Politics
STA, 10 January 2020 - The Supreme Court's controversial annulment of the guilty sentence for a WWII collaborationist general has raised questions about the legal and historical implications of the decision. While the court has ordered a retrial, the most likely outcome seems to be a termination of procedure.
The Supreme Court recently annulled the death sentence of Slovenian general Leon Rupnik (1880-1946), who collaborated with the occupying forces during World War II, on an appeal on a point of law lodged by his relative, and sent the case to the Ljubljana District Court for retrial.
Rupnik was a general in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in WWI and later collaborated with the Fascist Italian and Nazi German occupation forces during World War II. He served as the head of the Provincial Government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana in 1943-1945, and was also chief inspector of the Domobranci (Slovene Home Guard), a collaborationist militia.
The Supreme Court's ruling rests on procedural grounds: the court held that the military court's ruling had not been sufficiently reasoned, even under the standards applicable at the time.
The annulment means the case will now be sent into retrial, and Miha Hafner, an associate professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, believes it will either be thrown out by the prosecution, or that the court will declare it cannot conduct a retrial since the accused is already dead.
Under the criminal procedure act, courts cannot try dead persons, which means that Rupnik's guilt will not be examined once again, Hafner told the STA.
The end effect of the Supreme Court decision, therefore, is that "since the procedure will be terminated whereas the previous ruling was annulled and the presumption of innocence applies [in Slovenia], Rupnik cannot legally be regarded as guilty of this criminal act," according to Hafner.
Hafner stressed, however, that the decision does not strictly mean Rupnik is rehabilitated. "If the gentleman were still alive, a retrial would start and the court of first instance would carry out the entire procedure."
Another consequence of the ruling may be that Rupnik's heirs may claim the return of property since Rupnik's property was seized by the state after the trial, said Hafner.
The ruling has earned the Supreme Court fierce criticism, in particular from the left, but the court told the STA it had no other choice than to decide on the Rupnik heir's appeal on a point of law.
All our stories on Leon Rupnik are here
What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 3 January
LJUBLJANA - One year into her term, Slovenian Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar was happy to report that crime clearance rate increased to over 50% from 47%, which she says is the success of the system, not just individuals. Bobnar told the STA in an interview that the police now handle many more cases of corruption, and that cracking down on such crime is a priority.
KLAGENFURT, Austria - The Slovenian ethnic minority in Austria expressed optimism about the coalition agreement between the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Greens, which aims to make Austria carbon-neutral by 2040 and pledges to increase funding for ethnic minorities. Umbrella minority organisations believe "better times" are on the horizon.
SATURDAY, 4 January
MARIBOR - Police apprehended Andrej Šiško, the self-styled leader of a militia who should have reported to prison to serve out his sentence for incitement to subversion of the constitutional order. He was apprehended at a commemoration of a major WWII battle in the Pohorje hills as he was about to approach President Borut Pahor.
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy - Slovenian cross-country skier Anamarija Lampič dominated the World Cup freestyle sprint event in Val di Fiemme, Italy, in what was her third career World Cup win.
SUNDAY, 5 January
LJUBLJANA - Physician and humanitarian worker Ninna Kozorog, the head of Humanitarček, an NGO which has campaigned for assistance to retirees living in poverty, was declared the Slovenian Woman of the Year 2019 by the women's magazine Jana/Zarja. The association's activities include a project called Vida, which aims at highlighting the difficulties faced by the elderly in remote areas.
MONDAY, 6 January
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor called for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East as he made an appeal for a peaceful resolution of disputes following the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the US. He acknowledged that the order by US President Donald Trump to kill Soleimani had "caused tensions across the Middle East and in the entire international community".
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor congratulated Croatia's newly elected President Zoran Milanović, who made improving relations with Slovenia a priority. Although Milanović was prime minister when Croatia unilaterally withdrew from the border arbitration procedure, Pahor hopes dialogue will lead to the implementation of the border arbitration decision. Analyst Borut Šuklje said Slovenia should be cautious about Milanović's pronouncement.
LJUBLJANA - Four former top executives of Hypo Alpe Adria were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison for defrauding the now defunct financial group of several million euro through property transactions. The Ljubljana District Court found former Hypo Alpe Adria CEOs Anton Romih and Božidar Špan, former Hypo Leasing director general Andrej Potočnik and former Hypo Alpe Adria Consultance director Andrej Oblak guilty of abuse of office and money laundering.
