Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg payed a three-day visit to Slovenia amidst ongoing debate about the situation of the Roma family which had been relocated under pressure of the majority population from their village to the disused army barracks in Postojna. Hammarberg met with several government representatives and also with the afflicted Strojan family.
Presenting his conclusions to the press on Thursday, 16 November Hammarberg said it was unacceptable that the family had to leave their home because of the demands of the majority population in the area. He announced the CoE would address a letter to the government pointing to the need to protect the human rights of all citizens. He stressed that the family had every right to return home, if it wished to do so. He pointed out that criminal acts by individuals within each community should be treated as police matters, investigated accordingly and followed up according to the law. "Collectives to which such individuals belong should not be blamed, because if this happens, innocent people will be targeted," he explained. He was also critical of the government criticising Human Rights Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek.
Meanwhile, the search for a new location for the family with government assistance continued, with the family on Monday, 13 November allegedly choosing a location near Malo Hudo in the municipality of Ivanca Gorica (the same municipality as their original home in Ambrus). With the locals of Malo Hudo immediately staging large scale protests, the fate of this location remained unclear. On Tuesday several civil rights groups staged a protest in Ljubljana, calling for respect for human rights and the resignation of Interior Minister Mate over his actions in relocation of the family.
On Friday, Zver said that the deadline until which the state was tasked to find a new location, will be pushed into the future. The decision was arrived at jointly with the Roma, Zver told the press. The new date was not set at the meeting with the Strojan family, in order to allow for seeking a "lasting" solution in peace, added Zver, also the president of the government commission for the protection of the Roma.
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