Mladina: Voters Should Reject Neo-Fascism on Sunday

STA, 24 May 2019 - Taking a look at the state of things in Europe, the left-wing Mladina says on Friday European nations are in for a tough task at this year's EU elections, urging them to vote for parties which could prevent a rise in neo-fascism.

The weekly says the European political class has made compromises in the manner of British PM Neville Chamberlain and has let happen all that a united Europe should have prevented.

All those who believed with all their heart in the European project as a post-WWII safety mechanism against fascism are angry with this kind of Europe.

Slovenian voters will have some hard choices to make on Sunday, also because parties have come up with many rather unconvincing candidates.

Judging by opinion polls, only three parties among the normal Slovenian political parties - those which reject both populism and neo-fascism - have a realistic chance of getting MEPs: the coalition Social Democrats (SD) and the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the opposition Left.

Translated into political groups in the European Parliament, this means the Socialist and Democrats, ALDE and European United Left, says editor-in-chief Grega Repovž.

In principle, these are the parties, alongside the European Greens, which advocate the foundations of Europe and democracy and represent a bulwark against rising neo-fascism.

The stronger these groups in the European Parliament, the less possibility for Europe to fall into the abyss of fascism, as it did in the early 20th century.

The stronger these groups, the more likely the European People's Party (EPP) will not seek political alliances among the far-right groups.

Since the EPP will undoubtedly remain the strongest group, the elections are not about Europe becoming much better, but about not falling into the abyss again, Mladina says in the editorial headlined Above the Abyss.

Demokracija: A Stronger Border & Higher Pay for Police

STA, 23 May 2019 - Pointing out that police officers risk their lives while ensuring the country's security, the right-wing weekly Demokracija says in its latest editorial that they should be paid more for their efforts, including in strengthening the state and the EU's external Schengen border.

The weekly agrees with the Trade Union of Police Officers (SPS) and its president Kristjan Mlekuš about their take on the problematic situation at the Slovenian-Croatian border, saying that the union's reproval of the government is warranted due to the latter's inaction and lying about actively seeking new staff.

"Police officers are part of one of the most state-forming ministries... They should (like soldiers) be excluded from the public sector's pay system," says Jože Biščak, the editor-in-chief of the right-leaning weekly.

The commentary suggests the funds for their pay rise should be taken out of the amount allocated to NGOs, organisations which, according to the editorial, "would open borders and put citizens in danger" instead of protecting them.

"If they were allowed by the authorities, police officers would much rather be sent to the border and deter illegal migration than act as a fine collector with speed traps at straight road sections," says the editorial under the headline Life North of Kolpa, referring to the border river between Slovenia and Croatia.

Commenting on the state's refusal to strengthen the border security by sending more units and earmarking more funds, the weekly blames "the government's incompetence and incomprehensible empathy towards complete strangers" for the increasing amount of Arabs and Africans entering the country while Italy and Austria are closing its borders.

The EU elections are thus a way of giving one's support to parties which strive for security and preservation of national identities, tradition, culture and family values as well as "the advanced European civilisation", concludes the editorial.

All our posts in this series can be found here

STA, 17 May 2019 - Slovenian police officers are systemically denying migrants the right to asylum and are illegally returning them to Croatia, according to a report by Info Kolpa, a civil initiative launched about a year ago in response to growing allegations by migrants that Slovenia was denying them the right to asylum. Police deny the accusations.

The initiative wanted to determine whether migrants who requested asylum in Slovenia were refouled to Croatia, where they were subjected to systemic physical and psychological abuse by the police.

To determine what was happening along the Schengen border, the initiative set up an SOS number to which migrants are able to report their names along with their intent to request asylum and their locations upon entering the country. The initiative then forwards the data to the police, the human rights ombudsman and Amnesty International.

The report also notes that there was a rapid drop in the number of asylum seekers in the span of a single month. In May 2018, the Črnomelj police station apprehended 379 migrants of whom 371 (98%) requested asylum. "In June, there was a drastic change in how procedures were conducted at the Črnomelj police station: out of 412 persons processed, only 13 requested asylum."