TUESDAY, 7 January
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court fully upheld the Competition Protection Agency's decision to temporarily seize Mercator shares from the retailer's owner, Croatian group Agrokor. Agrokor's successor Fortenova announced it would use all legal means available to have the seizure annulled.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia successfully completed a EUR 1.5 billion ten-year eurobond issue, leveraging market appetite for fixed assets to secure a record-low coupon interest rate of 0.275%. The last bond issue a year ago came with a coupon rate of 1.188%.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar voiced support for a de-escalation of tensions in the conflict between Iran and the United States. "It is necessary to calm down the situation, prevent the triggering of any violence or threat," he said.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minster Miro Cerar told a debate on the Western Balkans that with the new European Commission, EU enlargement to the region was increasingly likely. He announced the region's EU prospects would be a priority of Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of 2021.
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court announced it had rejected a petition in which Lekarna Ljubljana, the company operating a chain of pharmacies in greater Ljubljana, challenged a law prohibiting pharmacies from owning or controlling drug wholesalers and advertising pharmaceutical products.
WEDNESDAY, 8 January
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Defence Ministry announced the withdrawal of six soldiers from Erbil in northern Iraq after the base was attacked by Iran in retaliation for the killing of a senior general. The withdrawal followed the next day following a delay after Germany, which to provide logistical support, decided its troops would remain in Erbil.
LJUBLJANA - The health insurance institute ZZZS approved the 2020 financial plan. Expenditure is budgeted to increase by EUR 266 million compared to 2019 to EUR 3.32 billion. The institute is expected to operate at a EUR 10.4 million loss this year, which is to be covered by a surplus generated in the past.
LJUBLJANA - OTP, the Hungarian banking group which acquired SBK Banka from the French group Societe Generale last year, said it planned to grow organically and through takeovers. OTP CEO Sandor Csanyi said the group could attain a market share of between 25% and 30% in Slovenia; SKB was at 8% in 2018.
LJUBLJANA - The biggest health corruption case in Slovenia's history came to trial, with four defendants out of six who appeared pleading not guilty. One did not enter a plea, and one was allowed to leave the hearing early due to health reasons, and will enter his plea at the next hearing.
THURSDAY, 9 January
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec pledged Slovenia's continued commitment to the global anti-Daesh coalition, and its resolve to deploy a new rotation of troops to northern Iraq despite the decision to relocate the current rotation home early following Iran attacks on Erbil airport. The position was also backed by the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign policy.
LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court's annulment of the 1946 death sentencing of WWII general Leon Rupnik for collaboration with the Fascist Italian and Nazi German occupation drew protests from the Association of WWII Veterans, the Jewish Cultural Centre Ljubljana and the Social Democrats. The centre plans to inform the world public of the decision.
LJUBLJANA - A vetting commission endorsed four candidates for the head of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, excluding the incumbent Boris Štefanec. President Borut Pahor will be able to make his pick from Štefanec's deputy Uroš Novak, Tina Brecelj, adviser to the Supreme Court president, Janez Pogorelec from the Government Office for Legislation and Robert Šumi from the Police Academy.
LJUBLJANA - Jadran Lenarčič, the long-serving director of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia's top research institution, was declared the Person of 2019 by the newspaper publisher Delo.
LJUBLJANA - The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) announced "podnebje" or climate as the Slovenian word of 2019. Second place went to "Šarecism", alluding to the discourse used by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, followed by "carbon-neutral".
MORAVČE - A large-scale wooden effigy of US President Donald Trump, which had recently been relocated to Moravče, some 30 kilometres east of Ljubljana, was torched during the night. The statue had originally been erected in Selo, a small village some 20 kilometres north of Ljubljana, in August, but was relocated to Moravče in late December.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports and imports rose by 4% and 0.4% respectively in November 2019 compared to the year before, the Statistics Office said, attributing this to the increased value of trade with EU non-member countries.
All our posts in this series are here
STA, 9 January 2020 - The six Slovenian troops who have served in the international operation Inherent Resolve in Erbil in northern Iraq have been safely brought home following a decision to relocate them in the wake of Iran's attacks on Iraqi bases in the night to Wednesday. However, Slovenia is not ending its presence in Iraq.
Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec assured the public that the decision to bring the current rotation home early did not mean Slovenia was withdrawing from Iraq.
Speaking after briefing MPs on the latest developments at a joint session of the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign policy, Erjavec said a new rotation would be deployed by 1 February at the latest.
He said the six soldiers deployed at Erbil base to train Iraqi security forces so far were unable to perform their duties anyway at the moment because of the security situation.
He said that a new rotation was ready to start work "as soon as training resumes, if necessary even before 1 February".
This was echoed by Šarec, who told reporters that Slovenia was staying on all international missions it was participating in.
The missions are what enhances the international reputation of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and Slovenia. "If we are a trustworthy partner, we must act in such a way that our partners can count on us." Šarec said.
The Slovenian soldiers were flown from Erbil to Ankara airport in the afternoon before being flown to Slovenia aboard the government jet.
Slovenia decided to evacuate the troops after Iran attacked Erbil airport in the night to Wednesday in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Slovenia being part of a German-led group in Erbil, the soldiers were originally supposed to withdraw with German logistic support, but Germany decided against withdrawing on Wednesday evening following US President Donald Trump's statement indicating a de-escalation in the US-Iran crisis.
The developments were discussed by the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign policy at a joint session behind closed doors for three hours.
No special resolutions were adopted but the committees voted down an initiative by the opposition Left to call on the government to end Slovenia's deployment in the operation Inherent Resolve.
Matjaž Nemec, the chair of the Foreign Policy Committee, told reporters after the session that the important message of the session was that Slovenia remained part of the anti-Daesh coalition.
"Slovenia participates in the mission as part of the global anti-Daesh coalition. We are implementing all tasks in accordance with our presence," said Erjavec, adding that Slovenia had coordinated its activities with other allied and partner countries participating in the operation Inherent Resolve.
At the Jewish Cultural Centre in Ljubljana we were shocked and deeply concerned to learn about the decision of the Slovenian Supreme Court to annul the sentence of Leon Rupnik from 30 August 1946, and to return it for retrial.
It is our assessment that we are witnessing the first step in a politically motivated ambition to rehabilitate the criminal collaborationist regime in Slovenia during WWII whose “president” was the aforementioned Leon Rupnik, and who was justly tried and sentenced to death as a war criminal, and whom even the pre-war Yugoslav Royal Government, then in exile, renounced as a traitor.
Rupnik’s police under the leadership of Lovro Hacin, likewise sentenced and executed in 1946 as a war criminal, organised the arrests and deprtations of the remaining Slovenian Jews in Ljubljana and its vicinity in the years 1943 and 1944; very few have survived. The Homeguard (Domobranci) military formations that pledged allegiance to Hitler Rupnik led into a criminal, fratricidal war. The Homeguard also collaborated in the Holocaust against the Jews in the Trieste region under the leadership of the infamous SS officer and war criminal Odilo Globočnik in the years 1944 - 1945.
The Jewish Cultural Cenre Ljubljana will notify the world public about the shameful decision of the Slovenian Supreme Court. We will monitor closely all and any further developments of these contemptible acts of Holocaust denial, revision and perversion of history, and attempts at reviving and justifying the Fascist and Nazi horrors, and oppose them indefatigably.
Robert Waltl, director JCC Ljubljana
You can see videos of Leon Rupnik as the main speaker at a pro-Nazi rally in the centre of Ljubljana, saluting a Nazi flag, below
More on this story can be found here
STA, 9 January 2020 - The Association of WWII Veterans is appalled by the Supreme Court's annulment of the death sentence of Slovenian general Leon Rupnik (1880-1946), saying that numerous documents undoubtedly prove that he actively collaborated with the Fascist Italian and Nazi German occupation forces. Protest has also been expressed by the Social Democrats (SD).
The association promoting the values of the resistance movement in WWI said on Thursday it had received with indignation the report by the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer about the verdict against Rupnik being sent for retrial at the Ljubljana District Court.
Rupnik collaborated with the occupation forces during WWII as he served as the head of government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana in 1943-1945, and was also chief inspector of the Domobranci collaborationist militia.
In May 1945, he fled to Austria, where he was arrested by the British and returned to Yugoslavia in early 1946. He was court-martialled and executed for treason and collaboration with the occupiers later that year.
