By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
Unfortunately, what had long been predicted has now happened. Violence by an unintegrated ethnic minority has claimed a blood toll. Under the blows of a violent Roma individual, Aleš Šutar from Novo Mesto died. This was the peak of a wave of terror that has swept through southeastern Slovenia this year and even reached Ljubljana (where members of the notorious Strojan family beat up a farmer who caught them stealing crops).
But the unfortunate man who was murdered while trying to save his son is not only a victim of Roma violence. He is also a victim of the criminal incompetence of Golob’s government. In fact, the responsibility lies with the left – both lowercase and uppercase. His blood is on the hands of ministers and MPs of the ruling coalition, media workers, NGO activists, and all those who for years have enabled the “marginalised” minority – which, of course, it is not, since its actions endanger the majority population.
Some may find this assessment exaggerated, if not unfair. They will say such acts cannot be prevented. That Roma committed violence under previous governments too, and no one called government officials to account. True, this issue is not new. And no government in independent Slovenia has been particularly successful in resolving it. But under the current government, things have gone beyond all limits. Violent outbursts have occurred week after week, becoming increasingly brazen. Yet the government has done virtually nothing. By “cleansing the police of Janša loyalists” and targeting officers who had simply done their job during the previous term, it fatally weakened law enforcement. Police officers lost the will to perform their duties, never knowing whether their superiors, under political orders, would “stab them in the back” for taking decisive action.
The government and MPs of the ruling coalition bear not objective but subjective responsibility for Roma terror. They were fully informed about the situation in southeastern Slovenia yet did nothing. On the contrary, they rejected proposals to address the situation, both those from the opposition and those from mayors of affected municipalities. The Prime Minister recently claimed in parliament that the security situation in that part of the country was good. Those who warned of the unfolding events and tragic consequences were accused by coalition representatives of exaggerating problems, spreading fear, and inciting hatred (a standard leftist mantra whenever someone exposes their ideological delusions). Meanwhile, they offered nothing but empty rhetoric.
Now, all sorts of figures are expressing sympathy. But how hypocritical the astonishment sounds from various leftists who now ask, “How could something like this happen?” It happened partly thanks to them. These are the same people who constantly coddled the Roma, called for leniency toward their offenses, claiming these were part of their customs, their “cultural peculiarities” (is stealing others’ property a cultural tradition, then?). They argued that the Roma were “marginalised,” and therefore almost entitled to violence. They began to cry “racism” every time someone tried to introduce order and prevent violence through firmer measures. In doing so, they created an atmosphere that encouraged violent members of the Roma community to “let off steam,” thinking, “No one can touch us, the authorities will look the other way.”
And now come the disingenuous calls for tolerance and calming tensions. They warn against “scoring political points”, aimed, of course, at the opposition. But this is nothing more than defending an incompetent government. Not only can the opposition act, it must. The time has come for those responsible to face consequences.