News about Slovenia
Ivo Skoric
ivo at reporters.net
Thu May 2 21:55:11 CEST 2002
Of all the emerging countries from former Yugoslavia, Slovenia is
the least heard off. Although, it is the economically strongest post-
communist country, with GDP per capita far outpacing that of
Hungary or Czech Republic, the two other contenders. It is also the
place where Bush and Putin met.
Slovenia is a small, mountainous country with a dozen of well
connected small cities, with impatient, young culture, tending to
get ahead of its times. So, in 1985 when everybody else in
Yugoslavia signed praises to the 'brotherhood and unity' of
Yugoslav peoples, they wanted out. And when everybody else went
to war, Slovenia was first to welcome integration of post-Yugoslav
societies. She wanted to become a part of Europe, when Milosevic
was sardonically calling her the stablemen of Austrians. And now
when the NATO wants Slovenia, and when the prime minister is
invited to White House - the streets in Ljubljana say NO TO NATO!
ivo
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - The White House announced on Tuesday that
U.S. President George W. Bush would meet on May 17 with Slovenian Prime
Minister Janez Drnovsek.
"Slovenia has supported efforts to combat terrorism and has contributed
significantly to bringing peace and stability to southeast Europe," White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
"The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss Slovenia's ongoing free
market, democratic transformation, and aspirations to join Euro-Atlantic
institutions," he added.
Slovenia is a front-runner for joining the European Union by 2004. Under
Drnovsek, it has accelerated economic deregulation and made NATO membership a
priority. Drnovsek has been head of government almost without interruption
since Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991.
04/30/02 16:06 ET
'Freedom in, NATO out': Slovene view of alliance sours ------------------
--------------------------------------------------- ---
LJUBLJANA (AP) -- It's been a Slovene political mantra for more
than a decade: the ultimate goal is to join NATO.
Now, just when membership seems like a sure thing, Slovenes are
no longer certain they want to tie their future to the alliance.
"Freedom in, NATO out!" says fresh graffiti in the capital Ljubljana.
Slovene news media have begun openly questioning the benefits of
NATO membership and anti-NATO activists are regularly being
given a say in public debates and television shows. For the first
time, support for NATO membership has dropped below 50 per
cent, said a government-financed survey last month. It's all
happening just six months before the former Yugoslav republic may
finally be invited to join the alliance at a November summit on
NATO expansion in Prague. Up to 10 Baltic and East European
countries are expected to join the alliance, which took in Hungary,
Poland and the Czech Republic in 1999. Slovene Foreign Minister
Dimitrij Rupel calls the sudden shift a "striking paradox." "We are
one of the top candidates for entry, yet we seem to have the least
public support for this goal," he said recently. Ever since gaining
independence in 1991, Slovenia's pro-western leadership has
worked hard to make the country of two million people, bordered by
Italy, Hungary and Croatia, a part of the European Union and
NATO. For Balkan and southern European countries, the EU and
NATO long have been seen as a ticket to wealth, success -- and
the West. Slovenia's first victory came with associate membership
in the EU in 1996; the first blow with NATO rejection a year later.
Since then, Slovenia has initiated a flurry of measures and
diplomatic efforts in hopes of making sure an invitation to join is a
sure thing in November. The last thing the government needed -- or
expected -- was to see public support erode. Rupel acknowledged
anti-NATO activists have created a "noise that's heard far away."
"NATO's member states and its leadership are now asking us
whether we really want to become a member," he said. Opponents
of NATO membership are not well-organized. There are some
students and professors and several prominent journalists and
sociologists. They haven't staged a single demonstration -- but
they're speaking up and the mainstream media have given them a
stage. But opponents of membership insist it's too expensive
because the government will have to spend money on weaponry
and military reorganization and they contend tiny Slovenia will
never be heard among the big NATO players. Others wonder:
what's the point? Slovenia enjoys peaceful relations with its
neighbours, they argue and not even NATO could thwart the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks.
Miso Alkalaj an anti-NATO activist, said the attacks on the United
States, a mighty NATO force, showed "there was no real defence
against terrorism, the No. 1 threat of today's world." In many ways,
Slovenia already belongs to the West. It has a vigorous economy
and a stable government. Support for the EU, which unlike NATO
promises concrete economic benefits, remains high. Even so, the
government has realized it must fight to ensure NATO membership
doesn't slip from its grasp. Rupel has publicly urged President
Milan Kucan to engage opponents. Government officials are
preaching the benefits of membership at every opportunity. The
NATO question dominates TV talk shows and a special phone line
has been set up to give Slovenes more information about the
alliance. "We haven't used all our ammunition yet," Rupel said.
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited.
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