The resignation of several Slovakian government officials, including the country's prime minister, has failed to appease the public who are seeking justice for the Mafia-style assassination of an anti-corruption journalist. Some even consider the resignation as a cynical ploy intended to allow the ruling party to remain in power. After the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak on Februrary 25, the front pages of Slovak media were filled by a series of accusations of corruption and links to organized crime against powerful politicians which included top police officials and some appointed members of the government’s prosecution office. On March 3, Prosecutor Vasiľ Špirko filed criminal charges against the Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, Police President Tibor Gašpar, Chief of National Criminal Agency Petar Hraško and Chief of Anti-Corruption Unit Róbert Krajmer. The charges involved embezzlement of public funds and involvement in bribery. A petition signed by 145 publicly known persons demanded that the police president and special prosecutor leave their offices to avoid conflict of interest in pursuing justice: Jánova práca siahala príliš blízko k politickým špičkám. Mnohé vyšetrovacie verzie môžu ohrozovať ich povesť a kariéru, čo vytvára neudržateľný konflikt záujmov. Vládni predstavitelia preto musia vytvoriť pre orgány činné v trestnom konaní nezávislý priestor, ktorý umožní preveriť akúkoľvek potrebnú stopu bez tlakov a neformálnych vplyvov. Ján's work ran too close to political leaders. Investigative efforts could jeopardize the reputation and career of many officials creating an untenable conflict of interest. Government officials must therefore create an independent room for law enforcement authorities to examine all necessary leads without pressure and informal influences. After President Andrej Kiska asked for wider governmental reforms, Prime Minister Róbert Fico accused Kiska that his speech “was not written in Slovakia” and that in September 2017 he had a meeting with a “person who has a dubious name”, George Soros, “without any representative of Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. Newspapers quickly debunked this claim by showing photos from the ‘secret’ meeting which also included the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Fico's government, Miroslav Lajčák. [Editor's note: Global Voices is a grantee of the Open Society Foundations which is funded by George Soros ] The killing of Kuciak and the political crisis it generated led to massive protests across the country. An estimated 100,000 people joined the protests “for decent Slovakia”. The size of recent protests is being compared to the 1989 Velvet Revolution which ended the four-decade rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and led to the subsequent transition to democracy. The protests were peaceful even though Prime Minister Fico warned of “high probability of attacks on public buildings” after he showed images of pavement stone cubes in front of the government office. In fact, it was the citizens who quickly reported the presence of about ten pavement stones left in the shrubbery after the reconstruction of a square near the government office. On March 15, Fico bowed to public pressure and resigned his post. He placed his ally Peter Pellegrini in the role of prime minister. Slovaks widely considered this as an insincere move and warned that the Fico-Pellegrini tandem might be similar to the deal between Russian President Putin and his Prime Minister Medvedev, who changed roles several times while Putin held the real power all the time. In fact, Fico noted explicitly with a wide grin that he “is not leaving anywhere” and his “task is to shield the back of the new prime minister”. “When they force you to resign because of the suspicion that you know the Italian Mafia. And you instead appoint a guy who's named Pellegrini.” Meme by the blog Cynická obluda (Cynical monster), used with permission. Fico's resignation did not calm down the situation. On March 16, an estimated 65,000 protesters demanding early elections gathered in the capital city of Bratislava while thousands more rallied in the streets of other cities. Thousands rally in Slovakia for third week in a row, including another huge crowd in Bratislava chanting and calling for for new elections pic.twitter.com/Cr9yvexfwp — James Shotter (@JamesShotter) March 16, 2018 At the protest, actor Richard Stanke addressed Fico in a widely quoted speech: Váš arogantný úsmev pri včerajšom odovzdávaní vašej „akože“ demisie hovorí za všetko! Vy neodchádzate, ale naďalej chcete v úzadí ťahať za nitky vašich poslušných straníckych lokajov … Ani jeden z nich si pri triumfálnom oznámení výsledku dohody nespomenul na vraždu Jána Kuciaka a Martiny Kušnírovej. Ani jeden.