The Centrist Democratic International (CDI-IDC) unanimously adopted in late November the Resolution on Slovenia, which expresses serious concern about the state of political and economic affairs in Slovenia after the minority government took over in September 2018. Among other things, they informed themselves on the latest cases of persecution of independent media, journalists and the critical intellectuals, the goal of which has been to silence the government-critical public and the prosecution of Dr Tadej Strehovec, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Slovenia, who is charged with hate speech for the support of Catholics who prayed for unborn children and advocated the Catholic doctrine of abortion. A trial is taking place, which, according to many distinguished lawyers, including the former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, Dr Boštjan M. Zupančič, is a show trial.
The Centrist Democratic International was established in 1961 on behalf of the Christian Democrat World Union. Its founders are the organization of the New International group, the forerunner of the European Union of Christian Democrats, the Christian Democrat Organization of America and the Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe. The current name is in use since 1999.
The resolution stressed the need for an impartial and independent judiciary in Slovenia. In this context, there is concern that key institutions that are supposed to act impartially, as guarantors of democracy and the rule of law, have largely become an influential instrument of the deep state or the ‘old boys network’, which operates under the wing of the left bloc and is aimed at suppressing the political opposition.
It further expresses its concern regarding “the latest cases of persecution of independent media, journalists and the critical intellectuals, the goal of which has been to silence the government-critical public. The latest worrying case being the prosecution of dr. Tadej Strehovec, the secretary of the Slovenian Bishops Conference, who is being charged with hate speech due to his support of the Catholics who prayed for the unborn babies and advocating for the Catholic doctrine regarding abortion”.
Ignoring the Will of the People Leads to a Reduced Trust in Democracy
The CDI, in its resolution, also emphasizes that ignoring the will of the people, convincingly expressed in last parliamentary elections, can lead to reduced confidence in the already weakened democratic processes and can cause long term political instability. It expresses its full support for the winner of the last parliamentary elections, the President of the Slovenian Democratic Party and former Prime Minister Janez Janša, and the belief that Slovenia needs a center-right government led by the party with majority support for a more successful, democratic and healthy future.
You can read the full resolution here:
CDI-IDC:
– expresses serious concerns about the state of political and economic affairs in Slovenia after the new minority government took power in September of 2018. The government is composed of 5 small left and liberal-left parties, which were defeated during the last general elections, but are backed by the extreme Left party, formally in opposition. The party advocates Venezuelan socio-political system, praises communist dictators and opposes the NATO alliance. The government announced plans to impose high taxes on successful companies, and as a result, some of them have already moved their facilities to other countries.
– underlines the need for an impartial and independent Slovenian judiciary. In this context, there is the worry that the key institutions that were supposed to operate impartially, as guarantors of democracy and the rule of law, have in large part been turned into potent instruments of the old boys network – operating behind the governing left block – to stifle its political opposition.
– is furthermore concerned by the latest cases of persecution of independent media, journalists and the critical intellectuals, the goal of which has been to silence the government-critical public. The latest worrying case being the prosecution of dr. Tadej Strehovec, the secretary of the Slovenian Bishops Conference, who is being charged with hate speech due to his support of the Catholics who prayed for the unborn babies and advocating for the Catholic doctrine regarding abortion.
– emphasizes that ignoring the will of the people, convincingly expressed in last parliamentary elections, can lead to reduced confidence in the already weakened democratic processes and can cause long term political instability.
– reiterates its full support to the winner of the last general elections, president of the Slovenian democratic Party and former Prime Minister Janez Janša and is convinced that Slovenia needs the center-right government, led by the party with majority support, for more prosperous, democratic and healthy future.
Sal, Cape Verde 26th November 2018