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Slovenia News Bulletin Overview of top stories from 24 January to 7 March 2004 This week’s headlines…
And in other news…
One Izbrisani referendum unconstitutional, another set for 4 AprilThroughout February, the issue of the Izbrisani stayed in the center of the public’s attention, with several developments. The Izbrisani are citizens of other republics of the former Yugoslavia who were living in Slovenia at the time of independence but who did not have, or otherwise qualify for, citizenship in the newly independent country. The government revoked their permanent-resident status and erased them wholesale from the registries. The situation caught the attention of the Associated Press, which rarely files stories about Slovenia. In their 6 February article, “The ‘erased’ in Slovenia seek a return of status,” Aleksandar Todorović of the Association of the Izbrisani states that, “In Bosnia, fascists walked around doing horrible things with weapons. Slovenia did the same thing with paperwork." Defending his party’s position, Slovene Nationalist Party leader Zmago Jelinčič was quoted as saying, “We offered them [the Izbrisani] citizenship for the price of a bad steak. Nearly 200,000 people took it. A lot of the so-called erased are Muslims from Bosnia ... You have to take care of your own country." Speaking to RTVS on 11 February, President Janez Drnovšek said that the government coalition is more to blame for the complications in the resolution of the Izbrisani situation than is the opposition. Meantime, the National Assembly ruled with a vote of 47:2 that the referendum on the Technicalities Act, a piece of legislation with which parliament will resolve the Izbrisani situation, will be held on 4 April. At the same session, a motion to submit the questions which the Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), informally called Coalition Slovenia, are proposing be asked in the referendum on the Systemic Bill on the Izbrisani to the Constitutional Court was passed with a vote of 46:20. The Systemic Bill on the Izbrisani complements the Technicalities Act and would restore residency status to all of those affected by the Izbrisani situation. The Constitutional Court then ruled on 26 February that the questions are unconstitutional. The decision means that the 4 April referendum will focus only on the Technicalities Act, and not on the Systemic Bill as well. No date has been set for a referendum on the Systemic Bill since the Court’s ruling. SDS leader Janez Janša told RTVS after the ruling that his party will decide what it will do next in order to prevent the Internal Ministry from issuing retroactive residency permits to those affected by the Izbrisani situation without any selection criteria. His and other, mainly conservative, parties fear that these retroactive permits will enable victims to sue the state for compensation claims. Members of parliament of Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) and the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD) praised the ruling. The LDS and ZLSD, together with the Pensioners’ Party and the Slovene People’s Party make up the current governing coalition. In April 2003, the Constitutional Court ruled that all of the Izbrisani must have their residency rights returned. The government was given six months in which to bring the law into alignment with the constitution, based on the Court’s decision. This was done in late 2003, but the changes were met with harsh opposition mainly by conservatives, which has led to the current situation. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were 18,305 citizens of other Yugoslav republics living in Slovenia in 1992 who had permanent resident status, though unofficial accounts put the figure as high as 30,000. Of the Ministry’s figure, 12,937 applied for citizenship under procedures introduced later, and 10,713 got citizenship. But according to unofficial estimates, 3000 to 4000 people are still without formal legal status in the country.
Health and Interior Ministers must answer to ParliamentHealth Minister Dušan Keber and Internal Minister Rado Bohinc are both facing interpellation, after the opposition Slovene Democrat Party (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) filed motions against them on 27 February. According to the constitution, a group of no less than ten members of parliament can initiate interpellation hearings against the government or an individual minister. The hearings are followed by a vote of confidence; if the government or minister fails the vote, they must be removed from office. A simple majority of 46 members of parliament would have to vote no-confidence in order for the action to pass. The opposition is accusing Keber of eight violations which have destabilized the healthcare system in the country. A group of 15 SDS and NSi members of parliament supported the interpellation motion, along with four Slovene Nationalist Party members. Part of the case against Bohinc is connected to the Izbrisani. The opposition alleges that the Ministry of the Interior has acted improperly by issuing residency permits this month to Izbrisani victims on the basis of an April 2003 Constitutional Court ruling without waiting for legislation necessary to enact the ruling. Other complaints cited in the interpellation motion include mismanagement of the civil servants’ pension fund, problems in the system of salaries in the public sector, and a recent rise in police brutality. The press is generally viewing the interpellation motions as pre-election positioning by the opposition in the run-up to this fall’s parliamentary election. The opposition maintains that it has only the best interests of the country in mind.
