SLOVENIA: ACTIVISTS FOCUS ATTENTION ON "ERASED" IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LJUBLJANA 000126

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/NCE FOR SSADLE, DRL FOR MDAVIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: ACTIVISTS FOCUS ATTENTION ON "ERASED" IN
RUN UP TO SLOVENIA'S EU PRESIDENCY

REF: A. 2006 LJUBLJANA 192


B. 2004 LJUBLJANA 276

Classified By: COM for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. SUMMARY. (U) The story of several thousand Slovenian
residents whose records were erased by state officials
fifteen years ago -- leaving them in administrative limbo --
hurtled back into the spotlight again this month as human
rights organizations and members of the "erased" community
launched a public affairs offensive asking the European Union
to press the Government of Slovenia to bring a conclusion to
the problem. International and domestic human rights
observers agree that the issue should not drag on any longer.
But political pressure, including a heated debate on
"erased" persons' loyalty to Slovenia, and financial factors
related to potential compensation make a final resolution of
the "erased" problem difficult. While the outlook for a
compromise solution seems bleak, the increasing pressure the
GoS is feeling to move forward, especially given its EU
Presidency in 2008, make now a particularly good time to
permanently resolve the status of the "erased." END SUMMARY.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Peculiar Story of Slovenia's "Erased"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


2. (U) The "erased" are part of a larger group of
approximately 200,000 Yugoslav citizens who were permanently
residing in Slovenia when Slovenian officials declared
independence on December 23, 1990. According to Slovenia's
Act on Citizenship, these residents had six months to apply
for citizenship or risk losing their legal status.
Approximately 170,000 people obtained citizenship on the
basis of the Act, and of the remaining 30,000, approximately
11,000 left Slovenia. The final 18,305 persons who stayed in
Slovenia but did not file a petition for citizenship -- for
reasons ranging from being unaware of the requirement, to
confusion about the permanency of the new Slovenian state, to
opposition to independent Slovenian statehood -- had their
records removed from the register of permanent residents on
February 26, 1992.


3. (U) The Act on Citizenship and a follow up law on the
"erased" that offered an additional chance for "erased"
people to apply for permanent residency were both declared
unconstitutional by Constitutional Court rulings (in 1999 and
2003 respectively). The Constitutional Court decided that
several articles were unconstitutional because the law did
not recognize the "erased" persons' permanent residence from
the initial date when they were removed from the register and
required "erased" persons to prove their residence in
Slovenia after their removal from the register (without
specifying how this would be done). The later ruling,
however, granted some of the "erased" -- those who had filed
petitions according to the laws -- residency rights. Other
"erased" individuals resolved their legal status in the
intervening years themselves through marriage, obtaining
student or work visas, or other methods.


4. (U) An effort by the center-left government to pass a
constitutional law in 2004 was foiled by an opposition-led
referendum. The center-left government's coalition parties
opposed the referendum, and key political figures advocated
non-participation. Only 31% of eligible voters participated
in the referendum, though those who did vote (mostly
center-right party loyalists) overwhelmingly rejected the law
because of concerns about "erased" persons' loyalty to
Slovenia, the fact that the law would not adjudicate the
status of "erased" persons on a case-by-case basis, and that
it would not limit the government's responsibility for
compensation claims.


5. (U) In early 2006, the current center-right government
announced its intention to settle the issue of the "erased"
through another constitutional law. The proposed law, which
needs the approval of 2/3 of parliament to be enacted, would
settle the status of "erased" people who have not yet
obtained legal residency on a case-by-case basis and would
limit compensation claims that could be filed by those
"erased" who were denied benefits including unemployment,
social security, medical insurance since their legal status
came into question in 1992. The Act has not been forwarded
to parliament on the grounds that there is not yet enough
support to hit the 2/3 threshold. For a detailed history of
the "erased" see reftel A.


