The Government of Robert Golob already made it clear that it was in favour of mass migration when it announced the removal of the fence at the southern border. And while our neighbouring countries are tightening border controls, the Golob government is shamelessly and totally irresponsibly playing with the security of its citizens by apparently trying to convince the public that migration is “a constant and a part of modern societies”?! With their claims on Twitter, they are more than obviously making a fool of the people because illegal, violent and armed border crossings are by no means “normal,” as they want to portray it, and their behaviour is ripe for an interpellation, according to former Prime Minister Janez Janša.
“Is the Government of the Republic of Slovenia now calling for lawbreaking and inviting criminals who smuggle people across the border to continue with their actions? At the expense of all taxpayers? This is ripe for an interpellation,” tweeted the former Prime Minister Janez Janša, who addressed the question to the Slovenian police and the Ministry of the Interior. The economist Dr Matej Lahovnik also reacted to his post and criticised the current government’s equating of normal migration with illegal and criminal migration.
The reckless indifference to mass migration by the government of Robert Golob seriously calls into question the security of Slovenia and its citizens. Illegal migration has been a major problem all around the world for several years now, and European countries, aware of the risk of a repeat of the year 2016, when the wave of illegal immigrants was extremely large, are also fighting hard against it. To this end, all countries are tightening border controls and erecting or further improving border fences – but not the Golob government. While the media reports more and more acts of violence and crime by illegal migrants, the Golob government talks about a certain “solidarity and integration into society.” They even claimed on Twitter that “migration is a constant and a part of modern societies,” that “fences cannot stop it and never have,” and that “the levels of illegal migrations are comparable to the pre-Corona year of 2019.”
The equation of normal (legal) migration with illegal migration makes one seriously wonder whether the members of the current government are even aware of what they are talking about and whether they themselves have a clear understanding of both of these concepts. Janez Janša is also wondering about this, as he addressed the following question to the Police and the Ministry of the Interior: “Is the Government of the Republic of Slovenia now calling for lawbreaking and inviting criminals who smuggle people across the border to continue with their actions? At the expense of all taxpayers? This is ripe for an interpellation.” And indeed, it is, because as economist Matej Lahovnik said, our Ministry of the Interior is the only one in the European Union that, by equating the two types of migrations, is practically inviting “organised criminal gangs who make a great living from smuggling people across borders” to come here and welcoming their decision.
It is not true that the wire fence erected at the border was not effective
The Ministry’s claim that fences cannot and have never been able to stop migrants is untrue. Of course, regular and legal migrants do not need to be stopped by a wire fence, as they have always been able to pass through the border safely, on presentation of identification documents. However, the fact that the wire fence did not prevent illegal migrants from entering Slovenia is not true, as former Minister of the Interior, Vinko Gorenak, has already confirmed that, since the fence was erected, the number of illegal border crossings has significantly decreased and, at the very least, has greatly reduced the tendency for violent and illegal entry into our country.
The number of illegal crossings has gone up by 167 percent
As for the current government’s misleading of the public, claiming that “the level of illegal migration is comparable to the pre-Corona year of 2019,” it is refuted by data from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which is in charge of controlling the borders of the European Schengen area, in cooperation with the border and coast guards of the Schengen area Member States. According to their data for the Western Balkans (in our immediate vicinity), the number of irregular migrants on this route has tripled from 2018 to 2019, reaching the number of 15,152 people, while the latest data for the period from January to May this year show that there were 40, 675 irregular crossings recorded on the Western Balkan route, or half of all those recorded at the European Union borders.
That is almost three times more than in the same period last year. The main nationalities of illegal migrants on this route were Syrians and Afghans. Most of the people detected had been in the Western Balkans for some time before they tried to enter the European Union.
Tanja Brkić
