Opposition Parties Speak on Current Issues

Ljubljana, 18 August - The Slovenian Government is conducting an anti-national policy in the implementation of its refugee policy. This is obvious, judging by the behaviour of some of the governing parties and goes back all the way to the time when preparations for independence were being made and the Independence Legislature was being passed. This behaviour is continuing, even now that independence has been gained, representatives of the Opposition Coordinating Body reported today, among other things, at a press conference organized by these parties in order to present the opposition's stance regarding current events in Slovenia.
The opposition warned that the ultimate upper limit to the number of refugees that can be taken in by a country at which the situation can still be held under effective control calls for a refugee population amounting to no more than 2 percent of the total population of the country. This limit, states the opposition, was already reached some time ago, when there were 40,000 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Slovenia. Today, in Slovenia, there are officially 70,000 refugees, while unofficially the number is believed to exceed 100,000. It can be expected, said opposition representatives, that at least one half of these people will remain in Slovenia permanently. For this reason, the opposition demands that the Government immediately develop a programme for the resolution of this situation, especially in view of the fact that winter is drawing near. The opposition parties will also demand that an a special session of the Assembly be called in order to discuss the problem of the refugees in Slovenia, said representatives of the Opposition Coordinating Body.