SLOVENIAN PRESS REVIEW

Ljubljana, 18 June - DELO: "DISTURBING" NEIGHBOURS - The latest "pleasant" news from Croatia concerns Slovenian company holiday homes: in a few days all matters relating to ownership must be put in order, otherwise these homes will be transferred to the inter-republic division of assets. Judging by the path chosen by the Tuđman establishment, for at least half a century Croatia will not be a state based on the rule of law. The so-called revolutionary law is not being applied solely to relations with Slovenia, but also to the Croatian internal arena too, according to Boris Jež, who warns that the "young democracy" has discovered anew the discreet charm of verbal delict. As neighbours we are, of course, interested primarily in how "principled" Croatia will be in those areas where our interests overlap. The several days deadline for Slovenian companies to resolve the ownership problem falls far short of the spirit of normal relations between lawfully established states, comments Jež, who suspects at the same time that Zagreb intends to confiscate these homes. If we consider how "democratically" the Croatian police behaves in its plundering of Slovenian property in Istria, it becomes clear that the looting mentality which Slobodan Milošević unleashed has also infected our neighbours. In Zagreb they are clearly unaware of the full consequences of a systematic eroding of economic and political relations with Slovenia, writes this commentator, and he gives as an example the "dictum" to Croatian companies to limit their purchases in Slovenia. The author continues by pointing out that speculative capital of Croatian origin is attempting semi-legally to buy up the more successful part of the Slovenian economy. This attempt is helped not simply by the incomplete ownership legislation in Slovenia, but also by the proverbial Slovenian naivety: Elan, Grubelić, Promdei banka and others are not just a story about the "wild west", but rather a story about how we are naive, dumb hicks. While the Bank of Slovenia keeps the hard currency reserve, saved up through our blood, sweat and toil, in a jam jar under the bed, and does not even entertain the thought of investing it in some possibly risky, but high-profit business, for the speculative capital from Zagreb and Belgrade there is, it seems, no limit or obstacle. In this business Slovenia has been especially laid bare on account of its physical proximity, but also because of its "liberal" system. If Tuđman, therefore, goes on about how a "civilizational boundary" runs along the river Drina, he should take a look at the "boundary" which is formed by the Kolpa and Sotla rivers. Slovenia is gradually becoming a state based on the rule of law, while Croatia is wallowing in the excitement of its dubious victory over Belgrade and in the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) legal logic of Mr Šeks. So our common life is very difficult, if not, as experience tells us, impossible...Jež concludes by turning his attention back to Slovenian politicians who should, in his opinion, have "recognized long ago" that on our southern border we are not, unfortunately, dealing with a normal situation - and should have taken appropriate action.