US embassy cable - 04LJUBLJANA1053

UNCLAS  LJUBLJANA 001053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, DRL/CRA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PINR, SI 
SUBJECT:  SLOVENIA: COM'S COURTESY CALL ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
OMBUDSMAN MATJAZ HANZEK 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  On November 16, COM, accompanied by 
the Embassy's PD/Human Rights Officer, paid a call on 
Slovenia's Ombudsman for Human Rights, Matjaz Hanzek. 
Hanzek expressed concern with some of the positions and 
public statements made by members of the rightist and 
center-right parties after their strong showing in the 
October 3 election.  (NOTE: In the election, the center- 
right Slovenian Democratic Party, or SDS, won a 
plurality of the vote and is currently in the process 
of trying to form a coalition government with other 
centrist and center-right parties.  END NOTE).  Hanzek 
also enumerated what he considered to be the three main 
human rights issues facing Slovenia today: (1) the 
longstanding issue of the "erased," which concerns 
those former Yugoslav citizens who were deleted from 
Slovenia's register of permanent residents shortly 
after Slovenia declared independence in 1991; (2) 
prevarication on the adoption of a bill that would 
regulate domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians; 
and (3) the social and political status of Slovenia's 
Roma community.  COM also asked Hanzek about domestic 
violence, hate speech, and court backlogs.  After going 
over the litany of human rights problems facing 
Slovenia, Hanzek smiled and concluded by saying that 
Slovenia still compared favorably to most other 
countries around the world and that he was "optimistic" 
about the future.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Slovenia's New Center-Right Government 
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2. (SBU) When asked about the new center-right 
government that is currently in the process of being 
formed, Hanzek told us he was "deeply troubled" by the 
past actions and public statements of those now about 
to assume power.  Hanzek noted that the newly elected 
President of the Parliament, Franc Cukjati of the SDS, 
had spearheaded a 2001 referendum drive to deny single 
women the right to undergo artificial insemination. 
(NOTE:  The referendum was held on June 17, 2001 and 
failed to pass, thus denying deny single women the 
right to artificial insemination.  END NOTE).  Hanzek 
argued that by supporting the defeat of the referendum, 
Cukjati had contributed to the violation of single 
women's human rights. 
 
3. (SBU) Hanzek also voiced concern over remarks made 
by the Deputy President of the Parliament, Saso Pece (a 
member of the rightist Slovenian Nationalist Party, or 
SNS), who claimed publicly that he never wanted to have 
coffee with someone who was black or gay.  Finally, 
Hanzek also noted that the Prime Minister-designate, 
Janez Jansa of the SDS, had backed a referendum over 
the question of the "erased" that would have challenged 
a decision by Slovenia's Constitutional Court.  Hanzek 
argued that by promoting the referendum, Jansa had 
demonstrated his complete lack of respect for the rule 
of law. 
 
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Protecting the Rights of Slovenia's Minorities 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
3. (U) On the issue of the "erased," Hanzek noted that 
it was unacceptable to continue to deny claims for 
permanent residency to individuals simply because they 
were former members of the Yugoslav army who had failed 
to apply for citizenship during a six-month window in 
1991-92.  Hanzek noted that he hoped the new government 
would begin issuing permanent residency to such 
individuals forthwith but doubted that this would 
happen. 
 
4. (U) Hanzek also told us that the delay in the 
adoption of a law regulating domestic partnerships for 
gay and lesbian citizens was limiting their human 
rights.  He expressed concern that this "first step" in 
the "struggle for equality" might languish in the new 
parliament dominated by center-right parties. 
 
5. (U) Hanzek noted that the social and political 
status of Slovenia's Roma population was also 
unacceptable and that improvements were needed to 
 
 
further integrate the Roma into Slovene society.  He 
argued that at present Roma citizens simply do not have 
truly equal opportunities in employment, housing and 
education. 
 
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Domestic Violence, Hate Speech, and Court Backlogs 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
6. (U) Responding to COM's question about domestic 
violence, Hanzek told us that a draft law on domestic 
violence was currently awaiting parliamentary 
modification and approval.  Hanzek informed us that the 
Council of Europe was planning to hold a ministerial- 
level conference on domestic violence and child abuse 
in Ljubljana in July and that he hoped the conference 
would push the government to put legislation in place 
by then. 
 
7. (SBU) On the issue of hate speech, Hanzek informed 
us that his office would be holding an exhibition on 
December 9 in commemoration of Human Rights Day that 
would document hate speech by prominent Slovenian 
politicians and public figures.  Hanzek told us the 
exhibition would include comments made by SNS party 
leader Zmago Jelincic, who stated on the floor of the 
parliament that Slovenes should begin collecting guns 
to protect ourselves from the Roma population. 
 
8. (U) On the issue of court backlogs, Hanzek agreed 
that the situation was unacceptable, particularly in 
child abuse and custody cases, where delays directly 
impact both the human rights and wellbeing of children. 
 
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Comment 
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9. (SBU) Throughout our meeting, Hanzek did not hide 
his distrust for the newly elected parliamentarians 
from the center-right and rightist parties.  Despite 
his clear personal preference for the parties of the 
center-left, Hanzek's concerns about the new 
government's stance towards human rights are real.  At 
this point, it is still too early to tell whether and 
how the newly elected government will deal with the 
issues he enumerated.  Some issues, like that of the 
"erased" and domestic violence, will have to be settled 
quickly if Slovenia does not want to isolate itself 
within the EU.  Other issues, however, like domestic 
partnerships for gays and lesbians, are likely to be 
bypassed in the coming parliamentary term.  Post will 
continue to monitor and report on human rights issues 
as they emerge. 
 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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