Ljubljana, 29 April (STA) - Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek has condemned the recent desecration of a WWII memorial near Nova Gorica, but urged politicians and the public to "refrain from intolerance and xenophobia when such incidents occur, condemn them and refuse to accept them as something normal".

Hanzek said in Friday's press release that he has been warning about the spread of hate speech in Slovenia and abroad, which is being "accepted too easily instead of us condemning each such act, regardless of who it is directed against".

He says politicians in particular should do that. "But unfortunately, politicians have been all too dismissive of such unacceptable actions in the past," the Ombudsman pointed out.
Unknown perpetrators desecrated the WWII memorial Trnovo near Nova Gorica on the eve of Resistance Day. They sprayed the monument with Nazi and Fascist slogans and insignia, which provoked wide-spread condemnation in Slovenia.