wants to protect it for people who are worth it,” Matovic was talking about himself in the third person. If Matovic’s parliamentary colleagues continue to accuse him, he wants to defend himself in parliament. “This will only provoke Matovic that I will get even with them four times (…), in that case they can look forward to what I will prepare for them,” threatened Matovic.
He pointed out that he stands behind his activity and will not be scared off even by a potential motion for his investigation by the Parliamentary Mandate and Immunity Committee or a motion for criminal prosecution. “They can threaten me in any way; I will not stop talking and will stand behind what I have done. This thing on Friday was the national coat of arms of corrupt politicians,” he stated. He immediately admitted that the caricature and satire are on the edge but this is the reason why they have power to awaken the people.
Matovic hung a picture of a gorilla and banana resembling the national state symbol in shape and design on the main entrance to the parliament on Friday, January 20. On this occasion he stated that after the interior minister confirmed that the secret service document codenamed Gorila had officially existed, corrupt politicians in Slovakia no longer have the right to hide behind the official state symbol and therefore he ordered their own one for them. Speaker of Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky (KDH) said in this relation that he as the speaker of parliament was disappointed by the deed of one of their colleagues who unacceptably and rudely dishonored the national symbol of the Slovak Republic. Also the chairman of the national cultural heritage organization Matica Slovenska, Marian Tkac, dislikes Matovic’s activity. He appealed to state authorities to examine whether he had not committed the criminal offense of defamation of national symbols. The civic association Slovak Trademark has already sent to the Prosecution General a request to start criminal prosecution for defamation of national symbols. Matovic says that this is vengeance of a man who tried to blackmail him in the past. “I do not have a reason to comment on a primitive,” he said.