By: Dr Vinko Gorenak
The Czech Republic has Petr Pavel as its president, a former soldier and also a former communist. But the Czech Republic is not Slovenia, and Slovenia is clearly not the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, their parliament passed a law under which the glorification of communism is not only prohibited but is also a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. And it was this very law that was signed by their president, Petr Pavel, a former soldier and former communist.
But let’s compare this to the situation in Slovenia. Slovenia has never had a right-leaning president; all of them have come from the left side of the political spectrum, and every one of them has, in one way or another, promoted communism and never distanced themselves from it.
Yes, the Czech Republic is not Slovenia, and Slovenia is certainly not the Czech Republic. After changing its political system, the Czech Republic carried out lustration, meaning they passed a law that banned former leading communists, members of the political police, and their informants from engaging in political activity, more precisely, from occupying the most important positions in the state. In Slovenia, we never did this, and that is why we are where we are today. In Slovenia, communism and its criminals – figures like Tito, Kardelj, Kidrič, and many others – are still glorified on a daily basis. After all, prominent representatives of left-wing political parties in Slovenia still bow to these communist criminals to this day.
Let me be even more specific. Left-wing political parties, from LDS, to SMC, LMŠ, and now Gibanje Svoboda, have built their policies on glorifying communism, and in doing so, have governed Slovenia for 28 of the 35 years of its independence.
This is also why we cannot ignore the fact that Slovenians, three decades ago, were economically far ahead of the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, and others, and today, all of them have caught up with or even surpassed us. Just imagine if such a law existed in Slovenia? Then Gibanje Svoboda, SD, and Levica would not even be present in the National Assembly.
Source: Celjski glasnik