The report, compiled in cooperation with the Border Violence Monitoring NGO, says that this was proof that the police were covering up what was going on at police stations along the border, and "mass malversation in how asylum procedures are conducted by the Slovenian police".

"This radical change is in correlation with contentious instructions by Police Commissioner Simon Velički about returning migrants to the Croatian police ... dated to 25 May 2018."

The report lists several cases of migrants who sent their names and locations to Kolpa Info. It is not known what happened to many of them after their information was forwarded to the police.

Moreover, in many cases people were refouled back to Croatia and further south to Bosnia-Herzegovina, often being beaten by the Croatian police. Many report of having their money taken by the Croatian police, as well as cellphones and other possessions.

The report includes the story of a man whose shoes were taken away by the Croatian police in February and had to have his toes amputated as a result.

The initiative says that the stories of migrants paint a grave picture about the way Slovenian police operate when it comes to the treatment of migrants.

"The violations are not sporadic and they do not depend on individual police officers, they amount to systemic denial of the right to international protection, an order coming from the top of the police force, and with the knowledge of the top officials of the Interior Ministry."

The head of the border police, Peter Skerbiš, rejected the accusations saying the actions of the Slovenian police were professional and in line with the law. He said police did not deny anyone the right to international protection.

Skerbiš told the press today that these claims had been checked several times in the past by NGOs, the Human Rights Ombudsman and the UNHCR. No irregularities had been found, he said.

Police officers have received no instruction to push people back and the foreigners who express the intention to request asylum are transported to the asylum centre.

Only those who do not want to request for asylum are returned to Croatia after evidence is gathered that they entered Slovenia from there.

Regarding claims about Croatian police violence, Skerbiš said that Croatia is an EU member state and considered a safe country. "We have so far received no information or instruction from EU institutions that foreigners must not be sent to Croatia."

The initiative demands an immediate stop of what they say is collective refoulement of migrants on the basis of a bilateral border control agreement, immediate annulment of this agreement and the upholding of the right of international protection.

The initiative also demands civil oversight over police work when it comes to migrants. Moreover, it says the police must disclose contentious internal communication, while investigations must be launched against former commissioner Simon Velički, his successor Tatjana Bobnar, as well as former interior minister Vesna Györkös Žnidar and former state secretary Boštjan Šefic.

STA, 13 May 2019 - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar proposed in Brussels on Monday to his Italian counterpart Enzo Moavero Milanesi joint police patrols on the border with Italy to prevent illegal migration. He said he thus wanted to show to Italy that Slovenia wanted to strengthen mutual trust.

Ob robu današnjega zasedanja #FAC v #Bruselj sem se sestal tudi z ?? zunanjim ministrom Moaverom Milanesijem. Predlagal sem uvedbo, skupnih patrulj ob SLO-ITA meji, z namenom kreptive zaupanje med sosednjimi državami. @MZZRS pic.twitter.com/7ZUXBQrOPA

— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) May 13, 2019

Border controls within the Schengen zone are unacceptable for Slovenia, because they go against the European ideas of connectivity and freedom, so Slovenia thinks the issues of security and migration should be tackled together. Thus, border checks on the internal Schengen borders will not be necessary, the minister said.

According to him, the Italian foreign minister welcomed the initiative, which will now be presented to both countries' interior ministers, while police commissioners of both countries are expected to discuss it in a few days.

Cerar would like the joint police patrols to be set up as soon as possible, so as to send a clear signal to the "criminals who encourage the illegal migration".

The EU and its member states must strive to export stability and security or else they risk importing instability, Cerar said, noting that crucial factors were efficient control of the EU's external borders, cooperation and offering support to the countries where migrants are coming from.

Asked why Slovenia and Croatia did not set up joint police patrols, Cerar said that the Slovenian police had been cooperating with the Croatian authorities very well and that so far there had been no need for such a move.

