BRATISLAVA, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico faced a barrage of media criticism Friday over reports of comments on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor facing death sentences in Libya as the "authors" of a criminal act.
The six have been condemned to death by a Libyan court for allegedly infecting more than 400 children with AIDS. The has raised an international outcry. A final appeal has been lodged by lawyers.
"It is necessary to speak about the victims in the same intense manner that we speak of the authors" of the act, Fico said during a meeting with his Libyan counterpart, Bagdadi Ali Mahmoudi, in Tripoli this week, according to the Slovak daily, SME.
Fico should never have referred to them as the "authors" of a criminal act before the final verdict has been delivered, the vice-president of Slovakia's main Christian Democrat opposition party, Milan Hort, said. He called the phrase "shameful."
Fico's comments have also prompted a protest from Bulgaria's ambassador in Slovakia, according to media reports.
The premier said in a news conference Friday that his words had been distorted by newspapers. "I say that we delivered bicycles and you write that we have stolen cars," he complained.
"I will make no further comment on this subject, you can write what you want," he added.
Fico repeated an offer for some of the AIDS infected Libyan children to be cared for in Slovak hospitals.
jma/ckj/tw
Slovakia-Bulgaria-Libya-health-aids-media
