• Prostitution decriminalized...but still not quite legal
• Coalition Slovenia demanding parliamentary sessions be aired
• US delegation coming to discuss international court
• Human Development Report released

• Slovenia a model for Serbia and Montenegro EU bid
• Metelkova youth hostel opens
• Turkey wins Eurosong; Karmen Stavec places 23^rd

According to the amendments, prostitution is no longer a punishable violation, and prostitutes will be viewed as businesspeople. However, the amendments allow only for individuals to engage in prostitution who chose to do so. Forcing others into prostitution remains illegal, as does pimping.

The MPs who sponsored the bill hope that this is the first step towards regulating and overseeing the business of prostitution as well as the health and safety of prostitutes in the country.

According to a report this week by STA, there are no official data on the number of prostitutes in the country. However, the police estimate that there are about 2000 females, while the number of male prostitutes is impossible to determine.

Opposition MPs are furious with the government’s lack of progress on the issue of television broadcasting of parliamentary sessions. Throughout the week, the opposition grouping Coalition Slovenia (made up of the SDS and NSi parties) selectively boycotted parliamentary procedures in protest. Broadcasting of parliamentary sessions was one of six demands Coalition Slovenia made of the government at the beginning of 2003.

The private stations Teve Pika and RTS Maribor and the cable provider Telius broadcasted the May parliamentary session free of charge, but have decided to end the public service when the session concludes.

The government is now trying to convince Radio-Television Slovenia (RTVS) to carry broadcasts of parliamentary sessions. Coalition Slovenia opposes the idea, since it would mean an increase in costs to the public. The budget for RTVS is entirely paid by taxpayers. The Coalition also opposes the government’s idea of broadcasting the sessions via satellite, which would not be accessible to all viewers.

According to SDS leader Janez Janša, Teve Pika has offered to broadcast the sessions at a significantly lower cost than RTVS. However, the government is not investigating these possibilities.

Prime Minister Anton Rop told 24 ur this week that "My feeling is that this is not about [Coalition Slovenia] wanting answers to the six demands, but that this is about them wanting to create a negative political atmosphere to cast a bad light on the coalition and on the government.

The Society of Journalists of Slovenia (DNS) spoke out against the Coalition Slovenia demand as well, but for different reasons. The DNS is opposed to the government compelling RTVS to broadcast parliamentary sessions if the editorial board does not wish to do so. According to the DNS, attempts such as this represent unacceptable political influence over the media and should not be permissible.

"Editorial policies of individual media – public or private – are determined by the editor in chief at the media outlet, together with the editorial board, journalists and other editors. Politics, rather the authorities, should not and cannot determine what journalists will present as being important in a democratic state, neither can they determine what is important information and what is not. This is the purview of editors," the press release states. The DNS intends to alert European institutions and media of its concerns.

Janša dismissed not only Rop’s comments, but those of the DNS as well. He suggested that perhaps the Society of Journalists of Slovenia be renamed the "Society of Governmental Lackeys."

On 2 June, a delegation from the United States will hold talks with government officials in Ljubljana on an agreement to ensure Americans’ immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The delegation will be made up of representatives of the State Department, the Department of Defense and others.

Citing the dangerous possibility of a US withdrawal from Bosnia, that country’s government has already agreed to sign. However, immunity has only been granted to those Americans serving on the territory of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

The European Union is encouraging governments which wish to join the EU to refuse the US demand. The Council of Europe is doing the same of all of its members. A total of 32 countries have signed agreements so far. Bosnia joins Albania and Romania as the only European countries to do so.

The International Criminal Court was established on 1 July 2002 when the Rome Treaty entered into force. The United States is refusing to ratify the treaty over concerns that the court will be used to prosecute American soldiers and other citizens for political reasons. As of the first of this year, the Treaty has been signed by 139 countries and ratified by 87.

Slovenia's 2000/2001 National Human Development Report was presented on 28 May in Ljubljana by the project's authors, Jana Javornik and Valerija Korošec. The report was prepared by the Office for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, together with the United Nations Development Programme.

One of the central parts of the report deals with health. According to the report’s findings, the country’s poor die significantly earlier than other Slovenes and have more health problems.

The report’s findings are based on health, education and standard of living indices, which together form the Human Development Index. Out of 173 countries, Slovenia placed 29^th for the 2002/2003 period, down from 28^th place, where the country has been ranked for the past three years.

The United Nations Development Programme has published human development reports since 1990; the Slovene government's Office of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (UMAR) has prepared the national human development report since 1998, when the country joined the program.

• On 30 May, the Celica youth hostel opened at Metelkova in Ljubljana. The hostel is situated in a former prison. The average cost for a night’s stay with breakfast is SIT 4200 (E 18), with the cheapest room at SIT 2300 (E 10). The hostel has 96 beds, and includes tourist and conference services and a cafeteria. It also has a gallery space, a library, a café, and a bar with internet access and an outdoor garden. Celica is run by Šouhostel, established by the Student Organization of the University of Ljubljana.

• On Saturday, Sertab Erener of Turkey won the 2004 Eurosong contest in Riga, Latvia with the song "Everyway That I Can." Karmen Stavec placed 23^rd out of 26 performers, the poorest showing by Slovenia ever. The Russian entry, Tatu (including Slovene drummer Roman Ratej) placed third. Based on Erener’s win, Turkey will host the next Eurosong competition next year. Slovenia has participated in the event since 1993, and has placed seventh twice, thanks to Darja Švajger and Nuša Derenda.