Preventing illegal crossings of the border has become crucial, Cerar said, pointing to a recent abduction of a local in Bela Krajina by a group of migrants.

STA, 10 May 2019 - The investigating magistrate in the case of the abduction of a man by illegal immigrants has ordered that all three suspects arrested on Wednesday remain in detention. Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar meanwhile said the police were in control of the situation on the border with Croatia and that "there is presently no need for protest rallies".

A 25-year-old Morocco citizen and two 18-year-olds from Algeria are accused of abduction, theft and car robbery, prosecutor Srečko Hočevar told the media.

The three were arrested on Wednesday by Italian police and handed to Slovenia on suspicion they had abducted a 79-year-old man working in his vineyard near the Croatia border and had used his car to get to Italy. The man was released before the border.

Responding to the developments today, minister Poklukar said he regrets "that this criminal act occurred", but is "happy that it ended well".

"The Slovenian police are effective and successfully completed the arrest of the perpetrators together with the Italian police," the minister said on the sidelines of a fair in Portorož.

While Poklukar is convinced Slovenia is a safe country with a functioning national security system, he said the country was facing an increase in the number of crossings on the Croatian border.

"In the recent days we stepped up police activities and increased the number of army units in municipalities with a higher number of illegal crossings."

Commenting on the protest rally announced for Saturday in the Bela Krajina border region, the minister said that the police were in control and that no protests or discontent were necessary.

Analysts fear rise of anti-migration populism after incident

STA, 10 May 2019 - Two analysts quizzed by the STA feel that Wednesday's abduction of an elderly man by illegal migrants will have a profound effect on the ongoing EU election campaign. Andraž Zorko of pollster Valikon and Igor Kršinar, a journalist for the weekly Reporter, also agree PM Marjan Šarec made a mistake by not responding to the incident more aggressively.

Zorko said "nothing will be the same" after Wednesday, arguing the incident confirmed the darkest fears spread by the far-right - "that it is not refugees who are entering Slovenia but economic migrants who can be violent".

He added the development would boost the campaign of the parties with the hardest anti-migration stances, primarily the recently formed Homeland League (DOM) followed by the opposition Democrats (SDS).

While Zorko believes the opposition National Party (SNS) and its head Zmago Jelinčič, "a left nationalist", can only hope to win over a few centre-left voters frustrated with their primary parties' migration policies, Kršinar believes Jelinčič will be the biggest beneficiary of the incident.

Kršinar said Jelinčič had already stood out during Thursday's campaign debate on TV Slovenija: "He might even make it to the European Parliament, which will definitely be a special kind of affair."

Kršinar does not believe DOM will benefit, arguing the party has not attracted enough media attention and that unlike Jelinčič, DOM's leader Bernard Brščič is not a capable public speaker.

"Jelinčič says in a few words what many people want to hear but do not have the nerve to say. So called serious parties actually have a problem in that they cannot perform in the manner Jelinčič is doing it," he said.

Kršinar meanwhile feels that it remains unclear for now how much the SDS can gain. "Of course it will try to use the incident in its favour and it will be among the more important participants of Saturday's rally in Bela Krajina" border region, where the immigrants abducted the man and his car to get to Italy.

As for Šarec's decision to reject the SDS's call for a session of the National Security Council, Kršinar said the prime minister "made a major mistake and missed the opportunity to publicly demonstrate his determination to secure order and peace".

Zorko also said this was "a very bad message to the people living on the border", while both also highlighted the failure of Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar to appear at Thursday's press conference of the police.

The pair agrees a determined reaction would have been necessary from the state, since the situation is feeding the growth of populist movements.

"A determined PM would have immediately sent the army to the border and extended the border fence," Kršinar said, suggesting Šarec's LMŠ party may even fail to get a single MEP elected in the upcoming election because of the situation.

STA, 9 May 2019 - With a number of countries within the Schengen zone continuing to carry out internal border checks, including neighbouring Austria, a majority of the parties standing in the 26 May European election claim such checks are unwarranted. Some perceive them as an expression of a lack of trust in Slovenian politics.

