Discrimination on Ethnic and Religious Grounds in Slovenia
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DISCRIMINATION ON ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS GROUNDS IN SLOVENIA Prof. Dr. Silvo Devetak (edit.) ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies, Maribor, Slovenia COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMME TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION (2001–2006) 1 2 CONTENTS Prof. Dr. Silvo Devetak, director of ISCOMET and coordinator of international project Training and Education for Combating Discrimination in Slovenia BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION – IS DISCRIMINATION IN SLOVENIA NOT ONLY A LEGAL AND MORAL, BUT ALSO A POLITICAL AND SECURITY PROBLEM? .............................................5 Franc Mlinar, MA, ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies, Maribor COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS OF MEMBERS OF CONSTITUTIONALLY »UNRECOGNIZED« AND »RECOGNIZED« ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF SLOVENIA ..............................................................13 Tomaž Klenovšek, MA, external collaborator of ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies, Maribor EXPERIENCE WHICH CONFIRMS THE EXISTENCE OF DISCRIMINATION IN SLOVENIAN SOCIETY ...................................................................................23 Boštjan Vernik, Human Rights Ombudsman Office INSTANCES OF SUSPICION OF RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORK OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN ........34 Darja Škodnik, officer of Slovenian army and external collaborator of ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies, Maribor JUDGEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEES ......................................................... 46 Ferenc Hajós, external collaborator of ISCOMET and member of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities at the Council of Europe The council of europe's stand on the implementation of the convention's provisions in the republic of slovenia ...........................53 RELEVANT PARTS OF THE FOLLOW-UP REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN ROGHTS ON SLOVENIA (2003–2005) .............58 BASIC INFORMATION ON THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT »TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR COMBATING DISCRIMINATION IN SLOVENIA« (2005–2006) ....................................................................... 70 ABOUT ISCOMET – PROJECT COORDINATOR .....................................................73 CONSORTIUM AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ....................................................75 A SELECTION OF USEFUL INTERNET LINKS ........................................................75 3 4 Prof. Dr. Silvo Devetak Director of ISCOMET and coordinator of international project Training and Education for Combating Discrimination in Slovenia BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION – IS DISCRIMINATION IN SLOVENIA NOT ONLY A LEGAL AND MORAL, BUT ALSO A POLITICAL AND SECURITY PROBLEM? 1. Yes, discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds presents, for Slovenia, as well as other EU countries, not only a legal and moral issue, but also a latent political and security problem. Slovenian society is sitting on »political and social time bombs« which are indirectly or directly related to the problem of discrimination, the most pressing of which are: • stalling the recovery of rights to »the erased« (more than 18,000 people, citizens of former Yugoslav republics, who were collectively and without notification »erased« from the list of citizens of the new state by an administrative measure of the government, because they had not by then secured, for various reasons, Slovenian citizenship), • unsettled legal status and consequently human and minority rights of constitutionally unrecognized ethnic communities (members of nations and nationalities of former Yugoslavia and Germans), and the population’s negative attitude towards settling the rights of these communities which make up almost 10% of the entire population, • unsympathetic attitude of part of the population and the largest religious community, the RC Church, towards Islam, evident among other things from decades of obstructing, by using various excuses, the building of a mosque in Ljubljana, • unsettled status of the Roma, as laid down by the constitution, inconsistent fulfilment of their human and minority rights, and instances of segregation especially in education, • incomplete fulfilment of the rights of two constitutionally recognized ethnic communities – the Hungarian and Italian minorities (which will become, after the borders between EU states are »abolished«, part of the Hungarian and Italian economic, ethnic and cultural sphere), • stereotypically negative attitude of the major part of the population to immigrants, particularly those from former Yugoslavia, and xenophobia which prevents unprejudiced acceptance of demographic changes in the racial, ethnic, and religious structure of Slovenia’s population and related rights of European citizens (for example, the right to vote and be elected in local authorities), resulting from the free flow of people within the EU, • agoraphobic attitude (agoraphobia – fear of open spaces) of some population groups to neighbouring nations, fuelled by real or construed 5 political and other problems, which are straining Slovenia’s relationship with neighbouring countries, particularly Croatia. Intentional or spontaneous sudden straining or politicisation of these problems, in combination with other political or social issues, could, in the right local and international circumstances, easily undermine the stability of Slovenian society, as well as the government’s ability to act efficiently in the interest of the population, within and outside Slovenia. From an international perspective such trends can be particularly disturbing in the time of Europe’s expansion towards the west Balkan, which is politically, economically and strategically a very important territory for Slovenia. Slovenia’s vulnerability, created by these issues, will be even greater in its time of presidency of the EU in the year 2008. Restoring the rights, taken away from the »erased« by the government with an administrative measure in 1992, would in our opinion, remove the biggest blemish on the democratic image of Slovenia and improve its standing before taking over the presidency of the EU in 2008. The government coalition has announced plans for passing a constitutional act (probably wishing to circumvent the well-known decision of the Constitutional Court of Slovenia of 2003, that the status of all erased persons, taken away by administrative measure in February 1992, be restored). Passing such a law requires a qualified majority of members of parliament, unfeasible for the ruling parties without the cooperation of the opposition. We believe that any bartering for the human rights of so many people, in order to obtain the necessary parliamentary majority is inconsistent with fundamental moral and legal norms governing a democratic European society. Any attempt at reversing the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia on this issue would further complicate the problem. Furthermore this would (once again) injure the democratic image of Slovenia and its international repute and undermine its internal stability in times when Slovenia needs it most. Last but not least the prohibition of ethnic and religious discrimination (in this case of members of “other” nations and nationalities of former Yugoslavia) is ius cogens, an absolutely binding norm in international law. Any act inconsistent with this norm could be declared, if a suitable domestic or international legal procedure should take place, void »from the start«, namely it could have no legal implications. For all these reasons one would expect parliamentary parties and their leaders to show more statesmanlike wisdom and sense of justice in settling this problem that has now been taxing Slovenia for 14 years. All warnings and advice of nongovernmental organizations and other entities of civil society have so far had little effect on how the above mentioned problems, related to discrimination, are handled. As elsewhere, the power of decision-making is in the hands of political parties, or individuals and groups acting under their banner. The situation will further complicate if the decision-making elite of Slovenia should continue to show a lack of interest 6 in seriously considering and handling such a complicated social problem as discrimination, in identifying its social, economic, and other causes, and finally, in initiating a coordinated endeavour for its abolishment in terms of implementing EU directives of the year 2000. 2. The biggest threat to the »rule of law« in a society is the situation where an obvious case of discrimination continues without obstruction or punishment and is accepted by »popular opinion« as »proper«, which in a populist and self-willed way blurs the line between »law« and »lawlessness«, in favour of the latter of course. The distinction between »law« and »lawlessness« is in danger particularly when such tendencies become apparent in politicians’ speeches. In most cases these are attempts to obtain power by exploiting and inciting nationalistic or racist feelings towards certain minority communities, groups of people who differentiate from the majority’s average or towards neighbouring countries, namely by spreading ungrounded »facts« which aim is only to stimulate the discriminatory treatment of those affected. Although such politicians justify themselves as defending »national interests«, their action, quite to the contrary, acts against the interests of Slovenians and Slovenia. Experience