By: Spletni časopis
The centre‑right, led by Janez Janša, confirms a coordinated coalition agreement for taking over the government.
Ahead of 17 May, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Violence which the outgoing centre‑left government of Robert Golob shamefully and hastily revoked three years ago in a correspondence session, preparations are underway for legislative changes. These are intended to end the disgrace of a state unable to bury those whom the post‑war revolutionary authorities murdered en masse and whose bodies, along with their crime, they tried to conceal by all means. The SDS party, which is taking over leadership of the governing coalition, today issued a statement on the importance of truth and human dignity. They emphasise that what is at stake are not merely dates on a calendar, but values and our attitude toward those who suffered.
Golob’s decree cannot erase suffering
“No political decision can erase suffering or deny the pain of mothers, fathers, children, and relatives who lost their loved ones,” SDS warns. They add that no authority has the right to forbid anyone from placing a handful of earth over a dead person, marking their grave, or remembering their name. This is a direct criticism of the post‑war totalitarian communist regime, as well as the current Ljubljana city authorities under Zoran Janković, who, with the support of the outgoing coalition, continue to block the dignified burial of Roma and other victims of the post‑war killings at the Žale cemetery.
SDS reminds us of a message from ancient Greece: already 2,500 years ago, humanity was measured by whether a community buried its dead with dignity, regardless of the side they fought on. Slovenia in the 21st century, under Svoboda, SD, and Levica, has not been able to take this step.
Legislative offensive of the centre‑right, and the missing signature
Centre‑right parties have already proposed a law in parliament that would systemically regulate the burial of victims of post‑war revolutionary killings, remembrance of them, and the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes that do not expire. But most perpetrators are already dead, buried with state honours, and in some places still commemorated with monuments. The goal of the law is to break local blockades and ensure that Slovenia finally joins the ranks of civilised European nations, where every person has the right to a grave.
Behind the scenes of the power transition, however, not everything is smooth. As previously reported during votes on the intervention law and personnel changes in parliament, the centre‑right does hold a governing majority, but a fragile one. The proposal on victims of communism is missing the signature of MP Robert Potnik from the Democrats. Potnik was also absent from previous key votes. The party explained this as medical leave, but the absence has raised questions about the firmness of support among MPs of newly formed parties. In political circles, there is loud talk of attempts at “buy‑offs” and pressure from the left to prevent the centre‑right from taking power.
Dežman at Slovenska matica: Memory is the foundation of the republic
According to SDS, truth and memory are the only path to genuine national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. As part of the commemoration, the SDS Cultural Forum and the SDS Pensioners’ Forum will visit the hall of Slovenska matica in Ljubljana today, Saturday, 16 May, at 19:00. There, historian Dr Jože Dežman will give a lecture titled “Memory of the Victims of Communism is the Foundation of the Republic of Slovenia”, moderated by Dr Ignacija Fridl Jarc.
Whether the new coalition under Janez Janša will succeed in legislatively restoring 17 May as a national day of remembrance and in breaking Janković’s resistance to the burial of those murdered after the war will become clear in the coming weeks. What will be crucial is whether the new parliamentary majority remains disciplined enough to withstand referendum manoeuvres and street pressure from the heavily defeated left.
