Category Archives: Slovenia

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenian Regional Civil Initiative

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Slovenian Regional Civil Initiative

Regional Civil Initiative demands decisive measures from the Minister of Labour, Luka Mesco regarding Roma. They want the Slovenian government to adopt a law proposed by some mayors of the Southeast of the country which would curtail social help depending on school attendance, and “goodwill from the part of Roma. They request action from the central government.

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Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

The editorial office of Moja Dolenjske received a letter from the Roma Association Vstani, Roma Child, which is based in Murska Sobota. In it, they threatened the portal with criminal charges if, when reporting on criminal acts involving individual Roma, they do not stop stating that the criminal acts were committed by Roma.

The association is convinced that when writing, they should keep silent about the fact that the criminal acts were committed by Roma, as this would unjustifiably stigmatize the entire Roma community, but at the same time they believe that reporting should be based on the act and not on emphasizing that it was committed by Roma. They also state what proper reporting should be like, and suggest some titles such as: Police handle case of theft and violence, Police investigate morning attack and Three men suspected of attacking utility workers.

Well, they are right …

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Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

Another one of those articles. It states: “Living with members of the Roma community in southeastern Slovenia, which includes Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and the Kočevsko-Ribniško area, is very difficult. Not because citizens are hostile or in any way hostile to the Roma, but because some of the latter are gaining momentum in committing criminal and other violent acts.”

And of course, the government is not doing anything.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma Projects

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Slovenia and Roma Projects

The Slovene government is opening 9 new multi-purpose centres for Roma in August. In addition to the 20 million, an additional 5.5 million euros will be allocated for this. This article is a violent diatribe against these projects, saying that they do nothing to prevent “Roma criminality” and are a waste of money.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Attack

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Slovenia: Attack

In early July, three Roma brutally beat-up a 72-year-old farmer Anton Čemažar in a field on the outskirts of Ljubljana. This caused a great deal of controversy. Now, the farmer and his family have suffered their first disappointment: the Ljubljana District Court has rejected a request to investigate a fourth person involved, who led the attackers to Čemažar’s field and drove them away after the violent act, in a vehicle without license plates. The investigating judge and the pre-trial panel believe that the driver did not know what was really happening, but was merely taking the perpetrators fishing, so there is no reasonable suspicion of his complicity.

This is the law, but here the result is that in Slovenia, they say that Roma are not subject to it. Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Commemorations

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Slovenia: Commemorations

Several articles in Slovenia about the August 2nd commemoration of the genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust. With an interesting one as to whether use “porajmos” (don’t) or “Samudaripen” (better) top denote it.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Commemoration

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Slovenia: Commemoration

A long article about the background of the August 2nd commemoration of the Genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust. This in a country where Roma are definitively discriminated against, and a country which claims not having persecuted them during the war.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Attack

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Slovenia: Attack

Another one of those articles, where the government is accused of not doing anything against Roma criminals. In this case, this followed another attack – apparently by Roma – in the Šentjernej area. The government is accused of not maintaining order, not arresting the perpetrators, etc.

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Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

The Slovene government called a press conference, which was attended by the Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Luka Mesec, Minister of Education and Training Vinko Logaj, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior Helga Dobrin, and State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice Andreja Kokalj following attacks by Roma on Andrej Breček from Mihovice near Šentjernej, a mayor with controversial views on Roma, and on 70-year-old Anton Čemažar in Ljubljana.

They presented how individual departments are addressing the challenges related to the Roma community. They rejected accusations that the government is not taking any action during this mandate. They emphasized that cooperation between departments has actually strengthened in the last year and that for the first time, Roma issues are being addressed comprehensively and systematically.

However, they agree that the situation we are witnessing is the result of decades of neglect of these challenges by the state and local communities.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Illegal Houses

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Slovenia: Illegal Houses

The Novo Mesto Municipality recently wanted to implement the decision of the building inspection and demolish illegal construction in the Roma settlement of Žabjak, but the police and the social work centre prevented it from doing so, Novo Mesto Mayor Gregor Macedoni revealed on TV Odmevi on Wednesday.

He also said that the state will have to decide whether we will have one legislation for everyone or not.

The police did not want to provide security during the demolition because not all legal conditions were met, and the Social Welfare Department opposed the demolition of one of the houses because a Roma family with several children lived in it and assessed that the demolition would cause additional social hardship that it would have to deal with.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

In a statement to the media today, Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar condemned the violence committed by members of the Roma community against individuals. He stressed that every act of violence is unacceptable, unnecessary and condemnable.