The coalition parties generally share the opinion that internal border checks are not warranted, as passing borders without checks is one of the most tangible advantages of EU membership.

The ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) believes that the rules on temporary border checks within the Schengen zone should be redefined to prevent abuse of the system.

The Social Democrats (SD) think that checks on internal borders are unwarranted, except in extraordinary situations. Any obstacles to the free flow of people, services, goods and capital are unacceptable, the party says.

The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) finds Austria's border checks unacceptable. "We don't want a future in which counties make unilateral decisions about such fundamental values and treaties, such as the Schengen Agreement."

The Modern Centre Party (SMC) sees Austria's decision as a violation of the fundamental principles of the EU, arguing that Slovenia is protecting the Schengen border responsibly. It sees the political situation in Austria as the main reason for border checks.

Also stressing that the checks on the Slovenian-Austrian border are unwarranted is the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), which says it is a mere "implementation of cheap nationalist politics".

The opposition Democrats (SDS) and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS), who are running on a joint ticket, believe that internal border checks are a result of the increasing threat of terrorism and illegal mass migrations.

Internal border checks run counter to the idea of free movement of people, but only effective protection of the external border would make internal checks unnecessary, the parties says.

While noting that internal border checks undermine one of the fundamental freedoms in the EU, the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) believes that these are an obvious sign of distrust among EU member states, a problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The Left, an opposition partner to the minority ruling coalition, warns that checks on internal borders run against the concept of open borders as one of the fundamental EU values. The measure is unlawful and undermines the principles on which the EU is based.

The opposition National Party (SNS), meanwhile, believes that Slovenia should seal its Schengen border with Croatia and let only people with valid documents in the country. Controls on the border should be constant and strict.

Similarly, the Homeland League (DOM) thinks that Austria's measure is self-explanatory, as Slovenia has failed to protect its border since 2015. "If border protection is not effective, the Schengen border will be moved from the river Kolpa to the Karavanke mountain range."

On the other hand, the Let's Connect list believes that such checks are no longer warranted from either the security or customs aspects. It is propaganda aimed at creating the false feeling of an outside threat, it says.

Good State believes that Austria is using the situation for political purposes. Internal checks are unwarranted and the Slovenian government should take counter-measures and check people coming to Slovenia from Austria.

STA, 6 May 2019 - The Novo Mesto, Koper and Ljubljana police have recorded more than 140 illegal crossings of the border the past weekend. Two foreigners were hiding in the chassis of a train engine and a Pakistani citizen wanted to smuggle ten persons into Slovenia in his car.

In the Novo Mesto area, 27 foreigners were apprehended illegally crossing the border with Croatia in the south-east. Police proceedings against the 16 Algerians, five Syrians, and the citizens of Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are still under way.

Another two foreigners were discovered at the Dobova border crossing during a border check of a train transporting grain from Serbia.

A Moroccan and a Libyan were hiding in the chassis of the engine. The pair have already been handed over to Croatian authorities.

The Ljubljana police have registered 48 migrants in the last 72 hours. The citizens of Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Algeria and Iran were apprehended in the area of Kočevje, Ribnica and Ljubljana.

The Koper police department processed 64 people for illegally crossing the border from Friday until this morning, of whom 30 were from Pakistan, 11 from Algeria, 10 from Turkey, four from Albania and two each from Afghanistan, Iraq, Tunisia and Slovenia, and one from Kosovo.

So far, 15 persons have applied for international protection, eight have been returned to Croatian authorities, and 37 are yet to be returned to Croatia.

Three persons have been released after it was determined that they reside in the EU and one was transported to the Centre for Foreigners.

Two Italians and two Pakistanis, residents of Italy and Slovenia, respectively, are being processed for illegally crossing the border.

On Friday evening, a 40-year-old Pakistani citizen residing in Slovenia was caught transporting 10 persons in a car with Slovenian licence plates. All passengers have applied for asylum, while the driver was remanded in custody.

