By: Nina Žoher
While the left has unanimously condemned recent events in the United States of America and is now talking about the end of democracy as a know-it-all, it kept quiet when the violent anti-government protests took place in Slovenia, where the Prime Minister even received death threats. Due to the lack of much-needed criticism, the violence only increased, so we saw scenes of burning puppets, “shooting” a police officer with a water pistol, violent protests, a hostile poster threatening doctors and government advisers for COVID-19, and broken windows on the building of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.
In Slovenia, we were able to observe from week to week how an organised death threat appeared at the Fridays’ protests, which had the support of the opposition parties and the subordinate left-wing mainstream media. “Death to Janšaism, freedom to the people!” “Kill Janša!” and “Death to Janšaism!” These are all threats that had been used as slogans and are far from being general – they are directed against a very specific person. This has already been confirmed by many intellectuals and jurists, who have pointed out that it really is not possible to pretend as if we do not know which person they are targeted at, as the phrase “death to Janšaism” even contains his name, and therefore refers to him personally, and to his family and followers. Nevertheless, even after that, the Slovenian left had not gathered the strength to condemn the serious threats, as the leftists, and their more radical members in particular, were more concerned with convincing the Slovenian public that the current government is just the Slovenian version of Italian fascism. Over time, however, the protests were radicalised, and the tensions escalated on the 5th of November 2020, in the form of violence, the likes of which we have never seen before.
We also witnessed death threats, which were part of the radical protests, despite the fact that the Criminal Code applies in Slovenia, the Article 297 of which states: “Whoever publicly incites hatred, violence or intolerance, based on nationality, race, religion, ethnicity, sex, skin colour, origin, property, education, social status, political or other beliefs, disability, sexual orientation or any other personal circumstance, and if the act is committed in a manner that may disturb public order and peace, or with the use of threats or insults, this shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.” Not only did the left not condemn the death threats, but some of our deputies were even seen protesting.
Water pistol for the police
As the left remained silent and did not condemn the death threats, the violence and aggression only continued to escalate. Fridays’ anti-government protests, which shifted from bike to foot, escalated as early as June. When the extremists were fighting with the police, we saw one of the undercover bullies attack a police officer, who was only doing his job. The protests then began to take place almost every day, one time, the protesters were concerned about the environment, the next about something else. One of the protesters even tried to get on the policemen’s nerves by using a water pistol. And once again, there was no condemnation.
As if we were in the middle of a war
In September, the protesters took the opportunity to carry out an inquisition and burned a puppet that looked like the Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs. Due to the absence of criticism from the left-wing and the cheering on by the mainstream media, the violence at the November protests once again escalated. We witnessed a scene in the middle of the capital, that was reminiscent of war. Antifa members attacked the policemen, who wrote up a protester who provoked them in Serbian. They kicked a police officer in the back, attacked the police officers on horses, and also attacked the Top News reporter Vladimir Vodušek. The hooligans also threw pyrotechnics, granite cubes and other objects, leaving destroyed property behind. And worst of all – they injured people, including police officers. As the protests triggered a wave of outrage, the opposition managed to react in a mild manner, saying that the violence was not appropriate and pointing out that it was all only for the benefit of the government. But, of course, they were unable to admit that it was not right that they had waited so long to actually express criticism regarding the protests.
Threatening the experts that are battling the epidemic
As there was no much-needed condemnation of the violence and the primitive behaviour, the whole thing even escalated to the point where the protesters began threatening the doctors and government advisers who are doing all they can to handle the epidemic. They started calling them murderers of the Slovenian nation, which is really twisted. The consequences of the behaviour, which is far from acceptable, were also visible on New Year’s Day when broken windows were noticed on the building of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. It was perfectly clear that this was not some kind of an accident, but rather, a deliberate act of vandalism. “Broken glass on the building of the National Assembly – a sad start to the New Year,” the Speaker of the National Assembly, Igor Zorčič wrote, who also wondered: “Is this is the rebellion that some are calling for?”
When the left was violently destroying the democracy in Slovenia, the left-wing political option publicly supported it, as it did not criticise it. Certain politicians even appeared at the anti-government protests. This is how the violence was born – violence, for which there is no place in a country that is considered democratic and is a member state of the European Union. Given that they were able to condemn the violence in the US, can we perhaps expect that they will continue to do so in the future, or will everything stay the same, because the ruling option does not suit them?