The battered Mayor of Ribnica, Samo Pogorelc, demands the resignation of Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar after a brutal attack by the Roma people. He is also demanding action from the state, which is clearly not in control of the situation.
“Three years of the current government, and absolutely nothing has been done when it comes to the Roma issue, as far as security is concerned. The Minister only makes promises, talks a lot, and in the meantime, the caravan goes on,” he said in a recent episode of the show 24ur.
The Minister avoided confronting the Mayor of Ribnica on television. Instead of attending the television show himself, the Interior Ministry sent State Secretary Helga Dobrin to the show, who tried to convince the public that the Ministry of the Interior was addressing the issue, but then the Mayor spoke up again. “Unfortunately, this inter-ministerial group is not working, the sub-group on security is not working […], this group is a complete waste of time,” he was clear. “Ask the Government Office for National Minorities, from which you will take away absolutely all powers, ask the Acting Director, she no longer has any powers in her sub-group,” he warned.
The police report “doesn’t add up”
The Director of the Ljubljana Police Directorate, Tomislav Omejc, stressed that this is a serious incident which the police are taking seriously. “Here, I completely agree with the Mayor and with the entire public who share the outrage – this is a very serious incident, which is why we have been involved to the fullest extent,” he said. He added that investigators were under time pressure, so a wider investigation into the incident did not begin until the following day.
Pogorelc replied, saying, “I have to respond to Mr Omejc here, because in the final analysis, the diagnosis of the high school student (broken nose, serious injury) was known first thing in the morning, while the police only put the information out around 2 p.m. So, something is not right here.” He added that the perpetrators had been home earlier than the two victims. “Both the guy who had his nose broken and myself,” he revealed, adding that this happened because “we have an out-of-sync prosecution, we have an out-of-sync judiciary and police.”
The host of the programme then revealed that the Minister of Justice had also been invited on the programme, but she also did not want to appear on television.
Mayor Pogorelc then pointed out that the government was approaching the issue in the wrong way. Merely emphasising rights and dialogue will not be enough; duties will also be needed. “Ladies and gentlemen, be really aware of this, because tomorrow, we could be gathering in the streets. People all over the country have had more than enough of this,” the Mayor warned.
“People in Slovenia are afraid to report events. Today, in Ribnica, there was a new incident in a primary school, where two second-grade pupils were abused by two Roma children. People are in great distress, both the youngest and the oldest.”
Pogorelec is convinced that the government side is not doing its job.
Incidents of Roma violence are treated as domestic violence
“Last year, when a Roma, our Roma, that is to say from Ribnica, threatened me with death, I had to fill in a form, a threat assessment form, with the police. Do you know what kind of assessment I received? Out of 36 points, I received three points. Because I was offered a form on domestic violence. I was also given the same form on Sunday at 3 a.m., and I got between 0 and 9 points, that is to say, the incident was being treated as domestic violence,” Pogorelc revealed.
Mayor Pogorelc stressed that from now on, he will definitely have a security guard, paid by the municipality from the funds for the “Roma problem”. He also announced that, if approved by the councillors of the Ribnica Municipal Council, the management of the Roma problem in Ribnica will be transferred to the national level.
Ž. K.