This morning a van was pulled over in the village of Podgorje near Koper in which an Italian driver and a Pakistani guide were smuggling 16 Pakistanis

STA, 29 April 2019 - Police apprehended more than 250 foreigners who entered Slovenia unlawfully and tried to bypass the border control during the weekend. The Novo Mesto police arrested two Serbian citizens transporting six Pakistani illegal migrants.

The two Serbians were driving a vehicle with Slovenian plates and were intercepted near Trebnje (SE). Both of them have been detained. Five of the transported Pakistanis were handed over to the Croatian authorities, while one has asked for international protection.

At Dobova, the major railway border crossing with Croatia, police officers found a Moroccan citizen who was hiding under the carriage of a freight train from Serbia.

On Sunday night, police apprehended seven Afghan illegal migrants stowed away under the carriage of a similar freight train. The foreigners were handed over to the Croatian authorities.

The Novo Mesto police apprehended 96 foreigners who crossed the border unlawfully over the weekend. Most of them were from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Algeria and are still being processed.

The Koper police apprehended 74 illegal migrants, with 16 of them having already asked for international protection. Some of them are still being processed, while 49 have already been sent back to Croatia. Four Austrian citizens were released after being processed. Most of the apprehended foreigners were from Afghanistan.

The Ljubljana police caught 88 foreigners who have illegally crossed the state border over the past weekend and additional 23 by Monday morning.

The police data shows that the number of illegal border crossings has significantly increased this year - by almost 150% in the first three months.

STA, 9 April 2019 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has called a session of the National Security Council for this afternoon after media reported that Croatia had tried to prevent Slovenian media from reporting on Croatia's intelligence activities in Slovenia.

Foreign Minister Miro Cerar announced that the ministry had already summoned the Croatian Ambassador to Slovenia Boris Grigić for talks, to be conducted by State Secretary Simona Leskovar this afternoon, while he would be meeting on Wednesday Slovenian Ambassador to Croatia Smiljana Knez, who has also been summoned to Ljubljana.

The prime minister is concerned by the news that Croatian officials had attempted to influence the reporting of the commercial broadcaster POP TV on the activities of the Croatian intelligence service, the office said.

These are serious accusations, which call for appropriate explanations, it added ahead of the session of the national Security Council, scheduled for 4 PM.

Exercising any kind of pressure on media outlets is inadmissible and runs contrary to the fundamental principles of democracy, the office said.

"If such pressure is even dictated by a foreign government, then this points to a big democratic deficit and a shift from fundamental European values, including the rule of law," Šarec's office stressed.

Cerar said that foreign countries' interference and pressure on the Slovenia media were unacceptable, declaring that Slovenia would be unyielding in defence of the freedom of speech.

"Slovenia has grown up respecting media freedom, the freedom of speech, and will therefore not yield in the defence of media freedom and the freedom of speech," said Cerar, adding that this was a democratic asset that must be defended not only in Slovenia but also in Europe, and promoted worldwide.

The revelations made by POP TV were not new to Cerar, who reported that there had been a series of incidents while he served as prime minister, but the prime goal at the time was for the arbitration process to get completed and for the border solution to be reached.

He said that as prime minister he had reasoned that any escalation would harm Slovenia's interests. "We were also bound by Article 10 of the Arbitration Agreement which provides that the parties shall refrain from escalation of tensions lest it should jeopardise the procedure and the goal."

Cerar said he did not know how Croatia would react to the disclosure, but he opined that the reactions this far suggest the Croatian authorities are in a tight spot. He said such conduct was not befitting Europe and that everything should be done to prevent such developments in the future.

He expects the Croatian government to take measures accordingly and that the two countries would form their relationship on different foundations, "not unfriendly, un-European foundations that are not in compliance with the rule of law".

Cerar said he was coordinating his activities with the prime minister. He will take part in the National Security Council's session, which he expects will discuss further steps.