Slovenia will join Nato on 2 AprilWith a vote of 68:3, the National Assembly ratified the North Atlantic Treaty on 24 February, clearing the way for Slovene entry into Nato. As is seen from the vote, Slovenia’s membership in the defense alliance enjoys wide support from across the political spectrum. Ratification needed only a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, or sixty votes. All three votes cast against ratification came from the ranks of the far-right Slovene Nationalist Party (SNS), which opposes Nato membership. SNS head Zmago Jelinčič abstained from voting. The SNS holds four seats in the Assembly. In mid-February, it was announced that Slovenia and six other candidate countries will join Nato formally on 2 April. The date, however, depends on all seven of the candidate countries ratifying the North Atlantic Treaty in time. A summit of Nato members’ foreign ministers is expected to take place on 2 April in Brussels, the seat of the alliance. Should preparations not be completed in time, the next – and final – opportunity for the new members to join will be at the alliance’s next summit, which will take place on 28 and 29 June in Istanbul.
SDS beats LDS in public opinion pollAccording to the latest Delo-Stik poll, released in February, public support for the country’s leading party, Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS), has fallen while support for the conservative Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) is on the rise, putting the two parties on equal footing. The poll was conducted over four days, which saw the parties with equal support. On the fourth day, however, support for the SDS rose. Over the last seven months, public support for the LDS has been stable, with the only major drop occurring in February – a drop of 25 percent to 17.9. January actually saw the LDS enjoying its highest level of support in six months, at 23.2 percent. In the same period, support for the SDS rose gradually, with a jump of nearly one-third in February, from 13.6 percent in January to 18.1.
Simšič blocks mosque referendumOn 24 February, Ljubljana mayor Danica Simšič announced that she is blocking a referendum which would decide the fate of a Muslim mosque and cultural center, to be built on the outskirts of Ljubljana. The referendum was to be held on 4 April, as decided by the city council. Simšič opposes the referendum, because in her view it is unconstitutional. In a press release, she said, “I believe that such a referendum would represent a constitutionally-forbidden encroachment on the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of a religious minority, in this case the Muslim community in Slovenia.” The mayor has sent the referendum decree adopted by the city council to legal experts, who will decide whether it can be sent to the Constitutional Court for a ruling. In the meantime, Simšič encouraged the city council to vote on the referendum motion again. At its 5 March session, the city council voted to put off a final decision on holding the referendum until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling. The majority of city councilors of the Slovene Democratic Party and New Slovenia party abstained from voting, as did councilors of the Slovene Nationalist Party, Greens of Slovenia and List for Clean Drinking Water. There are just under 50,000 Muslims in Slovenia. At 2.4 percent of the population, Islam is the second-largest religion in the country, following Roman Catholicism and just ahead of Eastern Orthodoxy. Many Muslims came in the 1990s during the war in Bosnia and unrest in Kosovo, while others have been in Slovenia for a much longer time. The mayor’s press release (in Slovene) can be found at http://www.ljubljana.si/novice/index_716.html.
On 12 February, the Vatican announced that Ljubljana Archbishop and Slovene Metropolitan Franc Rode will be leaving Slovenia to head the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Vatican City. He will leave Slovenia after Easter. Croatian archbishop Nikola Ertović was also promoted, to the post of Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Both Ertović and Rode will have the title of Cardinal, and will be able to vote on the successor to the current pope, John Paul II.
