How could we ever believe that under Golob’s government, it is possible to have a safe, democratic state with independent and correct institutions, when the leading people in these institutions have clearly “chosen their side” and are visibly biased? No wonder the morale of the Slovenian police is falling when even some high-ranking institutions show a preference for thugs and criminals rather than those they protect. To be more specific, we are talking about Simon Savski, Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, who recently clearly expressed what his “preferred political option” is on Facebook. Given the latter, it is not surprising that the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption did not find it controversial to return the amounts of paid fines to the protesters who protested during the pandemic – since they are obviously all on the same side.
Despite the promising data on security levels, it seems that we are hearing more and more news of acts of violence happening in Slovenia. Everything has its consequences, and given that we have a government in power that supports the violent protesters by returning the money they had to pay when they were fined while demonising the police, it is no wonder that the morale of the police has dropped, because – why would they risk their lives against criminals when they themselves are labelled criminals? It is a shame, however, that the anti-police rhetoric has become part of the national discourse, while at the same time, it is even supported by some institutions other than the government, including those that are supposed to be independent. Namely, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.
It is shameful that anti-police rhetoric has become part of the national discourse
By giving the money collected from the fines back to the protesters who were clearly wreaking havoc, destroying other people’s property and endangering citizens, the police are portrayed as “the bad guys,” or even immoral, for doing their job. While it is clear that this is far from the truth and that most of us agree that the police are heroes, this is obviously not the case with Prime Minister Robert Golob, nor with Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan, nor with former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar, who in the end persisted with her correctness and integrity (and flew the coop). Despite the disagreements and incoherence in her words, in the end, it was just a matter of everyone siding with the criminals.
It is shameful that the anti-police rhetoric has become such an accepted part of our national discourse – and that it has been welcomed or endorsed by so many government officials, other “civil society defenders,” and even public institutions. A specific one that should be highlighted is the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, about which lawyer Damijan Terpin said last year that “the government’s intention should be inspected with the utmost seriousness by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption,” because it is unique and fraught with corruption risks. The lawyer from Gorica reminded everyone of the pre-election promises of the current coalition partners, who at the time were still promising their potential voters – that is, the protesters – amnesty in case they would come to power. Terpin said: “In the current legal framework, this is an extremely suspicious move that should be treated with the utmost seriousness by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. This government promised them that, and now it wants to keep a promise that is against the law.” According to the lawyer, the government of Robert Golob has thus, with one of its very first measures, completely reversed its pre-election promises on the rule of law.
The “independent” Commission for the Prevention of Corruption is visibly dependent
But can that really be deemed odd, considering that the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption is staffed by visibly dependent people, such as, for example, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission? In fact, the latter, in response to the publication in favour of the police and an increasingly destroyed society, lack of values and disrespect for the police, put the blame (like most leftists and leftist activists) on former Prime Minister Janez Janša and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, saying that “he does not want such a leader” and that he believes that “the police officers will deal with the recent vandalism and attack in an appropriate manner.”
Namely, a police officer wrote a post on Facebook about Saturday’s attack at a rally of Balkan anarchists, who violently beat up several police officers, one of whom has pressed criminal charges against the perpetrators. The author of the post wrote: “I am thinking about where this escalation of violence against police officers will take us… We are becoming a society without values and without respect for those who take care of our safety. I wonder if we have already imported the American and typical Western subculture into our relationships. Will we ever have a leader who will know how to put things in order and will allow for effective suppression of vandalism? I believe that no one like that is coming any time soon… And by the time they come, it will already be too late, because the street will have won already…” To this, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, Simon Savski, responded by writing: “You just keep on voting for Janša and, together with Hojs, he will disperse the crowds by using pepper spray in the water cannon. I do not want to have a leader like that. I believe that police officers will deal with the recent vandalism and attack in an appropriate manner. However, these truly are different times than before… How young people were and are raised, the corrupt politicians, …”
When he was still a candidate for the position of Deputy President, Simon Savski gave an interview for the national media outlet’s web portal – MMC RTV, in which he explained that he started his career in various positions in the police, where he also worked as a police inspector, and then also held some managerial positions. He said that since the early 1990s, the police had been very active in the fight against corruption and had also been concerned about the integrity of the police officers and the organisation. “I have been part of some of these tasks myself,” he said at the time, which makes it all the more surprising that today, when he could do it, he does not want to investigate corruption where he should, while at the same time participating in demonising the police, even though he used to be part of it himself.
Why don’t the police take action?
And police morale has visibly dropped. After all, we recently reported on an incident where a policewoman was shot by a frantic man from Dolenjska, after which he also shot himself. Even in this case, a police officer could have intervened and justifiably used their weapon, but they did not. The police officers could have defended themselves this time and attacked the anarchists back, but they chose to ignore them. At this point, anyone can wonder why the police did not react. However, let us remind you that they reacted and responded appropriately to the situation during the violent protests during the pandemic. And what did they get in return? Demonisation, criticism of police work, while the criminals and thugs got their money back. How can we expect anything else from the police than a big drop in morale thanks to the Golob government or, as Žiga Turk wrote on Twitter, “This is because the authorities have taken a legal (but not the right and correct) approach to the police officers who were in charge of law and order during the dismantling of the cycling protests. Cops are not as stupid as in the jokes. From now on, they will only prosecute the more God-fearing citizens who drove 40 km/h in a 30 km/h zone.”
These are the people we call when we are involved in a car accident, when we see someone in trouble or distress, or fear for our safety. These are the people who run towards danger and violence when the natural reaction is to run away from it. Police officers deserve the highest level of respect, and they are clearly not getting it from the Golob Government.
Ana Horvat
