19 Aug 2021, 10:46 AM

Afghan Interpreter Who Helped Slovenian Army Now Waiting for Flight in Kabul

STA, 18 August 2021 - An interpreter who had helped the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) on its mission in Afghanistan has made it to Kabul airport along with his family. They are now waiting for the first available flight out of the country, Defence Minister Matej Tonin told the broadcaster Kanal A on Wednesday.

The interpreter and his six-member family travelled four days to get from Herat to Kabul. It took them another two days to get to airport facilities guarded by US and Turkish troops, the N1 portal first reported.

According to N1, the Slovenian Defence Ministry is in regular contact with NATO allies to make sure the interpreter and his family are evacuated as soon as possible.

Slovenia will then take them in and grant them asylum status.

Minister Tonin confirmed the reports for the news show Svet, saying the family was waiting for safe passage to Slovenia.

He thinks evacuation flights will continue to be operated from the airport in Afghanistan's capital for some time. He said he had been told this by his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Tuesday when he met him in Istanbul.

The SAF had worked with another Afghan interpreter, who has not made it to the airport so far and neither has his family. Slovenia is willing to give all eight of them sanctuary as well.

"This is our moral duty as the interpreters had helped Slovenian soldiers. Now that their lives are at risk, Slovenia is helping them," Tonin said, adding: "For the remaining eight persons the evacuation will take more effort as they are not in Kabul."

Apart from these two families, Slovenia is also willing to welcome up to five Afghans who had assisted the EU out of solidarity with other EU countries, Foreign Minister Anže Logar announced today, adding that the country would not offer to take in any additional Afghan refugees beyond these for now.

18 Aug 2021, 13:51 PM

Slovenia Will Accept 5 More Afghans Who Worked With EU

Slovenia Will Accept 5 More Afghan’s Who Worked With EU

STA, 18 August 2021 - Slovenia is ready to accept up to five members of the Afghan staff that collaborated with the EU to show solidarity with other EU member states, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said on Wednesday. For the time being, Slovenia will not offer taking in additional refugees from Afghanistan.

At an extraordinary meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Tuesday, EU foreign ministers agreed that the member states should do their utmost to assist Afghans who have worked with the European Common Foreign Service over the past 20 years and bring them safely to the EU, thus avoiding possible reprisals by the Taliban regime.

According to Logar, there are between 400 and 500 persons who fall into this category. "The EU member states have expressed their willingness to share the burden in solidarity, depending on their size and reception capacity," Logar said, adding that Slovenia would take up to five persons.

Slovenia would accept these additional (up to) five Afghan EU collaborators alongside a group of 14 Afghan staff who have assisted the Slovenian Armed Forces and have already requested Slovenia's help and protection, as Defence Minister Matej Tonin explained on Tuesday evening.

Logar thus stressed on Wednesday that Slovenia was ready to accept those Afghans who have cooperated either with the Slovenian Armed Forces or the European diplomatic service.

On the possibility of accepting refugees from Afghanistan seeking shelter in Europe, Logar replied that Slovenia "will do what it takes within the EU solidarity formula, but will not offer take any additional burden in this respect for the time being".

Logar also said that there has been no major influx of migrants from Afghanistan so far, except to neighbouring countries. The EU will help the countries in the region that will bear the burden of these migrations, said the minister as he spoke to Slovenian correspondents in Brussels at a virtual press conference after Tuesday's meeting.

At the meeting, the ministers made it clear that there must be no repeat of the years 2015 and 2016, when more than one million refugees arrived in Europe, mostly from Syria.

"All the ministers have said clearly that we will not encourage a larger wave of migrants into Europe and that we will do everything in our power to limit this, if it occurs, to the countries bordering Afghanistan," Logar said.

The issue of migration to Europe, in particular from Afghanistan, will also be the subject of Wednesday's extraordinary virtual meeting of EU interior ministers and the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia in early September.

The EU foreign ministers shared the opinion that the EU must find a channel of communication with the Taliban regime, to be able to monitor and try to influence developments, to do everything to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorism again, and also to prevent human rights violations.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell also said after the meeting that the EU would have to engage in dialogue with the Taliban to prevent a humanitarian and migration disaster.

Borrell "recognised the fact that the Taliban have taken power in Kabul and as such, they are the only possible interlocutor in the pursuit of EU objectives", including those regarding the rule of law and the protection of human rights, Logar said.

