By: Spletni časopis
On the vote to join South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide, neither Asta Vrečko nor Simon Maljevac voted in favour, and neither did Robert Golob.
Five ministers voted in favour of joining the lawsuit, while seven voted against. This was revealed today by Info360 journalist Nenad Glücks, who received the voting document only after a dispute before the Information Commissioner, and just before the change of government. The government had kept the document on the vote classified for almost three months.
The confidentiality label has now been removed. Until now, they had concealed how each minister voted, claiming that disclosure would harm the functioning of the government. According to the document obtained by Glücks, the ministers who voted in favour of joining the lawsuit were three from SD, Tanja Fajon, Matjaž Han, and Andreja Kokalj, as well as Alenka Bratušek from Svoboda and Luka Mesec from Levica. Seven ministers from Svoboda voted against.
When it became known, just before the elections, that the government would not join South Africa’s lawsuit, South Africa being part of the BRICS group with Russia, China, India, Brazil, and Iran, I pointed out that Germany, a key member of the Western alliance (where Slovenia is also supposed to belong), is the main supporter of Israel in the legal dispute. The government likely avoided shifting into a different geopolitical alignment before the elections because, during a war in the Middle East, taking the “wrong side” could have consequences for the entire country. But the fact that the majority of the government did not “lose its mind” greatly disappointed our president Nataša Pirc Musar, as well as Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who is known for her good relations with the Iranian regime.
SD president Matjaž Han said during the POP TV debate on the last day before the election silence that six ministers had voted in favour of joining the lawsuit, including all three from SD. In reality, there were five. The decisive factor, ensuring the government acted reasonably, was, as already known at the time, Golob’s vote and the absence of ministers from Levica. The official document has now confirmed this.
Israel welcomed the government’s decision, which aligned Slovenia with the majority of Western countries that do not place responsibility for the consequences of the war on Israel, a war triggered by the terrorist organisation Hamas (and also Hezbollah) through brutal murders, rapes, and kidnappings of Israelis (including very young children) on Vladimir Putin’s birthday. Hamas and Hezbollah also launched extensive rocket attacks on Israel. It is well known that both terrorist groups are financed, organised, and directed by Iran. Iran is an important ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine.
