The initiatives noted that the "system of international protection is intended for refugees in need of help because they are persecuted in their countries, rather than for economic migrants".
They say that by abusing the asylum procedure, economic migrants prevent "refugees from obtaining international protection because they are slowing down the entire system with their unwarranted applications. They flagrantly abuse the western countries' willingness to help refugees."
The groups also urged the Interior Ministry and police to look into claims by former Interior Minister Vesna Györkös Žnidar that some NGOs were involved in organising illegal trafficking because they announced arrivals of migrants to the police even before they crossed the border.
Two of the initiatives that addressed the call to the government, those from Metlika and Bela Krajina in the south of the country, staged a protest earlier this month in a bid to prevent a migrant registration centre being opened in the region.
The government contingency plan for the event of a major migrant inflow also envisages a migrant centre at Debeli Rtič on the coast, where locals are also opposed to the plans.