For Logar, however, the tragic fact is that "after 20 years, the Taliban successfully invaded Kabul and took power practically with light firearms, inflicting a severe defeat on the international community and its efforts".

But if we want to preserve at least part of what the international community has achieved in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, it is necessary to use diplomatic channels as levers of influence, said the head of Slovenian diplomacy.

On NATO's failure regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban, Logar believes that the Alliance is in for some in-depth debate and self-reflection.

"This episode with Afghanistan is certainly not something that NATO can be proud of," Logar said, adding that it was "a very costly lesson for NATO's future behaviour, especially in areas with a history that differs from the Western value system".

18 Aug 2021, 12:00 PM

Opposition Plan Vote of No Confidence in Education Minister

STA, 17 August 2021 - Four centre-left parties are planning to file a motion to vote Education Minister Simona Kustec out of office, arguing that two weeks before the start of the new school year, it is still not clear how primary and secondary schools will organise the education process while the epidemiological situation in the country is deteriorating.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Tanja Fajon, leader of the Social Democrats (SD) after a meeting of the leaders of the other three parties - the LMŠ, SAB and Left.

Fajon told the press that the no-confidence motion could be filed to the National Assembly within a week.

"It's as if the education minister has not been here for the past year and a half," Fajon said in reference to what the opposition sees as Kustec's inaction during the coronavirus epidemic.

The four parties are mulling more such motions, including against Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak, which Fajon said would be panned by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ).

The other three party leaders did not speak to the press.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport said it could not comment on the motion until it had been filed to parliament.

It stressed however, that preparations for the new school year had been in full swing and running smoothly since the start of the summer holidays.

The first meeting with all kindergarten, primary and secondary school head teachers will be held tomorrow, featuring representatives of the education and health ministries and some other key health and education institutions.

No major changes are planned compared to the last school year, except for the new requirement of compliance with the rule of having recovered from Covid or being vaccinated or tested, the ministry explained in a written statement.

The centre-left opposition has mounted an ouster motion against Kustec in spring, but she survived it in a 41:38 vote, as 46 votes are needed to sack a minister.

It is for now clear from previous statements by health officials that secondary schools students and kids in the last three years of primary school will have to self-test as was the case towards the end of the last school year. If the country enters tier red of restrictions, testing is to become mandatory and more frequent.

18 Aug 2021, 10:44 AM

Slovenia Reports Highest Daily Count in New COVID Infections Since 25 May

STA, 18 August 2021 - From a total of 2,228 PCR tests analysed in Slovenia on Tuesday, 385 came back positive for coronavirus, up 67 from Monday. The positivity rate rose by 1.8 points to 17.3%, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said on Wednesday. This is the highest daily tally of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country since 25 May.

Apart from the PCR tests, another 19,614 rapid antigen tests were also carried out on Tuesday, with all positives double-checked with PCR tests.

The 7-day average of new cases rose by 20 to 218 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents by 11 to 118.

As for hospitals, the government said that there were currently 57 hospitalised Covid-19 patients, eight more than yesterday. The number of patients in intensive care dropped by two to none, while three Covid-19 patients died yesterday.

According to the NIJZ's estimate, there are now 2,560 active cases in the country, a daily rise of 246. The last time there were as many active infections was in mid-June, when the epidemic was on a decline.

A total of 942,522 people or 54% of the adult population in Slovenia have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 846,449 or 49% have been fully immunised.

17 Aug 2021, 14:10 PM

Feature: Afghan Refugees in Slovenia

STA, 17 August 2021 - As the situation in Afghanistan has escalated, more Afghan citizens are likely to seek asylum in Slovenia in the coming week and months, as problems with the Taliban has so far been among the cited reasons for seeking international protection here, the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants has said.

There are 48 Afghan citizens who have been granted international protection in Slovenia, procedures are under way for another 46, while another 120 have expressed intent to file a request for it.

Since the beginning of 2005, 62 Afghan citizens have been granted international protection in Slovenia, the office has told the STA.

However, the actual number is lower because one has died, two have left Slovenia and several have been awarded Slovenian citizenship.

Still, the Afghans who are granted asylum largely stay here. "They regularly attend integration activities, learn the language, while children go to school."