One of his descendants, allegedly a grandson, had filed an appeal on a point of law, arguing that the verdict had not been sufficiently explained, that the reasons conflict each other, that his right to defence was violated, and that judges who had reached the verdict should have been excluded.
The appeal has now been granted by the Supreme Court, the verdict annulled and the case returned to the Ljubljana District Court for retrial.
The Association of WWII Veterans said in its response that Rupnik was also the mayor of Ljubljana under Nazi Germany and that he "led the treasonous fight against his own nation and subjected himself to the ideas of Nazism."
According to its president Marijan Križman, treason cannot be erased even with "bureaucratic pardon of the crimes that the traitors had committed against their own nation."
Court has thus become a tool for those who are not able to get over the shame and pain of treachery and use the judicial system for retaliation and spreading of hatred."
The Social Democrats (SD) said it would never accept "those who preferred collaboration with the occupier to the survival of the nation get acquitted," adding that Rupnik was "loyal to the alliance with the occupier to the last moment."
The party said that "untruthful interpretation of Slovenian history with rehabilitation of collaboration and Fascism" did not lead to reconciliation, but only takes Slovenians further away from dealing with the past.
The Jewish Cultural Centre Ljubljana also responded to the Supreme Court's decision with "indignation and concern", saying that it was the "first step in the politically-motivated aspiration to rehabilitate the criminal collaborationist regime during WWII".
It noted that Rupnik's police, under the leadership of the co-defendant Lovro Hacin, had organised in 1943 and 1944 arrests and deportations of Slovenian Jews from the Province of Ljubljana, with only a handful of them surviving the ordeal.
STA, 8 January - The Supreme Court has annulled the death sentence of Slovenian general Leon Rupnik (1880-1946), who collaborated with the occupying forces during World War II, on an appeal from his relative, and sent the case to the Ljubljana District Court for retrial, the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer reported on Wednesday.
Rupnik was a general in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in WWI and later collaborated with the Fascist Italian and Nazi German occupation forces during World War II.
Wikipedia, CC-by-0
He served as the president of the Provincial Government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana in 1943-1945, and was also chief inspector of the Domobranci (Slovene Home Guard), a collaborationist militia.
In May 1945, Rupnik fled to Austria, where he was arrested by the British and returned to Yugoslavia in early 1946. He was court-martialled along with several other people and sentenced to death for treason and collaboration with the occupiers later that year.
Rupnik on stage with fellow Nazis in Ljubljana
The verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Yugoslav Army, and the appeal for clemency was rejected on 2 September 1946.
Rupnik was executed by firing squad in Ljubljana on the same day and buried in Žale Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
One of his descendants, allegedly a grandson, had filed an appeal on a point of law through an attorney, and the appeal has now been granted by the Supreme Court.
The part of the verdict relating to Rupnik has been annulled and the case has been returned to the Ljubljana District Court for retrial.
According to the newspapers, the court says that the verdict was not in compliance with the legal principles at the time, and that not all accusations of the acts he had been sentenced for had been supported with facts and circumstances.
For one of the acts the court has found that it does not bear signs of a criminal act.
Rupnik's relative claimed, among other things, that the verdict had not been sufficiently explained, that the reasons conflict each other, that he was violated his right to defence, and that judges who had reached the verdict should have been excluded.
STA, 8 January 2020 - The attack by Iran on the military airbase in Erbil, Iraq, was one of the worst incidents involving Slovenian troops deployed abroad. They often face dangerous conditions but have luckily managed to avoid major injury. Below is a timeline of major security incidents involving Slovenian troops.
July 2005 - A hummer carrying four Slovenians participating in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan hit on an explosive device. While the vehicle was heavily damaged, the troops did not sustain serious injury, only some minor hearing problems experienced by one of them.
November 2009 - A Slovenian soldier committed suicide while serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. She is the only Slovenian soldier to die during deployment.
30 May 2011 - A civilian member of the Slovenian contingent in Afghanistan suffered a minor injury in a bomb attack that demolished a large part of Herat headquarters of the provincial reconstruction team. She sustained a superficial injury and was spared worse because she was inside an office, behind closed doors, when the bomb went off.
November 2013 - Six Slovenians deployed to Afghanistan came under fire by the Taliban while out on patrol with an Afghan unit they had been training. None of the Slovenians were injured.
