UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000840

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND INL/AAE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KCOR SI
SUBJECT: REFERENDUM INITIATIVE KEEPS ANTI-CORRUPTION
COMMISSION ALIVE

REF: 04 Ljubljana 754


1. (SBU) Summary: A last ditch attempt to call a referendum
on this issue has delayed the Government's plan to abolish
Slovenia's independent Anti-Corruption Commission and
transfer oversight responsibilities for government
corruption to the parliament. The Government claims the
Commission is too costly and ineffective, but enmity between
the Prime Minister and the head of the Commission is the
apparent reason for the Government's move. The threatened
demise of the Anti-Corruption Commission has alarmed outside
observers such as Transparency International. The
Ambassador has raised our concerns several times with
Government officials, asserting that the Anti-Corruption
Commission appears to be working well and that Slovenia must
have a credible and effective anti-corruption entity. End
Summary.


2. (U) After months of public debate and two readings in
Parliament of a draft law that would terminate the
Commission for the Prevention of Corruption headed by Drago
Kos, the non-parliamentarian Slovene Youth Party (SMS)
registered its intention with the Parliament on November 20
to begin the process for holding a referendum on the
proposed legislation. It has thus managed to postpone the
third reading of the draft law. SMS now has until January 7
to collect the 40,000 signatures needed for the referendum
to take place. If it fails, the law on Incompatibility of
Official Position and Profitable Activity will be passed
early next year. The anti-Corruption Commission would be
terminated and many of its functions transferred to a
parliamentary committee.


3. (U) In mid 2004, the former ruling coalition headed by
the Liberal Democracy Party (LDS) established the Commission
for the Prevention of Corruption in part to meet EU
accession obligations on combating government corruption.
The Government designed the Commission to develop
preventative measures against corruption by public officials
rather than to punish offenders. Since it took office in
December 2004, however, the current government led by the
center-right Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) has cited the
Commission's lack of "teeth" and costliness as the primary
rationale for dismantling the organization and transferring
its public oversight duties to a parliamentary committee.
Because the

Commission was established by law, and the
commissioners were appointed by the Parliament, it now can
only be abolished by passage of a new law.


4. (SBU) Public opinion has consistently supported the Anti-
Corruption Commission, and its director, Drago Kos, is a
well-known and respected figure in Slovenia. He is,
however, a victim of his own past activism in rooting out
alleged corruption in the Slovene military. A case dating
back to 1995 when Kos was part of an anti-corruption squad
in the Ministry of Interior led to the resignation of then
Minister of Defense and current Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
Jansa has since been exonerated of all wrongdoing in the
case, but forgive and forget has never been Jansa's modus
operendi. Once Jansa and SDS formed a government in
December 2004, Kos knew his days were numbered. Kos'
refusal to step down has meant the GOS will have to abolish
the Commission in order to be rid of him, since there is no
other legal way to dismiss him from his duties.


5. (U) The Government's plan to disband the Anti-Corruption
Commission has concerned many observers, including the NGO
Transparency International. The director of Transparency
International wrote to the Minister of Public Administration
in early November praising the Commission's achievements in
enforcing regulations on conflict of interest and
characterizing the Commission as a model for the region. He
questioned the "apparent political and personal reasons"
behind the move to abolish the Commission.


6. (SBU) Comment: Post has consistently supported the work
of the Commission. The Ambassador signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on anti-corruption in March 2005 on behalf of
the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. He has also weighed in
directly with the Prime Minister on the positive work and
value of the Commission and underscored that Slovenia must
have a strong and credible anti-corruption organization.
The problem is that PM Jansa is intent upon getting rid of
someone he feels he cannot trust and who is in a sensitive
position. The SMS bid to hold a referendum is a last ditch
effort to keep this Commission alive and Kos as its
President. In response to concerns that a Parliamentary


Commission in place of the current Commission would be more
political by its very nature, the PM and others note that
should not be a problem. In fact, they point out, all
information related to asset reporting of politicians will
be completely transparent and available on the internet.


7. (SBU) Comment Continued. The SMS will have to work hard
to gather the required 40,000 signatures by January 7. At
that point, it will also need to have raised sufficient
awareness of the issue in order to attract Slovene voters to
yet another referendum. If the SMS can bring the issue to a
referendum, and if it can generate enough interest to ensure
a relatively high turnout at the polls, there is a chance
that the Commission will survive. Until and unless a
referendum is called, it would be premature to make any
predictions about the outcome of the referendum. End
Comment.

Robertson


NNNN