By: Dr Stane Granda
We recently read that the proceedings against Dr Pavel Gantar were suspended, or the offense was dismissed because of a tweet in which he wrote that the police acted as an organised gang of citizens, throwing tear gas, and dousing unsuspecting people with water.
It is true that the former scientist, who was sucked in by various politics and probably even more by the practice of various paragons, is not just anyone, because in the past he was not only a prominent politician, but even the president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, the second man of the country. According to the court, such a statement is not an insult to the police, but “criticism of the work of the police at a public meeting”. “Unambiguously, given the content itself, it means his personal, otherwise negative opinion about the conduct of the police on October 5th, 2021, against the participants of the public meeting. A tweet by the perpetrator undoubtedly means public criticism of an actual event that is in the public’s interest. By publishing the aforementioned statement, the perpetrator expressed his opinion about the conduct of the police at a public meeting, which is justified by freedom of expression.” In light of all this, we can note that not only did there exist two legal systems in Slovenia, where the former left-wing rulers can afford to do anything, including shaming state authorities, but they also predicted the outcome of the “Fotopub” affair. The court’s ruling should go into the “perjury” textbooks. It was not a rally, but a violent demonstration where the police could not even protect the citizens. My grandson and I were in front of the Protestant church in Ljubljana. We were sitting in the car because the traffic was stopped. We had masks on our faces. These upset the group of violent and enraged demonstrators so much that they not only mocked us, but also insulted us and physically threatened us because it had consequences for the child. Apparently, according to Dr Gantar, the police were the bullies, and the citizens are just participants in a peaceful rally. So, the policemen are in themselves bullies, savages, enemies of peaceful people who are just gathering. Practical proof of lies, the immortal soul of communism, which the current Minister of Justice is once again consolidating into legal practice. I also wonder where the two police unions that cover the union rights and human dignity of the “organised gang of citizens” stand. Do you agree with that? What will the law enforcement officers do when I address them like that, when they fine me in front of my house for illegal parking, which is the result of Janković’s traffic policy, which denies me the constitutional right to use the apartment, force majeure, not my negligence.
It did not take a hundred days to realise that Svoboda party (“Freedom” party) frees us from freedom. The legal, and especially the social, state is becoming part of history. On the thirtieth birthday of the Slovenian state. Instead of actions that bring progress, we are witnessing the systematic intimidation of people due to the supposed impending hunger and cold. Instead of stopping speculators, the government collaborates with them at all costs. The elderly and the sick, who are denied the right to dignified old-age care, are particularly under attack. They know that these are the most regular voters, and they want to intimidate them. Sowing fear and uncertainty are the key weapons of totalitarians. In this, with a unique and admirable ingenuity, the totalitarian left, which not only reveals itself, but confirms itself as a red oligarchy, helps it demagogically. Slovenian Putinists are increasingly coming to light with their true colours.
This year’s elections overwhelmed Svoboda party. Although this has led to the disappearance of some parties and to the weakening of the totalitarian left at the expense of its oligarchy, which is actually its first concern more than the workers, the economic abuse of the state, roughly maintains the old ratio of 45 percent: 55 percent to the detriment of the democratic parties. As has been the case for years, the old truth is reconfirmed that Slovenia’s democratic future is threatened by around 10 percent of the people, so many party members used to be, who cannot get over their own disappointment with the reality of democracy and their expectations of it, and constantly succumb to various saviours that the old rulers and their descendants above all ingeniously launch before the elections.
The dismantling of the Slovenian state requires short-term and long-term measures. The last ones are mainly in the field of education and culture. In the short term, however, it is necessary to start at least with the proper naming of things. Slovenian democrats are not a right wing. Even the official Levica party is not the left, but totalitarians or Stalinists. Official social democrats are actually communists. The democrats fell into the same trap as the anti-communists in 1942, when the occupiers called them anti-communists, but they themselves adopted the label imposed by the communists as White Guards, thus predicting their fate according to the fate of the Russians. It is a good thing that the Democrats did not just accept the label of fascists, as Golob also labelled them. It is not about insulting, but just calling things by their right names, which can be the first, albeit small, step towards regulating political relations in Slovenia. Let’s call a spade a spade! “Red fascists”, even if they are in parliament, should not be equated with democrats. With this poorly disguised totalitarian, we are also determining its rightful place in the public eye. This would at least partially reduce those 10 percent because they are subject to public opinion. We cannot and must not leave democratic Slovenia to totalitarians, even if they call themselves libertarians. Maybe the Golob’s should be declared Putinists, because the label libertarians does not deserve to be labelled as a movement, because that is not what they are.
After thirty years, Slovenian politics must be deeply ploughed and a resistant seed of democracy planted in the furrows, which will make political weeds impossible!