6. (U) Currently, international and local human rights groups
estimate that there are 4,000 to 6,000 "erased" persons who
have not yet obtained citizenship or permanent residence

LJUBLJANA 00000126 002 OF 004


permits, and many more formerly "erased" who have regained
citizenship or permanent residency but are still hoping to
regain access to the social benefits they lost in the years
between their erasure from the public register and the
legalization of their status. No law exists that
conclusively regulates the status of the "erased" despite the
Constitutional Court rulings demanding one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ombudsman, Media, EU, Human Rights Groups Shine Spotlight on
the "Erased"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


7. (C) After flying under the radar for several years, the
issue of the "erased" is again at the forefront with the
Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman, international human rights
NGOs, international media, and EU bodies. Within Slovenia,
outgoing Human Rights Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek (his term ended
February 21) has been one of the most prominent advocates for
the "erased," and he criticized the GoS for its continued
lack of action on the issue during farewell interviews with
the media last week. In a meeting with PolOff January 8,
Hanzek was even more critical, saying that he was "very
afraid" of government comments regarding the problem of the
"erased" that seem to imply that the issue has been largely
resolved. Hanzek was pessimistic about a solution being put
forward anytime soon. United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR),Amnesty International (AI),and other NGO
organizations released press notices this week urging the GoS
to resolve the problem of the "erased." AI sent letters to
the European Commission, the European Council Presidency, and
the European Parliament asking the EU to ensure that Slovenia
remedies the situation in 2007, saying it would be "highly
embarrassing" if the problems had not been addressed by the
time Slovenia holds the EU Presidency in the first half of

2008. But, the negative message is already getting out.
American political magazine "Mother Jones" covered the story
of the "erased" in the January issue in a scathing story
called "Slovenia's Vanishing Act."


8. (C) European institutions have, to varying degrees, begun
to increase their involvement and weigh in on the issue.
Recent efforts to take the issue beyond the national level
began with a lawsuit filed on behalf of members of the
"erased" community with the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg in July 2006. Then, in November 2006
representatives of the "erased" group traveled to Brussels to
gain publicity for their cause. In Brussels, the Confederal
Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)
urged the GoS to bring about a solution to the problem and
two Italian Members of the European Parliament made an
inquiry to the European Commission about the issue. On
February 6, the European Commission said that it was not
competent to hear the issue, with EU Justice, Freedom, and
Security Commissioner Franco Frattini saying that the issue
was a national matter. However, the European Commission
Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) mentioned the "erased"
in its third report on Slovenia, published February 14 which
called for the government to implement a solution in line
with previous Constitutional Court decisions "without delay."
On February 26, the European Parliament's Committee for
Petitions followed with an inquiry to the GoS about its
efforts to resolve the problem of the "erased." EU pressure
is coming locally as well. An EU diplomat told EmbOff
recently that several EU missions in Ljubljana were working
on a demarche to urge the GoS to take action on several
long-standing high profile human rights problems, including
finding a permanent solution for the "erased," saying that
action was essential before Slovenia's EU Presidency in 2008.


9. (U) Activists in Slovenia are working to highlight the
cause of the "erased" through a variety of projects. In
early January, Slovenian NGO Peace Institute announced its
intention to open an Office of Erased Permanent Residents of
Slovenia to assist members of the "erased" in gaining
citizenship. The office, which includes several employees
and has the services of several Slovenian and Italian
attorneys, will work to collect documentation on the "erased"
community to use in efforts to legally resolve citizenship
questions. It is opening with funding from the Soros
Foundation, which donated 50% of operating costs for the next
three years. From February 26 to March 7, local human rights
organizations have planned a variety of events under the
theme "The Week of the Erased" including a series of plays,
films, photo exhibits, concerts, and an academic roundtable
to highlight the fifteenth anniversary of the government's
decision to remove the "erased" from government records.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Potential for Resolution Mired in Politics