The office expects more Afghans to seek protection in Slovenia as problems with the Taliban have so far been frequently cited as a reason for seeking international protection here, and as Afghans who have worked for the Slovenian army in Afghanistan have turned to Slovenia for help in recent weeks.

Among the asylum seekers in Slovenia are Afghans who have managed to escape the Taliban's attempts to recruit them or fled due to the general security situation there.

"There are also some other reasons such as blood feud, change of religion or homosexuality etc, but these are less frequent," the office has explained.

Unaccompanied Afghan citizens under the age of 18 often say they have lost touch with their family in Afghanistan or while fleeing from there.

Last year, 751 Afghanistan citizens asked for international protection in Slovenia.

The figure rose this year, as 750 asked for it in the first seven months alone, of whom 187 women and 563 single men.

The bulk of the single-man group were minors who came to Slovenia without their family.

However, the office has recently recorded a rise in the number of entire families seeking international protection and a rise in asylum seekers who have previously asked for international protection in another EU country and have been granted the status of refugee or subsidiary protection.

With the Taliban assuming power in Afghanistan, the question has arisen of police potentially sending Afghans who will not be granted asylum back to their country.

But under Slovenia's foreigners legislation, police cannot return migrants to their country if their lives would be at stake.

Slovenian Interior Ministry data shows that 24 Afghan citizens were sent back to Afghanistan in the last ten years.

17 Aug 2021, 10:16 AM

Poll Suggests Centre-Left Opposition Could Easily Win Election, But SDS Still Strongest Party at 18%

STA, 16 August 2021 - The Vox Populi poll carried out for the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer shows that the four centre-left opposition parties which have previously joined forces in an informal coalition to topple the current Janez Janša government, would win a combined 51 seats in the 90-seat parliament if an election was held this Sunday.

Last week, Marjan Šarec of the opposition LMŠ, urged his remaining three centre-left opposition parties to sign an agreement on post-election cooperation.

While the Social Democrats (SD) and Left welcomed the call in principle, the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) accused Šarec of going solo.

The latest poll shows that Janša's ruling Democrats (SDS) continue enjoying the strongest support at 18%, up 0.2 of a percentage point in August over July.

The SDS is followed by three centre-left opposition parties - the SD at 12.2%, Left at 8.9% and the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ at 8.5%), all slightly down over July. The fourth centre-left coalition party, the SAB, polled at 3.4%.

If a general election was held on Sunday, the four opposition parties would win 51 seats to easily form a government coalition, while even the seats of only three of them - the SD, Left and LMŠ - would suffice to form a coalition, as they would win 46 seats.

Based on the number of votes by decided voters, the support would translate into 19 seats for the SD, 14 seats for the and 13 for the LMŠ of former PM Šarec.

The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) meanwhile polled at 5.5%, with all the other parties, be it parliamentary or non-parliamentary, including the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC), polling at 1.4% or lower.

The number of undecided voters has increased from 29.6% in July to 30.4%, while 6.9% said they would not go to the polls, up from 6.5%.

The government earned low support in Augusts's Vox Populi, with 69.5% saying it performed poorly, whereas 27.4% consider it successful.

President Borut Pahor reclaimed the top of rankings of Slovenia's 22 most popular politicians to unseat MEP and ex-NSi leader Ljudmila Novak.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar placed third and parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič fourth, Foreign Minister Anže Logar is tenth and Prime Minister Janša 20th.

Pollster Ninamedia surveyed a total of 700 persons between 10 and 12 August.

16 Aug 2021, 15:13 PM

Opposition Calls for Clarity from Govt about How Schools Will Be Organised in Two Weeks

STA, 16 August 2021 - Four centre-left opposition parties have requested a session of the parliamentary Education Committee to get answers from the government on how schools will organise when they reopen on 1 September given that coronavirus numbers are surging yet again.

"The new school year starts in just over two weeks but we do not have any answers about how classes will be organised," Marko Koprivc, a deputy for the Social Democrats (SD), said on Monday.

The opposition alleges Slovenia does not have a strategy for the new school year and that schools have not received any instructions from the Education Ministry yet.

They said Education Minister Simona Kustec had failed to use the summer for preparations, instead she attended the Tokyo Olympics as a tourist.

The parties expect Prime Minister Janez Janša to attend the committee session since it is him, not Minister Kustec, who holds the reigns in the educational system.