22 January 2014 - A Slovenian soldier was shot in the leg in hostile fire while training an Afghan unit.
21 November 2014 - A soldier serving in Kosovo suffered a head injury caused by a smoke flare during crowd control training. He was taken to Slovenia for treatment.
April 2015 - Slovenian soldiers participating in the peacekeeping UNIFIL mission in Lebanon were ambushed by an unknown Arab militia, allegedly armed. The militants stole a computer allegedly carrying sensitive military data from their armoured vehicle.
February 2017 - Slovenian UNIFIL troops were ambushed, their convoy of light armoured personnel vehicles stopped in a roadblock and damaged by blunt objects.
4 August 2018 - A Slovenian UNIFIL patrol was attacked twice in the same day. First they were surrounded by an armed group that damaged their vehicle. They got away only to be attacked by a larger armed group that doused the vehicle in petrol and set it on fire. The troops fired two warning shots and returned to base unharmed.
8 January 2020 - Erbil airbase, were six Slovenians were deployed as part of the Inherent Resolve mission to Iraq, came under attack by Iran. Nobody was injured as the troops escaped to the bunkers following a detonation near the base. Slovenia decided to evacuate the six troops from Iraq.
8 January, 2020 - Slovenia’s declaration of independence on 25 June 1991 came just a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November, and the ensuing collapse of the post-World War 2 order in Europe. While there were many differences between East and West, and many reasons for the break-up of Yugoslavia and end of the Soviet Union, economics undoubtedly played a key role, and living standards a much-watched indicator of the success, or failure, of the transition to a market economy. Although, once again, note that Slovenia (as part of Yugoslavia) was not a member of the USSR, and operated a different, more open and non-aligned form of socialism than that seen behind the Iron Curtain.
Still, how have the various economies of post-communist Eastern and Central Europe fared in the three decades since opening to the world? One way to look at this is with the following video, which shows the GDP per capita from 1992 to 2017 for the top 10 nations included in the data. The GDP is presented in US dollars and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms, a measure that considers the crude income compared to the prices of goods in the different countries. As such, it’s seen as a good measure of relative affluence, and for comparing the economic productivity and standards of living between different nations
It’s best and most fun to just watch the video, and see how nations rise and fall over time, but in summary: Slovenia starts at #2, slightly behind the Czech Republic (aka Czechia) in 1992. These two then stay at the top, very close together, until 1998, when Slovenia takes pole position. After this, Slovenia pulls ahead, soon maintaining a lead of some US$2,000 until 2007, when Czechia closes the gap, then takes over the top spot in 2009. Slovenian then regains #1 for 2010 and 2011, but after that Czechia is in the lead.
Another way to look at this data is to zoom out and put Slovenia among the all the other EU Member States, with the country having joined the organisation in 2004. It’s on watching this you may have some questions about Luxembourg, with a population just under a third that of Slovenia.
Note that the first the video was produced by Lionwork Statistics, and was released with the following notes:
- There was no data available for Slovenia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia until 1995. In these cases, the average growth rate of the nearest region was used to calculate the estimated value. In the case of Estonia, data are shown from 1993, since no similar region is present due to geographical placement.
- The comparison includes Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Some never made it to the Top 10 during the time period.
The is a developing situation, and updates will be posted as they arrive.
Updated at 12:10, 09/01/2019
STA, 8 January 2020 - The six Slovenian soldiers stationed in Erbil in northern Iraq in the German-led international operation Inherent Resolve will be evacuated after Iran attacked Erbil airport in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The evacuation will be conducted in cooperation with the German partners, the ministry said.
The supreme commander of the armed forces, President Borut Pahor, and Prime Minister Marjan Šarec have been informed of the decision.
Pahor, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and Major General Alenka Ermenc, the chief of the general staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, talked to the Slovenian troops in Erbil via video call early this morning.
They said they were all well and they had been in the base's shelter during the attack on the airport in the proximity of the Stefan base, the ministry said.
The prime minister's office said in a press release that Šarec had given an order "for all necessary measures to be taken to protect our forces, including moving, evacuating them from the area".
The office added the evacuation would be conducted simultaneously with the evacuation of soldiers from other partner countries that are participating in the operation in northern Iraq.
Foreign Minister Miro Cerar welcomed the decision to evacuate the soldiers on Twitter and again called for easing of tensions. "It is important that the soldiers are not injured and are feeling fine," he wrote.
