The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Janez Janša, who today attended the central state ceremony at Begunje na Gorenjskem to mark Slovenia’s Day of Uprising against Occupation, took the opportunity to comment on the previous day’s developments on the Slovenian-Croatian border along the Dragonja River.

 

(Photo: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000)

 

Prime Minister Janez Janša said that a provisional border regime applied along the Dragonja River, enabling local residents to lead a fairly normal life, since it had not so far been possible to reach an international legal agreement defining the Slovenian-Croatian border precisely. He added that it did not make sense to attempt to change the provisional regime by force while negotiations were still ongoing. “The people demanding intervention by the Slovenian police must realise that they are calling for the use of force. This is unacceptable, especially as there is a real possibility that matters can be solved in a peaceful manner,” stressed the Slovenian Premier.

 

The PM commented that, the day before, the Slovenian police had acted in a proper and correct manner, as it had done in all similar cases in the last 15 years. He underlined, in this regard, that the current Director of the Slovenian Police, Mr Jože Romšek, and the Minister of the Interior, Mr Dragutin Mate, had not created this situation but had inherited it.

 

Prime Minister Janez Janša took the opportunity to observe that the barriers created by heavy stone flower pots were not the cause of the problem but a consequence of it. He considered that the joint commission currently endeavouring to find a consensus solution acceptable to both the Slovenian and the Croatian side should be given the chance to resolve the issue, without matters being aggravated.