SLOVENIA: FORMER UN ASSISTANT SYG SHARES VIEWS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000122 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/NCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: FORMER UN ASSISTANT SYG SHARES VIEWS OF HIS NATIVE COUNTRY Classified By: COM Thomas B. Robertson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Slovenia's former Ambassador to the UN and (subsequently) former Assistant Secretary General for Political affairs at the UN, Danilo Turk, is enjoying a sabbatical from diplomacy as a professor of international law at Ljubljana's Law Faculty. His many years in New York give Turk a unique insider/outsider perspective on Slovenia's domestic politics. Slovenia, though making strides to expand its world view, is a relatively parochial, homogenous society. As it prepares to lead the EU and make intercultural dialogue a key theme of its Presidency, Turk thinks it needs to demonstrate some credibility on the issue which it could do by ensuring a mosque is built in Ljubljana. It could also do right by the "erased," (undocumented residents) an issue successive governments have failed to address and for which the "passing of time doesn't help." Turk is as dismayed as any onlooker by the entrenched positions that Slovneia and Croatia have staked out on the border and other problems arising from the breakup of Yugoslavia. The most important element that seems to be missing from the dialogue, according to Turk, is mutual respect. On internal politics Turk, though concerned that Prime Minister Jansa and President Drnovsek were airing their differences publicly, said this difficult cohabitation is nothing new for Slovenia. End Summary. -------------- Sensitivity on Human Rights Needed -------------- ¶2. (C) COM hosted former UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Danilo Turk for lunch February 23. Turk has spent the last 18 months since his return from New York lecturing on international law and writing a book on the same at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law. Turk has also become a regular contributor of op-eds to the number three daily newspaper, Vecer. Conversation started with a discussion of human rights and Turk's particular interest in this subject. Of Slovenes, he commented that they still must develop a sensitivity about human rights which they lack. He attributed this to years of socialist rule, which assumed all people's rights were ensured by the state which guaranteed jobs, healthcare etc. Rather than responding defensively to human rights critiaques published on Slovenia -- responses which often play out in the media -- he thought that the GOS would gain credibility if it acknowledged shortcomings and responded more constructively. In the run-up to the EU presidency, and with intercultural dialogue as one of its main themes, Turk said Slovenia needed to demonstrate credibility by addressing internal issues such as the building of the mosque in Ljubljana and the treatment of the so called "erased:" non Slovenes who were in Slovenia at the time of independence and who for various reasons failed to establish their legal status in Slovenia. -------------- Solving problems in a "business-like fashion" -------------- ¶3. (C) When asked about the continuing saga of the Slovenia/Croatia border disputes, Turk laughingly suggested the governments take a page from the US/Soviet play book and talk things over in a "business-like fashion." He thought that Slovenia and Croatia lacked the crucial element of mutual respect in their exchanges as demonstrated in the press on a regular basis by politicians from both countries. Turk did not think Presidents Drnovsek and Mesic had any hope of finding a solution. However, with some "imagination" and if they were well-prepared to truly negotiate, Turk thought Prime Ministers Jansa and Sanader could find some compromises. Turk did criticize the Government of Croatia for holding international law up as the "10 Commandments" rather than guidelines to fall back on in case the two parties are unable to reach a better agreement. Turk also did not hold out hope that the "bureaucratic minds" of Brussels would ever take this up as an EU problem. -------------- Future Ambitions -------------- ¶4. (C) Turk's name has been bandied about in political circles as a possible candidate first for Mayor of Ljubljana and more recently for President. When COM asked about his aspirations in this area, Turk said he never seriously considered running for mayor. After all, that job requires a person who can make tough decisions not "someone seeking compromise his whole life." Nevertheless, he did not rule out interest in other government positions. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Danilo Turk is a shining star among Slovenia's politicians and diplomats. His years in New York have peeled away the parochial mind set which many of his Slovenian contemporaries still retain. It is inconceivable that he would sit on the sidelines for long, and his natural next job would be as Foreign Minister. With current FM Rupel in no apparent rush to leave the scene, however, it is unlikely we will see this shift until after the Slovenian EU presidency ends in June 2008. ROBERTSON