By: Dr Janez Juhant
Dear Leaders of Democratic Slovenia,
As a citizen of Slovenia, I firmly reject the exclusionary (discriminatory) attitude that those in power in democratic Slovenia continue to show toward others, especially toward Slovenians who were treated as second-class citizens under the former regime. Your indifference toward innocent people whose freedom and youth were stolen by the communists, who were murdered or forced into a slow death, goes beyond the bounds of democratic norms, basic humanity, and intellectual honesty. It is deeply troubling that you, who are constitutionally and legally bound to protect the most vulnerable and who constantly profess concern for the afflicted, show no compassion for the suffering and marginalisation of children, women, and all those harmed under the former regime, especially now that the scale and cruelty of this destruction of lives and property is increasingly coming to light.
The suffering of the children from Petriček has been further stained by the burning of the house, which should have been transformed into a national memorial and warning. Upon the unveiling of the inscription at Petriček, Mr. Franc Kindlhofer, who was torn from his mother’s arms at the age of two, while she was murdered and he was placed in that place of torment, rightfully said with sorrow and pain: “We, the children of Petriček, victims of the communist takeover in 1945, have gathered here by the roadside in very modest circumstances. On Saturday, children who were victims of the Nazis, just like us, innocent and undeserving of any blame, will be commemorated at the highest level in the National Hall with the President of the Republic, who always claims to be the president of all Slovenian men and women. And to make it even more revolutionary in tone, the keynote speaker will be the last president of the Central Committee of the League of Communists, Milan Kučan. I ask all present: was this not a missed opportunity to finally begin remembering these painful histories hand in hand, and to walk together toward mutual understanding? How will a divided nation withstand the great challenges ahead?”
Madam President Nataša Pirc Musar, why does discrimination persist? Will you, in light of the burning of a building where children were cruelly tortured, a building that should be a national monument, as in other countries, firmly express regret and demand that the authorities conduct a full investigation? Madam Speaker of the National Assembly Urška Klakočar Zupančič, have you declared that such an act must not go unpunished in a democratic state, and that if it occurred, the judiciary must respond accordingly? Prime Minister Robert Golob, who claims to care about children, will you instruct the relevant authorities to fulfil their duty and condemn this arson, which evokes the burning of archives in 1990? To all three of you, and to others in positions of responsibility: it remains your duty to ensure the burial of victims of wartime and post-war violence, and to provide official recognition to all victims of communism, through the issuance of death certificates and other legal measures that would guarantee equal treatment under the law. I also call on you to condemn hate speech, especially those involved in attacks on journalist Dr Jože Možina.
Only when all citizens are equal before the law, and when those in power defend us against oppression and discrimination, will we be able to preserve a dignified memory of the infants who were left to die in the sun at Teharje. We will no longer forget the children torn from their parents and taken to Petriček. At the holy mass in Teharje on October 5th, may prayer and respectful remembrance of the approximately 5,000 murdered in this and other camps, and the few survivors who endured such suffering, encourage all of us toward reconciliation, and urge you, the responsible leaders, to fulfil your political duty and guarantee equal democratic standards to all citizens.