The minister also announced he would attend on Friday an extraordinary meeting of EU's foreign ministers where they would determine further action.
Iran fired multiple missiles at two US military targets in Iraq on Tuesday night, the al-Asad airbase north of Baghdad and Erbil in the north of the country, where Slovenian soldiers were stationed.
STA, 7 January 2020 - Slovenian soldiers deployed in the German-led international operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq will stay in the Erbil base, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday after Germany and several other countries decided to temporarily pull out their troops from Baghdad following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
All of Slovenian soldiers are currently in Erbil in northern Iraq, the ministry noted, adding it was constantly monitoring the situation and would make decisions based on further developments.
"The Slovenian Armed Forces troops in Iraq are safe," Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said. "We estimate that the situation in this part of Iraq is fairly stable, we are keeping an eye on the situation."
Due to increased risk, several measures have been adopted at Erbil base. Soldiers are required to wear flak jackets and helmets, and they are not allowed outside base. Their primary assignment - the training of Iraqi troops - has been put on hold as well, he said.
Slovenia can pull out its troops "within hours" if necessary, with several scenarios prepared in the event a political decision is reached to withdraw the soldiers. Slovenia has an agreement on logistic support with the German Defence Ministry, another possibility would be using the government jet, he said.
Erjavec was also quick to point out that Slovenian soldiers were not a part of the NATO operation but the global coalition against Islamic State, which is supported by several United Nations resolutions.
"It would be very bad if each country decided individually what to do. After all, we embarked on this mission together and should leave it together if such a decision is made." Based on the current security situation in north Iraq, pulling out troops now would be premature, he said.
After the US air strike in which Soleimani was killed on Friday, the situation in the country deteriorated.
Germany announced today it would transfer its 30 soldiers stationed in Baghdad and Taji to Jordan and Kuwait after the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution calling on the government to expel foreign troops from the country.
Croatia also said that 14 of its troops had been transferred to Kuwait and seven returned home after their concluded their mission.
In line with an agreement with NATO, Italian forces also pulled out last night, Italian newspaper La Stampa reports today. Italy had some 50 Carabinieri stationed at the US army base in Baghdad.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would not comment on the possibility of expulsion of foreign troops from the country on Monday. He said NATO's mission benefited both the allies and Iraq, and that NATO had been invited to the country by Iraqi authorities.
Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday he was being briefed on the state of the six-strong Slovenian contingent in Iraq and that the situation was being monitored. "In the event the decision is taken that their status in Iraq has to change, the Slovenian state will immediately respond," he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would not comment on the possibility of expulsion of foreign troops from the country on Monday. He said NATO's mission benefited both the allies and Iraq, and that NATO had been invited to the country by Iraqi authorities.
Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday he was being briefed on the state of the six-strong Slovenian contingent in Iraq and that the situation was being monitored. "In the event the decision is taken that their status in Iraq has to change, the Slovenian state will immediately respond," he said.
STA, 6 January 2020 - The coalition Social Democrats (SD) want Slovenia and the EU to help Australia fight bushfires, by offering civil protection resources and other forms of assistance to save lives.
The party formally asked the government on Monday to offer assistance to Australia given that Slovenia has one of the best civil protection systems in the world and a broad network of voluntary firefighters.
Slovenia should also offer secondary assistance by supporting NGOs that want to help Australia with activities such as reforestation and protection of animal and plant species.
Meanwhile, the party's MEPs Tanja Fajon and Milan Brglez urged the European Commission to draw up a plan of joint EU activities and form a European unit pooling together free civil protection and firefighting resources from across the bloc.
However, the office of Slovenia's European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič told the STA it had not received the initiative yet.
It noted though that the EU and its members had mechanisms to help, but that the Australian authorities must first request aid.
Australia last asked for EU assistance last November, when the EU's Copernicus Earth observation programme provided it with satellite images of New South Wales.
According to unofficial information, Australia has requested satellite images from Copernicus five times so far but has never requested aid from the EU's mechanisms for civil protection.
Sources in Brussels say that highly developed countries outside the EU usually do not request this type of aid, which is why some find the SD initiative somewhat unusual.
A total of 24 people have died in the Australian bushfires since the end of September, and more than 1,800 homes have been damaged or completely destroyed. It is estimated that more than a third of animals from the affected areas have died, and the koala bear population is in jeopardy as most of its habitat has been destroyed.
