By: Sara Kovač / Nova24tv
In response to the promised amnesty of offences and fines imposed on Friday protesters, and the announced withdrawal of damages lawsuits filed against organisers of the anti-government protests, Rezka Grčman, with the support of a group of taxpayers, wrote a public letter of protest. “The taxpayers absolutely do not agree with the interference of ministers in the work of the police and the judiciary, and we also do not agree with the idea of placing the burden of the costs and penalties incurred at the protests on the shoulders of the state budget – meaning, the taxpayers,” the authors of the letter pointed out among other things.
We have already reported on the fact that the new government has decided to carry out the promised amnesty for the offences and fines that had been imposed on the Friday protesters in the past. The new Minister of Justice, Dominika Švarc Pipan, said that the Ministry of Justice intends to propose a revision of all government decrees adopted to control the epidemic to the new government. The purpose of the audit will be to assess which offences were identified on an appropriate legal basis and which were not. This formal process will then be followed by an amnesty for those who, in the opinion of the new government, had been unfairly sanctioned. In addition, the process of withdrawing from the compensation lawsuits, filed against the organisers of the anti-government protests that had happened in the last two years, is also happening. The compensation lawsuits had been filed based on the costs incurred in protecting the protests, but they will clearly not reach a judicial epilogue. Namely, the Ministry of the Interior, led by Tatjana Bobnar, withdrew its consent to the lawsuits filed against the organisers by the police. The government will pass the costs on to the taxpayers, including those who did not agree with the protests.
The response to all of this is “a public letter of protest from the taxpayers.” “The taxpayers absolutely do not agree with the interference of ministers in the work of the police and the judiciary, and we also do not agree with the idea of placing the burden of the costs and penalties incurred at the protests on the shoulders of the state budget – meaning, the taxpayers,” the authors of the letter pointed out, adding that the taxpayers were shocked to find out that some of the organisers and protesters were so quickly acquitted of their fines and offences – even though it was clear that the offences were committed several times, despite the repeated warning from the police.
“We, the taxpayers, are surprised by the fact that the court decided to acquit the organisers of the protests, Zlatan Čordić and Jaša Jenull, of offences and costs, and that with the costs of living rising this rapidly, the authorities have decided to behave so vehemently towards the taxpayers and the state – as if this is completely justified and normal, and as if the taxpayers were a kind of bottomless pit from which everyone can take as much money as they like,” the letter reads. In its continuation, the authors also emphasised that most people would have probably not voted for Robert Golob if they knew that he would carry out revanchism, the sole purpose of which is to destroy Slovenia and its legal order and democracy. The elected government obviously does not comply with the applicable laws and the Constitution, and this rescuing of activists and their acquisition is an abuse of official position and official rights (according to Article 257 of the Criminal code).
Among other things, the group of taxpayers that wrote the letter is also protesting because the state prosecutor’s office and the court did not take appropriate action when Dr Milan Krek, the Director of the National Institute of Public Health, filed a personal criminal complaint, for harassment and intimidation after Zlatan Čordić followed him around for several minutes and called him names. The group of taxpayers also protested and condemned the inappropriate and exclusive policy of the new Prime Minister, Golob, and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who recently staged a real coup against the opposition. The authors of the letter also called on the citizens to resist any possible attempts of revanchism, noting that the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje svoboda), which is led by Golob, simply adopted the programme of the Left party (Levica). They also pointed out the emergence of new threats of import of the labour force from non-EU countries.
The group that prepared the letter thus called on all responsible services to urgently and immediately stop all nepotism and revanchism in order to achieve an immediate political balance in the direction of democracy and also called for respect for Slovenian and European legal order and Slovenian values, and above all, demanded an immediate stop to the totalitarianism that is being established with the government of Robert Golob.
They also pointed out that even the current legal order could soon be completely destroyed if the people would no longer have legal support from the police, the prosecution and the courts. The public letter was written by Rezka Grčman, with the support of a group of taxpayers.
We recently asked the previous Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, whether this is some kind of thanks to the protesters for their help in enthroning the government of Robert Golob, and he told us the following: “This is not about thanking them – it is about repayment. This is how the new government will repay them financially and compensate them for their work. Those who followed the protests saw many banners and printed materials being passed among the participants, and all of this has to be repaid now.”
Meanwhile, Damijan Terpin, an attorney from Gorizia, assesses the government’s move and its intentions as unique and full of corruption risks. “In the current legal framework, this is an extremely suspicious move, which should be taken seriously and looked into by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. This government promised them that it will do this, and now it wants to fulfil its promise, but this is against the law.” According to the lawyer, the government of Robert Golob has already completely overturned all of its pre-election promises of the rule of law, with one of its first measures.