Due to recurring incidents in the Bay of Piran and Croatia's violation of the border drawn by the arbitration tribunal, Cerar urged Šarec more than a week ago to call a political coordination meeting on the implementation of the arbitration award, which he said must be executed by both countries.

"We know the arbitration award is not ideal for either party, we know neither party is entirely pleased with it, but we committed to implement it and it must be implemented," he said, adding that EU countries were expected to respect basic values. "Respecting the rule of law and media freedom remain basic values for Slovenia that we will defend unconditionally."

POP TV reported on Monday that the Croatian government had used an intermediary to try to prevent the commercial broadcaster's news portal from revealing that the Croatian intelligence agency SOA was behind the tapping of the phone calls between Slovenia's judge and agent in the border arbitration in July 2015.

POP TV also alleged that Croatia was spying on foreign media. "The intention to run the story was known only to two POP TV journalists. Croatia could have learned about this only with special intelligence methods," said POP TV journalist Jure Tepina.

SOA today denied reporting by POP TV labelling it as "untruthful and a tendentious construct", and as a continuation of the media campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina designed to smear SOA and Croatia.

While the STA has been unable to get any official response from the Croatian government, the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported today that the Croatian government denied the reports.

The coalition Social Democrats (SD) called for a session of the National Security Council in the wake of the latest revelations late last night.

The party argued that the council should meet to discuss what "peaceful and prudent steps should be taken to protect our country, people, media and democracy."

The party added that the top Slovenian politicians must decide on an appropriate way to respond to the situation and inform "our partners in the EU on Croatia's grave violation of European values and the rule of law."

STA, 8 April 2019 - Slovenian Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said on Monday there were no reasons for Austria to extend control on the borders with Slovenia and Hungary, as announced by his Austrian counterpart Herbert Kickl in a letter to the European Commission.

"This measure is unwarranted and disproportionate and there is no reason for it," Poklukar said, adding that Slovenia was protecting the Shengen border well and effectively.

Kickl justifies the extension with the assessment that the number of illegal migrants was still too high, and warns about a "latent threat of terrorism" due to the possibility of foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq.

Slovenia has been opposing Austria's continued checks on the border between the countries, arguing that the number of illegal migrants returned from Austria to Slovenia is very small.

The Slovenian Interior Ministry said today that the Slovenian authorities had accepted only 15 persons from the Austrian authorities in the first three months of the year.

"Protecting the Schengen border is our absolute priority," said Poklukar, noting that he had not been notified by the Austrian counterpart about the intention to extend checks on the border with Slovenia.

The minister nevertheless noted that "migrations are on the increase, which is why we are ready to cooperate with all countries in the Western Balkans as well as other countries, including Austria."

Since 2015, checks on internal Schengen borders are also being carried out by Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

STA, 25 March 2019 - The Koper and Novo Mesto police caught 51 foreigners illegally crossing the border the past weekend. Seven migrants requested international protection.

According to the Koper police department, 23 foreigners were caught crossing the border from Croatia in the western region from Friday morning until today.

Two of them were Croatians, while the rest were citizens of Kosovo (five), Pakistan (four), Algeria (three), Somalia (three), and Afghanistan, and Iraq and Iran (two each).

The Koper police also apprehended a Slovenian citizen who transported four foreigners who had illegally crossed the border.

Seven people were already returned to Croatia and just as many are expected to be handed over today. Seven migrants requested international protection.

The Novo Mesto police, meanwhile, found an Algerian citizen hiding in the undercarriage of a train, trying to avoid border control. The man was handed over to Croatian authorities.

In the Novo Mesto area, a total of 27 foreigners were apprehended, with six of them coming from Afghanistan, just as many from Algeria and Morocco, four from Yemen, two from Iraq and just as many from Egypt, and one from Syria.

A total of 611 illegal crossings of the border were recorded in Slovenia in January and February, which is a 35% increase compared to the same period last year. Most of the foreigners came from Algeria and Morocco.

All our stories on illegal migration in Slovenia are here