Slovak theatres, galleries threaten strike over government ‘intimidation’

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(Reuters) – Hundreds of theatres, galleries and other cultural organisations in Slovakia threatened on Thursday to go on strike if the culture ministry did not stop what they described as intimidation of people working in the creative sector.

Many prominent Slovak cultural figures have been at loggerheads with Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, part of a deepening polarisation in the country following Prime Minister Robert Fico’s sustained criticism of Western liberal values.

Simkovicova, from the far-right, pro-Russian SNS party, has fired management at cultural institutions, overseen a revamp of the public broadcaster, criticised art deemed too liberal, and vowed to halt funding to LGBT educational projects.

“We face recalls, dismissals, intimidation, threats and workplace bullying,” said the Kulturny Strajk! (Culture Strike!) initiative, led by the Otvorena Kultura (Open Culture) movement, which says it represents 340 organisations and 1,900 individuals from the creative sector.

“The department’s leadership threatens individuals who refuse to succumb to the preferred ideological perspective.”

It said the first stage of its action was a strike alert, which could be followed by a full strike.

The Culture Ministry told TASR news agency on Thursday it respected the right to take strike action but added that cultural figures should respect the democratic mandate of the ministry’s leadership.

Fico has backed Simkovicova, who fired the heads of the national gallery and the national theatre last month citing management failures. She has spoken against “liberal-progressive” ideas and in favour of traditional culture and national sovereignty.

The SNS, a junior member of Fico’s ruling coalition, has also pushed for legislation, now in parliament, which would force non-governmental organisations with donations from abroad to declare themselves as “organisations with foreign support”, echoing a similar law that Hungary scrapped after EU criticism.

The party is also proposing a ban on “propaganda” of “non-traditional” sexual orientation and the display of rainbow flags at public buildings.