Indeed, Left deputy Željko Cigler said Janša should dismiss the minister lest he be held responsible for the "collapse of the Slovenian educational system".

The opposition has not yet discussed whether to seek a vote of no confidence against the minister, but Cigler said this was one way to "stop the destructive educational policy".

The Education Ministry has for weeks faced criticism from SVIZ, the teachers' union, and from several head teachers about the absence of instructions as to how school work should be organised.

In the last school year Slovenian pupils spent several months learning from home, before they returned to classrooms in spring.

It remains unclear for now whether there will be mask mandates at schools once again, while according to Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar, mandatory vaccination for teachers is not being considered.

16 Aug 2021, 14:46 PM

Slovenia Expresses Concern Over Situation in Afghanistan, No News on Fate of Afghans Who Worked with Slovenes

STA, 16 August 2021 - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. "Violence should be ended, the civilian population, in particular women and children, should be protected, and basic human rights standards should be upheld," the ministry said on Twitter on Monday.

The ministry told the STA that it was collecting information about possible Slovenian citizens still being in Afghanistan.

It added that no one had asked it for help and that all Slovenian soldiers who had operated in Afghanistan had returned home safely on 20 May.

Unofficially, a few Slovenian civilian citizens were in Afghanistan at the weekend, and they have already left the country. The ministry is checking this information.

Defence Ministry Matej Tonin meanwhile said today that three Slovenian citizens were currently in Kabul, with attempts being made to evacuate them.

There were four Slovenian citizens there until recently, with Slovenia successfully evacuating one of them, the minister added.

The remaining three are still near the Kabul airport, said Tonin, who did not want to identify the Slovenian citizens or explain what they were doing in Afghanistan.

"Taking care of our own citizens is currently our main priority," he said.

There is no news about the Afghan citizens who had cooperated with the Slovenian Armed Forces and who asked for assistance and protection from possible retribution of the Taliban, either.

The Defence Ministry said on Friday it is in constant touch with them, and that possibilities of providing assistance to them and their family members were still being examined.

According to unofficial information, these are two to four Afghans who cooperated with Slovenian soldiers as interpreters. The number could amount to between ten and fifteen persons, their families included.

It is not publicly known where these people are. Slovenian soldiers operated in Herat in western Afghanistan, which was taken by the Taliban on Thursday night. Currently, evacuations take place only from the Kabul airport.

Tonin said that the Slovenian Armed Forces had cooperated with Italy in Afghanistan, hiring interpreters and other staff through the Italian forces.

The Afghans who cooperated with the Slovenian army had the opportunity to go to safety together with their families with the Italian army, which is what the majority of them did.

Some of them, however, hoped that the situation will improve and did not take this opportunity, and now are still in Afghanistan.

They have turned to Slovenia. which has been working in recent days on logistic details to enable them to leave Afghanistan safely, while the situation was deteriorating virtually on an hourly basis, the minister said.

"Our message to these people is that we will not abandon them, that we will carry out all necessary asylum and other processes in Slovenia ... and move them first in a safe country, and then further to Slovenia," Tonin added.

He said that the Slovenian army knew their names, surnames, locations and their precise number, which was not higher than 20.

"The entire global public, and unfortunately intelligence services as well, are surprised by the fact that practically all Afghan institutions, including the army, disintegrated so quickly. This also causes logistical problems."

The Foreign Ministry also told the STA that the EU foreign ministers would discuss on Tuesday the situation in Afghanistan in a meeting called by High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell.

Slovenia is in the group of around 70 countries that have called on the Taliban in a statement to enable safe departure of all foreign citizens from Afghanistan and also to Afghan citizens who want to leave the country.

15 Aug 2021, 10:13 AM

Last Week in Slovenia: 6 - 12 August 2021

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

Number of new infections on Friday highest since 3 June

LJUBLJANA - A total of 264 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia on Friday in 1,869 PCR tests, for a positivity rate of 14.1%, up 3.3 percentage points compared to the day before. The number of new infections confirmed yesterday is by 65 higher than on Thursday, and is the highest daily number since 3 June. The rolling seven-day average of new cases rose was up by 19 to 180, and the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents also continued to steadily increase, going up by six to stand at 92. The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients remained at 42, with seven of requiring intensive care, one more than yesterday. There were no Covid-19 deaths yesterday.

