“With the current inadequate immigration policy, we are facing more violence and a loss of the sense of security among people. Slovenians, therefore, expect more from the politicians in charge,” said former Director-General of the Police, Dr Anton Olaj, commenting on the Slovenian government’s response to the increasing migration and the resulting rise in migrant crime. He added that citizens can buy and carry weapons if they meet the legal conditions.
The police confirmation of another rape in the centre of Ljubljana, this time in the area of Tabor, involving two Moroccans, has shocked the Slovenian public. By the end of September, 19 women had been raped in Slovenia (confirmed), according to official police figures, two more were raped 14 days ago, and another attack happened on Wednesday.
Namely, on Wednesday morning, police officers in Ljubljana arrested two Moroccan nationals on suspicion of sexual offences. According to the police, the incident took place in the Tabor area of Ljubljana, where an unidentified person raped a woman on the ground on one of the lawns and then fled the scene in the company of another person. According to the Ljubljana Police Directorate, on Wednesday morning, shortly after 7 a.m., they were informed of a suspected sexual offence in the area of Tabor in Ljubljana. Several patrols were dispatched to the scene, and police officers immediately began intensive information gathering on all the circumstances of the incident, as well as initiated the necessary activities to arrest the suspect. On the basis of the description given, a 26-year-old Moroccan national was arrested in the vicinity of the crime scene on suspicion of committing a sexual offence. A 23-year-old Moroccan national was also arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting the offence. The police are unable to provide further details of the offence in order to avoid re-victimising the victim and in the interest of the investigation, which is still intensively ongoing, but the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office will be informed of all the circumstances and findings.
Dr. Anton Olaj: In places where there is a clear increase in the number of immigrants, the preventive presence of the police must be considerably strengthened!
We asked the former Director-General of the Police, Dr Anton Olaj, for a brief comment on the recent events surrounding the rapes by migrants.
When asked what actions our country should take, Olaj wrote: “First, we need to drastically reduce the number of illegal migrants crossing our borders at the border itself and be noticeably more active in returning them to the countries they came from. The rules allow us to do this, but it is up to political will to do it. Secondly, the preventive presence of the police must be significantly increased in places where there is a clear increase in the number of migrants, i.e., in the vicinity of the asylum centre, the main bus station in Ljubljana, etc. In addition, all foreigners applying for asylum should be constantly reminded of their duties and not just of their rights. This task could easily be taken on by NGOs, which are currently primarily concerned with the welfare of illegal immigrants. What is also needed is the objective informing of the public, as opposed to the covering-up of these criminal acts. Well-informed and socially responsible people will be able to adapt to the security risks and, to some extent, take care of their own security. Blindly following the Marrakech Declaration’s ‘instructions’ to portray the role of immigrants only in a positive light is irresponsible towards the people.”
The fact that border controls with neighbouring Croatia are completely inadequate was also mentioned yesterday by the leader of the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Janez Janša. He said that the police were mainly harassing ordinary travellers at the larger border crossings, while the smaller crossings and the rest of the border were as passable as ever for migrants. “If they happen to find someone without an EU visa at the crossing point, that person demands asylum anyway and eureka: they get transport, accommodation and care,” he commented, wondering “if the Golob government is even capable of doing anything with common sense anymore?” He added that he expected the government to resign and early elections to be held as soon as possible.
“With the current inadequate immigration policy, we are facing more violence in the future and a loss of the sense of security among people”
We also wanted to know what it means to arm citizens. Dr Olaj believes that “citizens can buy and carry weapons if they meet the legal conditions.” “I have taken care of this myself and feel safer because of it. To portray the possibility of legitimate self-defence as something Slovenians should supposedly “give up” is unwise and irresponsible towards people. It further exposes potential victims to security risks and encourages bullies at the same time,” said Dr Olaj.
And what lies ahead in the near future? According to the police expert, with the current inadequate immigration policy, we can expect even more violence and a loss of the sense of security among people in the future. Slovenians, therefore, expect more from the politicians in charge than, for example, the position of Matej Vatovec, leader of the MP group of the Left party (Levica), who wrote on the social network X that “above all, we should follow with concern the increase in violence in our towns and cities.” We Slovenians must demand more forcefully that our security be taken care of. We need to know that only the state and we, ourselves, can do this. Unfortunately, we cannot count on the European Union, which is apparently only following the rise in violence with concern – but not actually doing anything about it.
“Such a call for open violence against those who differ politically is utterly reprehensible!”
We also asked Dr Olaj whether the call to purge the “Janšaists” from the police is adding fuel to the fire of the situation we are in. “Such a call for open violence against those who are politically different than the ruling majority is utterly reprehensible. In a state governed by the rule of law, this phenomenon should be dealt with firmly in criminal law. To what extent such calls have an impact on the security situation, I cannot judge, but I believe that they certainly do not contribute to improving the situation.”
In addition, the interior ministers of Slovenia, Italy and Croatia, Boštjan Poklukar, Matteo Piantedosi and Davor Božinović, met on Wednesday in Trieste. “I think that the meeting of the responsible ministers is mainly aimed at reassuring the internal public and the EU bureaucrats, who continue to look for common solutions to the immigration policy,” Olaj added.
A veto of the amendment to the Foreigners Act
The National Council has voted with 17 votes in favour to five against to implement a veto on the amendment to the Foreigners Act, which introduces a new survival level instead of the A1 language proficiency level. Councillors criticised the amendment mainly for not defining this new level in technical terms and for being unfair to teachers, for whom it does not provide any assessment frameworks.
Andrej Poglajen, the first signatory of the motion for a suspensive veto from the group of representatives of local interests, began by explaining that the criteria for Slovenian language proficiency should be such as to enable the best possible integration into the local environment. In his view, the Slovenian language is one of the basic components of Slovenian culture and our national identity. However, the standard of proficiency had already been lowered to A1 level when the Foreigners Act was amended in April, he added.
State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Tina Heferle, pointed out that the language requirement for family members of foreigners was already introduced by the previous government at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This condition was delayed by two years, and nothing was done in those two years to implement it, she said. The current government therefore initially lowered the proficiency requirement from A2 to A1 in the April amendment to the Foreigners Act, and in the latest amendment introduced a so-called survival level requirement, which is the same as the A1 requirement in terms of content, but with an expanded range of course providers and exam providers, Heferle summarised.
State Councillor Branka Kalenić Ramšak, representing universities and colleges of higher education in the National Council, assessed that the so-called survival level was unfair to teachers and examiners as it did not provide them with an assessment framework. “It delegates to them the decision of who they allow to pass and who they hold back on the exam,” she was specific. She announced her support for the suspensive veto, saying that the legislator should introduce a clear picture of this questioning.
A week ago, the National Assembly approved the amendment in question with 44 votes in favour to seven against. The amendment will have to be decided on again by the National Assembly, and it will now need 46 votes for approval.
P. J.