There is no word yet as to who will replace Rode in Ljubljana. Rode has been Archbishop of Ljubljana since 1997, when he replaced Alojzi Šuštar. Slovenia fares well on US human rights reportSlovenia fared well in this year’s report on human rights practices, released by the United States State Department on 26 February. According to the report, there were no significant, systematic human rights violations in 2003. The majority of the findings are similar to previous years: police brutality, self-censorship in the media, a slow rate of denationalization, violence against women and discrimination of ethnic minorities, primarily Roma.The report also presents the problem of the Izbrisani (the erased), citizens of other former Yugoslav republics who were illegally erased from the population registry in 1994, as well as the controversy surrounding the building of a Muslim cultural center and mosque in Ljubljana.Also mentioned were the corruption allegations against Koper mayor Boris Popovič, and the year’s developments in the search for the attackers of journalist Miro Petek.The largest part of the report discusses the problem of trafficking in human beings, primarily women from Eastern Europe, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Slovenia is primarily a transit country for trafficking to western Europe, the US and Canada. The report found no evidence of state involvement in human being trafficking, however individual local officials may be ignoring the problem. The report can be found at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27864.htm.
Platin to represent Slovenia at Eurovision 2004On 15 February, Platin won the Slovene national competition for Eurosong 2004 with their song “Stay Forever.” Two days later, controversy erupted when a petition on the internet called for the results to be canceled. The petition alleged that Platin was chosen by an international jury and not by the Slovene public. Nataljia Verboten received the highest number of call-in votes, but ultimately did not even place in the top three since she did not receive any points from the jury. According to Eurosong rules, the final score is determined on the basis of both the call-in votes and the jury’s evaluation. RTVS, which organized the competition, announced that it will not change its decision, and so “Stay Forever” remains the official Slovene entry. Last year was the same story, with Bepop winning the call-in vote but with Karmen Stavec’s “Lep poletni dan” ending up the official selection. The year before, Slovenia was rocked by homophobia when the drag trio Sestre won with their song “Samo ljubezen.” Some 83 entries were received for this year’s national contest. Rožmarinke took second place with “Kliše,” and Alya took third with “Fluid.” Other contestants included Rebeka Dremelj and Polona Kašal. The 49th Eurosong competition will take place from 12 to 15 May in Istanbul.
The Cankar Cultural Society, which unites the Slovene community in Bosnia and Hercegovina, organized a belated celebration for Prešeren Day on 17 February in Sarajevo. Though Prešeren Day was celebrated on 8 February, the event was delayed in order for it to take place during the Sarajevska Zima (Sarajevo Winter) cultural festival. The Society organized a performance of Dragica Potočnjak’s play Eurotrans – smer zahod (Eurotrans – Westward), produced by the cultural society B-51 and Cankarjev Dom. The play deals with refugees from the former Yugoslavia living in western Europe. Later, on 27 February, the Cankar Society organized a one-day exhibit called “Memories of Vučko,” which featured memorabilia bearing the image of the cartoon wolf which was the mascot of the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Games. The exhibit was also part of the Prešeren Day celebrations, as well as the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Sarajevo Olympic Games. Vučko was designed by Slovene Jože Trobec, who attended the exhibit. Trobec told the Bosnian press, “Vučko left a major impression on my work. He has followed me for 20 years and is more than recognizable throughout the world. I think that no other Olympic mascot since has been so recognizable.” The Cankar Society was founded in 1993, and unites Slovenes throughout Bosnia in the fields of culture, education and science. It has about 250 members. The organization regularly holds open houses at its headquarters in Sarajevo; events for Prešeren Day, Cankar Day and Slovene Independence Day; Slovene language classes; lectures; concerts; exhibits; and other events. The Cankar Society also publishes the journal Zora Cankarjeva (Cankar’s Dawn). The group also started an archive to document the Slovene presence in Bosnia and Hercegovina, and maintains a library of more than 5000 books. The Cankar Society is located at Alifakovac 5/1 in Sarajevo.
And in other news…
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