Face masks at public cultural events mandatory as next Monday

LJUBLJANA - The government has decided that people attending public cultural events will have to wear face masks as of next Monday, with the exception of performers. There are no changes regarding restrictions of public gatherings, while stricter requirements for testing of employees in certain activities are to be introduced on 23 August. Under the decree that will be in force until 22 August, the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule remains in force for public events and gatherings in enclosed spaces and for outdoor events for more than 100 people.

Transit passengers need to produce Covid certificate after 22 August

LJUBLJANA - The government decided on Friday that passengers transiting through Slovenia will not be required to produce a Covid certificate only until 22 August. "As of 23 August, transit will no longer be possible without meeting the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule (PCT) rule," the government said. If they want to avoid being ordered to quarantine for ten days in Slovenia, transit passengers will have to produce a certificate proving that the have either recovered from Covid-19, tested or vaccinated.

Pharma wholesaler Salus sees H1 revenue and net profit go up

LJUBLJANA - Salus, the Ljubljana-based pharmaceutical wholesaler, has reported a 13% rise in sales revenue for the first half of 2021 year-on-year to EUR 217.5 million. Its net profit stood at EUR 7.4 million, which compares to EUR 4.2 million in the same period last year. Earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled EUR 10.5 million and operating profit amounted to EUR 8.4 million, the group said in a press release.

Youth Strategic Forum debates development of Slovenia and EU

MARIBOR - A debate on future development of Slovenia and the EU as part of the Youth Strategic Forum heard Defence Minister and coalition New Slovenia (NSi) president Matej Tonin noting that it was right that young people were interested in the future, as it depended on them. Events such as this are an opportunity for them to exchange views, Tonin said at the conference organised by the youth wings of the NSi and the ruling Democrats (SDS) and in conjunction with the Young Entrepreneurs Organisation EU JEUNE and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Flower show in Volčji Potok marking 30 years of Slovenia

VOLČJI POTOK - An exhibition of flowers opened in Arboretum Volčji Potok to mark the 30th anniversary of Slovenia's independence. It will be on display until 29 August in ten different spots around the botanical gardens, with visitors being able to admire some 50,000 different flowers that present the natural and cultural heritage of the country. The Flowers and Peace exhibition in the venue located some 15 kilometres north of Ljubljana pays homage to the first exhibition of flowers staged there 30 years ago, after the Slovenian war for independence.

Slovenian literature translation seminar ahead of Frankfurt Book Fair

LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - A week-long international seminar on translation of Slovenian literature got under way in Ljubljana and Maribor. Commenting on the event, former Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) head Renata Zamida told the STA that Slovenia's appearance as guest of honour at the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair has proved a fresh impetus to translation in recent years. The goal of the seminar is to increase the number of translations of top quality books abroad and to better inform translators about Slovenian books and writers.

11 Aug 2021, 14:19 PM

New COVID Cases Up 80% from Last Week, Only 48% Adults Fully Vaccinated

STA, 11 August 2021 - Slovenia saw as many as 248 people test positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, an increase of nearly 80% from the same day a week ago, as the Jožef Stefan Institute says the country has already moved to the orange phase under ECDC criteria and will, given the current trend, move to red in early September.

Fresh figures from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) show 12.6% of the 1,974 PCR tests performed yesterday came back positive, as a total of 19,126 rapid antigen tests were taken.

The 7-day average of new cases has increased to 139, up by 15 from the day before, and the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents rose by eight to 81.

The NIJZ estimates that there are now 1,752 active cases in the country, up more than 160 from the day before.

The Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS) has calculated infections double in about 20 days despite this being the height of the holiday season, which functions as a partial lockdown.

Considering the epidemiological data released weekly by the NIJZ, local transmissions are increasing and are in fact prevailing, which means the outbreak would increase even without imported cases.

The IJS has assessed that Slovenia has already moved into the orange phase under criteria used by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

"To prevent the fourth wave spreading too much, and mainly to prevent hospitals from becoming overstretched, at least all those aged above 40 should get vaccinated as soon as possible," said the IJS.

Government data show 927,569 people or 53% of the adult population have been vaccinated with the first dose and 826,390 or 48% of adults have been fully inoculated.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia is here

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