By: Moja Dolenjska
More than a thousand people, around 1,500 according to the Šentjernej People’s Initiative, gathered yesterday at a protest rally in Šentjernej! They sent a clear, united, and powerful message to Ljubljana: they demand concrete changes and responsible action, now! They proved they can stand together when it matters most. They continue united, vocal, and determined, until their goals are achieved, they declared.
A large crowd gathered to protest rising violence by certain members of the Roma community and the state’s failure to act. They addressed several demands to the government, including ensuring public safety and adopting appropriate legislation. They set a deadline of mid-September, warning that if no action is taken, they will escalate their demands. They declared that it is time for them to be heard and respected.
The rally, attended by many people from Šentjernej and other municipalities in southeastern Slovenia, was organised by the Šentjernej People’s Initiative and took place without any incidents. In his address to the crowd, Domen Matjaž, a representative of the initiative, stated that violent acts by individual Roma are escalating, with four recent physical assaults on residents being recorded.
One of the attacks was carried out against a farmer by a young Roma man who has already been processed 72 times for various criminal offenses and charged 40 times. “We ask ourselves how it is possible that someone with such a criminal history is still walking freely among us,” Matjaž said, questioning the roles of the prosecution and judiciary. Even if the police do their job, things stall with the prosecutors and the courts, was a common sentiment heard at the rally.
Matjaž emphasised that not all Roma are the same, but many intentionally exploit the system, ignore the rule of law, and grow bolder with each instance of state inaction. People in Šentjernej have had enough. That is why they have submitted a list of demands to the government and relevant ministries.
They demand ensuring public safety and protection of personal and communal property, reforming social and labour legislation so that work pays more than receiving welfare, making fines enforceable for welfare recipients, verifying the source of wealth for welfare recipients and the long-term unemployed, amending legislation to allow the prosecution and judiciary to act more swiftly and efficiently. They also demand banning construction on other people’s land and on agricultural land and introducing measures to encourage Roma integration into society.
“The Šentjernej People’s Initiative is giving the government and its institutions until mid-September to prepare effective measures. If there is no adequate response, we will escalate our demands, we promise you that, government. It is time for us to be heard and taken seriously,” Matjaž declared.
The mayor of Šentjernej, Jože Simončič, also addressed the crowd, saying that in the past, there had been a fragile balance between the Roma community and other residents, which still allowed for coexistence. “Now, due to extortion, thefts, robberies, and physical attacks, the level of mistrust is so high that coexistence has become practically impossible, a situation that is highly unfavourable and potentially dangerous,” he said.
While not all Roma are the same, he continued, “there are fewer and fewer who are unwilling to give up irresponsible and illegal ways of life.” Such individuals, he said, have no right to expect acceptance from the community. “Some, although few among you, had the courage and strength to take a different path. To those individuals, I offer my congratulations and gratitude. You are proof that it is possible when there is enough will,” he said to the few Roma who attended the rally. He called on the rest to find the courage to exclude those among them who are dragging the community down.
The mayor also called on the government to take action: “We have begged for action long enough, now we demand change. That is our right. Legitimate demands require reasonable reforms, and those reforms will come, sooner or later.”
Among those attending the rally were MPs Anja Bah Žibert (SDS) and Vida Čadonič Špelič (NSi), as well as President of the National Council, Marko Lotrič. According to a statement from the National Council, Lotrič recalled that in 2023, the Council had already supported a package of four laws proposed by eleven mayors from southeastern Slovenia and the Posavje region. The goal of those proposals was to comprehensively and fairly address the pressing issues by increasing safety, improving oversight of social transfers, encouraging Roma children’s inclusion in education, and enabling faster work activation for the long-term unemployed. However, the proposals did not receive enough support in the National Assembly.
The protest against violence by certain members of the Roma community, attended by more than a thousand people in Šentjernej, also brought to light some unusual and troubling facts. Among them was the claim that an unemployed 21-year-old Roma man had purchased a house worth €185,000, and that one Roma individual had already been processed for 72 criminal offenses.
Both cases were presented to the crowd by Domen Matjaž, a representative of the Šentjernej People’s Initiative, which organised the protest. Matjaž described a recent incident where a local farmer was working in his field near a Roma settlement. After noticing damage to his crops, he walked to his tractor to get his phone. At that moment, he was suddenly attacked in the face with a metal object by a young Roma man. The farmer collapsed from the blow, bloodied, while the attacker fled the scene. The victim was taken to the emergency room for treatment. Matjaž added that the attacker had already been processed 72 times for various criminal offenses and faced 40 different criminal charges to date. We have to ask ourselves, how is it possible that someone with such a criminal record is still walking freely among us.
He also warned that in the villages of the Šentjernej municipality, property purchases are increasingly being made with money of suspicious origin. Properties are being bought by Roma individuals who are welfare recipients and are not employed anywhere. “There is a known case from a village where a 21-year-old man, unemployed and living on social welfare, purchased a house worth €185,000. The property was bought through a third party, using payments of around €13,000 each to avoid scrutiny by the relevant authorities,” he said. He questioned where the responsible institutions are, those tasked with investigating real estate transactions, social welfare recipients, the long-term unemployed, money laundering, and the origin of such assets, and where are the financial inspectors?
