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| - Tens of thousands Slovenians gathered in the centre of the capital Ljubljana Friday to demand the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa in the biggest protest the country has seen in years. The rally comes just weeks before the Alpine country of two million assumes the EU's rotating presidency and follows increasing controversy over what critics say are Jansa's authoritarian tendencies. Public television estimated the crowd at 20,000, with organisers saying twice that number had attended. The demonstration was backed by some of the country's main unions and centre-left opposition parties, as well as students' and artists' organisations. Jansa has garnered international attention through his closeness to nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his vocal support for former US President Donald Trump. At home his opponents accuse the veteran conservative politician of presiding over corruption and of using the coronavirus pandemic to attack free media and corrode the country's democratic institutions. His government has also come under fire for its handling of the pandemic, with Slovenia suffering one of the worst death rates in the EU. Well-known writer and supporter of previous anti-Jansa protests, Bogdan A. Novak, was one of those who turned out in sunny late spring weather. "I hope that together, through democratic measures, we'll remove this undemocratic government," he told AFP. Many of the demonstrators demanded early elections. "The fall of the government might not be the solution, but it... should happen as soon as possible to start a normal dialogue about the future of our state," said Miha, a member of a green pressure group called Youth for Environmental Justice. Jansa reacted to the rally in a typically combative tweet, denouncing the event as "anti-Slovenian". Earlier, he had warned the rally would breach coronavirus restrictions. However, police did not make any large-scale interventions at the protest, despite a lack of social-distancing and not all participants wearing masks. Earlier this week, Jansa barely survived an impeachment vote in parliament, the second failed opposition attempt to oust him this year. However, Jansa's government's majority in parliament has become ever more fragile with some MPs who initially backed his government in March 2020 withdrawing their support in recent months. On Thursday, he suffered a fresh blow when Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovic resigned over the government's refusal so far to appoint two delegated prosecutors to the European Union's new anti-corruption body. Since taking office at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, Jansa has launched harsh attacks against journalists and outlets he deems to be unduly critical. In recent months, some outlets have also had most of their state financing suspended, most prominently the country's only news agency STA. bk/jsk/spm
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