LJUBLJANA 00000126 003 OF 004


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


10. (SBU) GoS officials, including Prime Minister Janez
Jansa, Interior Minister Dragutin Mate, and Ministry of
Interior State Secretary Zvonko Zinrajh, made statements over
the past few weeks repeating the GoS position that the only
way forward is with a constitutional law and a solution that
adjudicates the "erased" problem on a case-by-case basis.
However, it is highly unlikely the law will pass in its
current form given the opposition of leaders from the chief
government opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDS).
Opposition leaders disagree with the content of the current
government's proposed act (particularly the case-by-case
adjudication concept),and are still smarting from the
political defeat they suffered (at the hands of
then-opposition parties, now government coalition parties)
regarding their government's "erased" bill in 2004 (reftel
B). Critics maintain that the government's insistence on a
constitutional law is an effort to manipulate the political
process, ignore the Constitutional Court rulings, and avoid a
final resolution of the problem. The ECRI report notes that
"(the government's) decision (to seek a constitutional law)
has been widely criticized both within the Parliament and in
civil society for effectively and deliberately leading to
non-implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision."
Former Ombudsman Hanzek said "the government refuses to
realize that a constitutional law is not a solution."


11. (SBU) Not surprisingly given the context, the tone of
debate on a resolution for the "erased" has taken a turn for
the worse. The ECRI states in its report that it is "deeply
concerned about the tone prevailing in Slovenian public and
political debate" continuing that the "erased" have "fallen
hostage to political considerations, including the
exploitation of their situation as a vote gainer, and that
the debate...has steadily moved away from human rights
considerations." Examples of this include allegations from
Member of Parliament Branko Grims, from leading coalition
member Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS),that opposition to
the coalition's constitutional law is a result of the
opposition parties' nervousness about an open discussion of
the facts and allegiances of people during the time of
Slovenian independence. His comments echo previous
allegations from center-right politicians that the "erased"
must be evaluated one-by-one to ensure that no one who
opposed the independence of Slovenia (or acted directly to
thwart the independence movement) be granted citizenship,
residency, or benefits. An editorial in regional daily
"Primorske Novice" exemplifies the negative tone in public
discourse, calling the "erased" people "write offs" who
"rejected the new state," "actually erased themselves," and
are simply people seeking out compensation. The daily fuels
the fire by claiming that the "new citizens" from the "erased
group" will "include former commanders of the Yugoslav army
who fought against Slovenian forces and now live on Slovenian
state pensions." National daily "Dnevnik" covers the issue
more evenly, and in an editorial bemoans the fact that
"racism and xenophobia against the "erased" has been
encouraged by generalization and misguided interpretations as
to their loyalty to Slovenia, as well as the economic impact
on the country from compensation payments."

- - - -
Comment
- - - -


12. (C) COMMENT. Back in the news because of the fifteenth
anniversary of their erasure, the "erased" remain a human
rights albatross around Slovenia's neck and a continuing
source of negative attention. The issue is complex and there
are legitimate reasons for questioning the motivations of
individuals who failed to regulate their status after several
opportunities. However, international and domestic human
rights organizations estimate that Slovenia continues to have
approximately 4,000 to 6,000 residents from the "erased"
community without any legal standing, and argue that the
issue must not drag on further. Those groups, along with
international media, are working to publicize the stories of
individual members of the "erased" who suffer great hardship
as a result of the situation. Like several other nagging
problems that the GoS faces (Roma integration, court
backlogs, property denationalization, etc.),political and
financial factors make a final resolution of the "erased"
problem difficult. With coalition and opposition parties in
a deadlock about the proposed constitutional law, the outlook
for a comprise solution seems bleak at the current time.
However the increasing pressure the GoS is feeling to move
forward, especially given its EU Presidency in 2008, make now
a particularly good time to permanently resolve the status of
the "erased." Whether the government will be able to find

LJUBLJANA 00000126 004 OF 004


the political will to do this by the end of 2007 remains to
be seen. END COMMENT.
ROBERTSON