By: Sara Kovač / Nova24tv
Even though in the case of Ukraine, it is more than clear who is the aggressor and who is the victim, we still have some who take the side of those who commit war crimes on Ukrainian territory without any guilty conscience. Civilians are more than clearly the victims of Russian attacks, which is completely inadmissible, in particular under the Geneva Conventions. But apparently, this does not bother some of the members of the special Facebook group “Slovenia against Russophobia,” in which one can find several well-known names of the left-wing political option and even a journalist from the public media outlet Radio-Television Slovenia.
The Geneva Conventions are undoubtedly the backbone of humanitarian law in times of armed conflict. Although their content, which includes the protection of civilians, is formally recognised in law by all the countries of the world, it is often the civilians who pay the highest price in armed conflict. If even the numerous accusations against Russia of war crimes in Ukraine have not awakened some minds, they could at least be awakened now that Russian forces have decided to start firing missiles at civilian targets in Kyiv, in full view of the world public.
And although human life is supposed to be priceless, apparently, some people do not seem to believe that the condemnation of Russian crimes is something that is needed. We are talking about the former MPs of the Left party (Levica) – Violeta Tomić and Matjaž Hanžek (who was also the Human Rights Ombudsman), former European Commissioner Violeta Bulc, palliative medicine doctor Matjaž Figelj, and journalist of the public media outlet Radio-Television Slovenia, Vanja Kovač. We cannot think of any other reason why they decided to join the Facebook group called “Slovenia against Russophobia.”
Members of the group also called for prayers in support of the Russian Federation
“Calls for a war against Russia, a country with which my country has always had good, friendly relations, have begun. Instead of Slovenia becoming a bridge between the warring parties and a beacon of sober thought in an emotionally and media manipulated Europe, we have allowed criminals to actively involve us in a foreign conflict in a way that would have been unthinkable and constitutionally controversial only a few years ago. We even agreed to censorship of the media. Our country threw itself into hysterical economic sanctions without reflection and without public support, instead of supporting dialogue,” one can read, among other things, in the description of the above-mentioned website, which, while claiming not to support hatred towards Ukrainians, even calls on some of its members to attend a prayer service in front of an Orthodox church in support of the Russian Federation.
Any kind of military aggression is unacceptable, but especially war crimes, and it is no wonder that the European Union, the United States of America, and international institutions are united in condemning Russia’s actions. On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly also adopted a resolution rejecting Russia’s fake referendums aimed at annexing Ukrainian’s territories and demanding an end to Russia’s aggression in a sovereign and independent Member State of the UN. “Russia is destroying the foundations of international peace and security by attacking the basic principles of the UN Charter. It is clear to all what is at stake, and the world has sent a clear message: Russia cannot wipe a sovereign country off the map. Russia cannot change its borders by force. Russia cannot usurp the territory of another country. Ukraine has the same rights as any other sovereign country,” the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, said, as reported by the Slovenian Press Agency.
They lack moderation
It is, of course, clear why Slovenia sided with Ukraine from the outset. As the then-Prime Minister Janez Janša, who was among the first to go to Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, explained at the time, we need to keep in mind the fact that Ukraine, in fighting Russian aggression, was also fighting for Europe and European values. It is particularly sad that Violeta Bulc, who has even held the post of European Commissioner in the past, does not seem to understand the importance of the latter. It is more than obvious that the left does not have sufficient criteria when it comes to selecting their top-level staff. The only thing that matters to them is that they have similar ideas and beliefs about the world. Perhaps the support of former Left party MPs Tomić and Hanžek is not so surprising because the Left party is known to have had great difficulties in condemning Russian aggression from the outset. Although they have subsequently managed to condemn the aggression itself, they have already begun to attack the right of the Ukrainians to defend themselves, which is downright bizarre. The Russian regime is apparently so close to the Left that they are unable to act as a sort of moderate centre-left party. Although they claim to be just that, it is clear to everyone that the views they express are pure radicalism.
If one would expect a doctor, given the nature of his work, to be particularly sensitive to the use of aggression against civilians, including children and, after all, medical personnel who care for the health of the Ukrainian population, this is clearly not what one would expect from palliative medicine doctor Matjaž Figelj, who is also a columnist for the Dnevnik newspaper. Figelj became known to the general public as a doctor who does not take the epidemic of covid seriously. He has expressed his belief that it would be better for the elderly to be allowed contact with the people that are close to them than to prolong their lives.
In the past – namely, during the term of the Janša government, journalist Kovač, with the help of Eugenija Carl, constructed a scandal about the filing lists with names of the elderly in nursing homes across Slovenia who were supposedly denied treatment in hospitals because of COVID-19, accusing the government of drawing up so-called death lists. However, since, at least according to the legislation in force, the public media outlet Radio-Television Slovenia is rightly expected to report objectively, it is logical that people should react critically when they see that a journalist from a public media outlet is among the Facebook users who, in the case of the war in Ukraine, express a kind of sympathy for Russia. We, therefore, decided to ask the Radio-Television Slovenia journalist Vanja Kovač how it came to be that she found herself in this Facebook group in the first place. Is this about sympathising with Russia? If the answer to this is affirmative, we will ask her whether she considers it appropriate to work for a public institution as an apparently biased person in the matter. When we receive an answer, we will publish it.