Last week, the Iranian Islamist regime declared a Slovenian citizen and Member of the European Parliament, Dr Milan Zver, a terrorist. Since the government of Robert Golob – and its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanja Fajon in particular – has not reacted to the scandal at all, the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) has addressed a parliamentary petition to the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling for a response and for the government to invite the Ambassador of Iran to talks. “This is the first time in Slovenia’s history that a Slovenian politician – MEP Dr Milan Zver – has been labelled a terrorist by another country, and we are therefore petitioning the Slovenian government to respond immediately and decisively,” the Slovenian Democratic Party wrote in its letter. And judging by the holiday photos from South America, it seems that Foreign Minister has more than enough time to craft a correct response.
Both Prime Minister Robert Golob, as well as Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, have so far not made any statement related to the problem in question, with the exception of
a short announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which they explained that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had had a telephone conversation with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Josep Borrell, in which the two politicians reportedly agreed that the action of blacklisting MEP Zver was reprehensible and politically motivated.
However, this is a blatant dereliction of duty and of the integrity of the Republic of Slovenia in international relations. This is a hostile act performed by the Iranian regime, directed against one of the highest political representatives of the nation, in this case, a Member of the European Parliament. The response to such an act should be a priority, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs seems to be prioritising a holiday stroll on the beach on what is otherwise a business trip to South America.
We are publishing the Slovenian Democratic Party’s parliamentary initiative in its entirety below:
“On Wednesday, the 26th of October 2022, Iran imposed sanctions against eight institutions and 12 individuals from the European Union, including the elected Slovenian representative to the European Parliament, MEP Dr Milan Zver (European People’s Party/Slovenian Democratic Party). The sanctions include a visa ban and a ban on the entry of the sanctioned individuals to Iran, as well as the seizure of their property in the territory under the control of the Iranian authorities. The sanctioned individuals have been labelled as terrorists because, according to the Iranian authorities, they are alleged to have encouraged and promoted terrorism. In this sense, the sanctions list also constitutes a physical threat to all sanctioned individuals.
The European Union rejects the sanctions imposed by Iran on several EU entities and individuals and stresses that these sanctions are politically motivated. Given that this is the first time in Slovenia’s history that a Slovenian politician has been labelled a terrorist by another country, we call on the Slovenian government to take immediate and decisive action in this case.
We also call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to summon the Iranian Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia for talks and to support the Slovenian MEP as an individual who is committed to peace and has no terrorist tendencies.
The response of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should have been immediate and should have come without anyone having to call on them to respond. Unfortunately, to date, neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Government or its Prime Minister has reacted to Iran’s recent actions.
The only proper thing to do would be for the country and its leaders to stand behind their representatives, who have been elected by the people. Or are we going to react selectively here, too, and only stand behind those who are of the right political colour?
Portal OS
