“As the proposer of the declaration, I am excited about this historic moment for Slovenia: the Committee on Justice adopted a Declaration of Support for the European Parliament’s Resolution on European Conscience and Totalitarianisms, which condemns all totalitarianisms and recognises all victims of totalitarianisms,” said SDS MP Branko Grims. The SDS party has repeatedly proposed the adoption of a special declaration to the National Assembly, which would explicitly support the European Parliament’s Resolution on European Conscience and Totalitarianisms. The resolution in question is based on a unified condemnation of all totalitarian systems.
The SDS party has already submitted a proposal to the National Assembly to support the resolution several times – the deputies rejected the previous proposals, mostly with the explanation that the National Assembly had already become acquainted with the resolution in October 2009 and that there was no need to express special support for it. In its resolution, the European Parliament expressed its opposition to totalitarian regimes, stressing the need to preserve the memory of the past because, without truth and memory, there can be no reconciliation. At the same time, it condemned all crimes against humanity and mass violations of human rights committed by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. It expressed its condolences and understanding to the victims of these crimes and their family members. With the resolution in question, the European Parliament declared the 23rd of August a day of remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian regimes.
“All totalitarian systems, without exception, are vile, criminal, and are something we need to stay especially aware of today. In the third millennium, new forms of totalitarian systems are emerging – based on cultural Marxism or high technology, such as the Chinese type or the Islamic radicalism. This makes it all the more important for the National Assembly to unite. And that is exactly what we want to achieve with our proposal – for the National Assembly to unite on what was the basis for the European resolution, which is the fact that all totalitarian systems are vile, criminal, and worthy of condemnation,” SDS MP Branko Grims told the N1 media outlet some time ago. He also explained that the adoption of a special declaration in support of the European Parliament’s resolution would mean that the National Assembly explicitly and permanently rejects all totalitarian regimes, regardless of their ideology, as they are all based on violence and systematic human rights violations. “By supporting the resolution, the National Assembly expresses its deepest respect for all victims of totalitarian regimes and expresses the expectation that the recommendations will be taken into account by all branches of government in Slovenia,” Grims also pointed out.
The leftists have consistently refused to support the resolution, which also condemns communism
In 2019, the National Assembly’s Committee on Justice did not support the proposal for a Declaration of Support for the European Parliament’s Resolution on European Conscience and Totalitarianisms, which was submitted by the SDS party. At the time, five deputies voted in favour of the proposal, while eight were against it. The refusal to explicitly support the resolution meant that one could selectively choose which of the totalitarianisms “deserve” to be condemned and that no totalitarianism was explicitly condemned – especially not communism. By supporting the proposed declaration, the National Assembly would add Slovenia to the list of countries with the European conscience on totalitarianisms, as this is the only way to really show that Slovenia agrees with the condemnation of all totalitarianisms, without any divisions into “yours” and “ours,” the SDS party believed at the time. The National Assembly adopted a special declaration with which it confirmed that it got acquainted with the European Parliament’s resolution of April 2009 several years ago, but this was only a manoeuvre for diverting attention, created by the left, so it would not have to actually adopt the resolution in its entirety.
Sara Bertoncelj