“All criminal acts of violent attacks on individuals, both the mayor of the municipality of Ribnica and the two attacks in Šentjernej and near Ljubljana, have been investigated. The Slovenian police have arrested the perpetrators. Some are in custody. The police here have successfully investigated these criminal acts. I condemn this kind of violence committed by representatives of the Roma community against individuals. This is unacceptable. I believe that the justice system will do what is necessary,” he said.

Even he is slowly but surely ethicizing crime. This is bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenia

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Roma in Slovenia

The Slovenian Roma Community Association Umbrella-Dežnik and the European Roma Organization ERO have called for an end to the political incitement of intolerance towards the Roma community in an open letter. Criminal acts are not caused by the Roma community, but by individuals, warns the president of the Slovenian Roma Association Jožek Horvat Muc.

As members of the Roma community, we are deeply saddened and concerned that the entire Roma community has to suffer due to the recent actions of individual Roma, which we strongly, strongly condemn and distance ourselves from. It is unacceptable that incidents of individuals are used as an excuse to spread collective guilt and stigmatization. Crime has no nationality, and it must not have an excuse,” the Association of the Roma Community of Slovenia Umbrella-Dežnik and the European Roma Organization ERO wrote in an open letter.

They are right!

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Another Mayor on Roma

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Another Mayor on Roma

Novo Mesto (Slovenia) Mayor Gregor Macedoni spoke about the Roma “issue”, calling for systemic solutions. According to him, security has been steadily deteriorating in recent years, especially in southeastern Slovenia. We are really seeing this on the ground. Above all, it is worrying and real, and should also concern everyone in Ljubljana, that these crimes are increasingly bold and violent, that they are directed at officials… Police officers are being beaten, teachers are being slapped, doctors in the emergency room are being threatened. So, in this country we do not know how to respond systematically. The police are on the ground, but the system will also have to adapt to these new forms of crimes.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

A Mayor on Roma

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A Mayor on Roma

Jože Simončič, Mayor of the Municipality of Šentjernej in Slovenia:  “Some Roma are very rich, others are poor, even very poor. The rich drive good cars, they afford to travel and luxurious parties, prestigious clothes and jewelry. All this is noticeable. But the poor among them are taken away from everything, they are charged huge interest for lending money, there is a lot of extortion.”

All innuendos, all without proof, all to complain about the laxity of the legislation.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Ljubljana Attack

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Ljubljana Attack

Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković condemned the attack on a 70-year-old man that occurred last week in the Kleče area of Ljubljana. Janković praised the work of the police, who have already taken the four alleged perpetrators into custody, and they were also arrested in cooperation with the Roma community. He stressed that the perpetrators must be punished appropriately. He announced that he would visit the Roma settlement at the end of August, where he would meet and talk to the locals. When asked about the announced village guards, Janković replied that the court is the only place to achieve justice. He called on the residents to be tolerant, because, according to him, the police have done their job, and now the prosecutor’s office and the court have to do their job.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Manifestation

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Slovenia: Manifestation

In Šentjernej, Slovenia, roughly a thousand people manifested and protested against what they see as the state inaction on Roma violence. They made several demands on the government, including ensuring security and adopting appropriate legislation. They set a deadline of mid-September, otherwise the demands will be escalated. It is time for us to be heard and taken into account, they announced.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Planned Protests

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Planned Protests

in Šentjernej in Slovenia, where, according to media “the Roma issue has reached its peak”, a protest rally will be held on Tuesday, July 15, at 7 p.m., organized by the local Šentjernej People’s Initiative. The reason for it is the increasingly frequent violent events in the municipality and the fact that state authorities are not taking action. The fundamental rights of citizens, such as security, public order and peace, equality before the law and social justice, are at risk.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Security in Slovenia

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Security in Slovenia

According to the acting director general of the police Petrič, statistics really show that southeast Slovenia is more burdened by the number of crimes per 1,000 inhabitants than other parts of the country. The security situation in the municipality of Šentjernej is “somewhat complicated”, so the police will increase their presence there, said Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar after today’s meeting with Šentjernej Mayor Jože Simončič, which was also attended by the first police chief Damjan Petrič. The municipality is experiencing an increased number of attacks on citizens.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Attack?

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Slovenia: Attack?

SDS MP Anja Bah Žibert shared a post on Facebook in which she stated that a Roma attack on a 72-year-old man allegedly took place in Ljubljana. She also attached a photo showing the alleged victim with a severely swollen eye, and according to the MP, he allegedly suffered a fractured cheekbone and other injuries.

There are several articles – but no confirmation so far as to whether it was Roma or why the man was attacked.

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