The week in review:

• US exerts pressure, Slovenia stands strong
• Corruption office has uncertain future
• We are different, you are equal
• HIV panic at Ljubljana’s castle
• Summer festivals

• 12 years of independence
• Petek commission meets in Ljubljana
• www.primerpetek.net/ debuts on the internet
• Austria’s ORF collaborates with Cross Radio
• Siddharta’s latest video premiers

On 23 June, an assistant to the United States Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Elizabeth Jones, paid a visit to Ljubljana. The goal of her trip was to discuss, among other issues, the bilateral treaty which would exempt US citizens from extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Jones’s spokesman, however, stated that this was not the central focus of her visit.

Jones met with high-ranking officials, and the ICC did come up in conversation. Other topics included Slovenia’s drive for membership in NATO and the EU, the situations in the Balkans, Iraq and the Middle East, weapons of mass destruction and organized crime and trafficking in human beings, according to STA.

Earlier in June, another US delegation arrived in Slovenia to pressure the government to sign the bilateral treaty. According to that delegation’s head, Patricia McNerney, should the government not sign the treaty, Slovenia would lose some USD 4 million in military aid. The government, however, stood firm and refused, citing directives from the European Union.

The visit incited a heated exchange of correspondence – via the media – between US ambassador to Slovenia Johnny Young and the head of the EU mission to Slovenia Erwan Fouere. Young alleged that the EU pressured Slovenia into refusing, while Fouere denied the charge.

In a 24 June interview with Dnevnik, director of the Office for the Prevention of Corruption Boštjan Penko discussed the plans for the reorganization of the government. As it stands, the plan calls for his office to be folded into the Ministry of Justice.

Penko believes that this will mean that the office will lose its independence, and therefore its effectiveness.

He told Dnevnik that the office should remain independent at least until the anti-corruption law and the anti-corruption strategy paper are passed. They were submitted to parliament for approval in early June, but have yet to find their way to the agenda.

Nearly 300 people participated in Ljubljana’s third annual gay pride parade, held on 20 June. This year’s slogan was "We are different, You are equal," and organizers hoped to draw attention to the community’s long-standing demand for legislation enabling same-sex partnerships in the country.

After the political portion of the march, Sestre, Murat in Jose, Nuša Derenda and others performed at Zvezda park, and then participants moved on to the after party at Metelkova.

The parade was organized by the gay and lesbian organizations Out in Slovenija, Škuc-LL, Škuc Magnus, Klub Libero, Roza klub and Galfon. Sponsorship came from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Slovenia, the Student Organization of the University of Ljubljana, the government’s Office for Youth Affairs and the Voluntariat Institute.

On 22 June, visitors to Ljubljana’s castle panicked when a glass box containing mosquitoes said to be carrying the HIV virus shattered, releasing the insects. Police evacuated the castle, and officials were called to investigate and exterminate the mosquitoes..

The box was part of the Break 2.2. festival, being held at the castle. This year’s theme was "Hidden Threats."

Break 2.2 organizers quickly announced that the mosquitoes did not in fact have the virus, and that the whole thing was staged by the artist, Oliver Kunkel of Germany, to create a "psychological drama," according to STA. Regardless of whether the insects were carrying HIV, medical experts state that it is impossible to contract HIV from a mosquito bite.

• On 26 June, the county celebrated Independence Day. Events were held all around the country as well as abroad, though the central celebration was on Ljubljana’s Kongresni trg, where independence from the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia was declared on 26 June 1991. President Drnovšek addressed the crowd, but then turned the stage over to bands such as Big Foot Mama, Nude and Ks!ht.

• On Friday, the parliamentary commission investigating the attack on journalist Miro Petek met in Ljubljana to discuss the government’s response to the report it submitted earlier this month on the work of the prosecutor’s office. The commission is not satisfied with the work of the prosecutor’s office, but the government does not agree. The commission has addressed additional questions to the government concerning the matter, but has yet to receive a response. The commission will next meet in September.

• Earlier this month, Austria’s ORF Radio 1476 collaborated with Belgrade’s Radio B92 via the Cross Radio network. Cross Radio unites radio stations across the former Yugoslavia, including Ljubljana’s Radio Študent. Stations in Zurich and Amsterdam are also planning to collaborate with Cross Radio, which now is aiming at forming a pan-European network.

• Siddharta’s latest video "Rave" premiered on the RTVS music program Videospotnice this week. The video is the first single from the band’s forthcoming album, Rh-, which will be released in both Slovene- and English-language versions some time in July.