By: Dr Metod Berlec
The European Parliament last Tuesday, at its plenary session in Strasbourg, adopted a resolution on preserving the memory of the victims of post-war communist violence in Slovenia.
The initiative for the resolution came from Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc (EPP/SDS). The resolution emphasises the importance of remembering the victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in Europe, specifically highlighting the crimes committed by the Yugoslav communist regime in Slovenia after World War II, the issue of post-war executions, and mass graves. It calls on Slovenian authorities to continue investigating hidden burial sites and includes a call to review the archives of the Yugoslav secret services. Furthermore, it expresses the opinion that Slovenia’s National Day of Remembrance should honour the victims of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, including communism. The resolution is undoubtedly a serious blow to Slovenia’s post-communist nomenclature, which is why it is no surprise that left-wing Slovenian MEPs (Matjaž Nemec, Vladimir Prebilič, Irena Joveva, and Marjan Šarec) opposed it. President of the Republic Nataša Pirc Musar also rejected the resolution, stating that any diminishing of the importance of the national liberation struggle, as well as any attempts at historical revisionism, are unacceptable.
Last week also saw continued political manoeuvring around referendums. Let us recall: when the National Assembly voted to hold a consultative referendum on defence spending, Prime Minister Robert Golob, seemingly offended, announced that his party Gibanje Svoboda would propose a referendum on Slovenia’s NATO membership. However, following consultations last week, Golob reversed course and proposed that the parties adopt a decision to cancel the consultative referendum on defence spending. The Svoboda party submitted such a proposal to the National Assembly, claiming the referendum question was unclear and misleading, as Golob stated after Friday’s meeting of party leaders. The idea of a referendum on NATO membership has thus become, in his words, “most likely unnecessary.” The referendum issue is expected to be resolved at Friday’s extraordinary session of the National Assembly.
Last week also revealed that we have in power a political leadership that is leading us away from “core Europe” and toward countries that align with authoritarian regimes and sympathise with supporters of terrorism. The official reception in Slovenia of UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, at a time when the U.S. imposed sanctions on her for her anti-Israel agenda, shows the kind of extremists we have in office. To top it off, this left-wing activist, who justifies Hamas’s crimes, publicly called on Slovenia to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. In connection with this, Golob had recently stated that Slovenia would act alone if necessary. With what? With the Triglav patrol vessel, still undergoing sea trials after refurbishment? With the Ankaran patrol boat? Or perhaps with an SV rubber dinghy…
