At a press conference, representatives of the Voice of Pensioners (Glas upokojencev) party and the 1st of October Institute called for the resignation of Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar and Police Director-General Senad Jušić, and for the suspension of the police officers involved in the violence against the protesters, in light of the events at Tuesday’s protest against injustice.
“Tuesday’s events in Celje have shaken the foundations of our democratic society and reminded us of the urgency of action,” said Alenka Orel, a spokesperson for the Voice of Pensioners, in her introduction.
The first speaker was Pavel Rupar, President of the Voice of Pensioners. He began by describing Drago Bobnič as “a national hero who stood up to police violence” and who protested against “a corrupt judiciary.”
He then addressed the events during the protest. “Thank God that people were filming, that those recordings clearly show one very corrupt provocation of lazy people, employees of RTV Slovenia, who drove into the crowd in their official vehicle, our vehicle, not with the intention of attending the protests, but to film the collections in the museum, which is in Celje, opposite of the court. That is to say, this was a complete provocation, because they could have easily done it before or after the protest,” Rupar said, adding that they deliberately drove into the crowd of protesters, which he described as a “planned provocation”. He believes that RTV in this form of “extreme fascist leftists” should not exist as a Slovenian social media. He called for non-payment of the RTV contribution.
“If you try to run them over with a car, people react by defending themselves. They defend themselves physically, verbally, they get defensive because they are defending themselves and they are defending their cause,” he said, adding that the cooperation between RTV Slovenia and the police was obvious.
He also responded to what many in the public have described as police violence. “A man who was two heads bigger than everyone else did not just verbally abuse the protesters. He was there in plain clothes, he did not introduce himself, he had a gun, and many worried that he would carry out an assassination attempt against Janez Janša. No one can dispute that. If people stood up to this violent policeman, not knowing that he was a plain-clothes policeman, they did the right thing. This man had no right to beat Mr Bobnič, and even less that pensioner, that woman,” Rupar was harsh.
Rupar believes that the fine imposed on Drago Bobnič was a “great disgrace”, and he then recalled the violent protests during the epidemic of Covid-19 and the government of Janez Janša, when thieves, scoundrels and criminals literally set Ljubljana on fire. “When Golob came to power, these people had their sentences waived,” recalled the President of the Voice of Pensioners.
“This officer must be suspended immediately. We demand an internal investigation of the Celje police. There are recordings, there are witnesses, there is no argument in favour of such a person still being employed by the police. The Minister of the Interior, Mr Poklukar, and the Director of the Slovenian Police, who did not get to his position legally anyway, must take responsibility,” Rupar said. He believes that Jušić should not be in charge of the police. In most cases, however, he believes, the police are very “upstanding”.
He praised the police officers from Maribor and Ljubljana, with whom they have had contact during their protests. “Maribor police, Ljubljana police, hats off to you,” he said. “What happened in Celje is a big stain on those officers who are in uniform and who are fair,” he added. He concluded by saying that they were demanding the reimbursement of the fine handed to Bobnič.
Rajko Perčič then took the floor and announced that the Voice of Pensioners would stand by its supporters. “With the donations we have received from the donation of the “bees”, we will also allocate part of it to reimburse Mr Bobnič for his expenses.“
The floor was then given to Bobnič, who was introduced by Rupar as “a victim of police violence”. Bobnič summarised Tuesday’s events in Celje. He said that the main purpose of the protest by members of the Association for the Values of Slovenian Independence (Združenje za vrednote Slovenske osamosvojitve – VSO) was to express support for Janša because of the unfair trial in the Trenta case, which he described as “another show trial”. They were already in front of the courthouse at 9 a.m., and after a break in between, they returned to the courthouse at 2 p.m., where the rally took place. “There were many of us from the Voice of Pensioners, mainly war veterans from the war for an independent Slovenia. The attack on me was not only an attack on me, it was also an attack on the Institute of the 1st of October and on the Voice of the Pensioners party. I know that it was an orchestrated attack on me because I did not want to show my identity card to the hooligans, who did not even introduce themselves,” Bobnič said.
“Interestingly, when I was being dragged, kicked and hit, they also threw some punches. This shaved-head guy tore my rucksack. The lady who picked up my rucksack defended me,” he confessed.
He proudly waved the Slovenian flag
“Why did they write me this scrawl with the figure 855 euros? Because I was proudly waving the Slovenian flag and shouting against a corrupt court,” he says. He added that the shaved-headed policeman was a “left-wing activist” who tore down the Slovenian flag and that this was a case of unacceptable violence against a war veteran for an independent Slovenia.
Bobnič also demands both the resignation of the Interior Minister and the Director-General of the Police and the suspension of all those who “brandished weapons” against them. He called on all Slovenians to take part in the pensioners’ protests.
Rupar then condemned Prime Minister Robert Golob and the President of the Republic, Natasa Pirc Musar, who have not yet condemned the violence at Tuesday’s protest. Rupar also called for participation in the protests. “The time of mass protests must come,” he said, adding that the time of mass revolt is coming.
Violence against women
Alenka Orel pointed out that violence against women also took place at the protest. “The Voice of Pensioners Party and the 1st of October Institute express their deep indignation at the events that took place in Celje on Tuesday, the 26th of November. Plain-clothes police officers used violence against women who were expressing their opinions, which is totally unacceptable and incompatible with the values of the rule of law and human rights,” she said, adding that it was an attack on society as a whole and on the right to freedom of expression. She also drew attention to the fact that the President, Nataša Pirc Musar, has still not responded to the incident.
“Her silence is not just a disappointment, but a message to all of us, and especially to women, that violence can be overlooked, and that is unacceptable,” she was clear.
“Violence against women, especially when it comes from those who are supposed to protect us, is one of the most serious human rights violations. The Voice of Pensioners party and the 1st of October Institute will insist that those responsible face the consequences and that the dignity of the victims is restored,” she added.
Ž. K.
