Varuh ДЌlovekovih pravic

Varuh

ČP

Ombudsman: Joras Issue Should Be Solved Politically

Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik said on Tuesday that the case of Josko Joras, a Slovenian citizen on hunger strike over a disputed stretch of the border between Slovenia and Croatia, needs to be solved with political means. She announced that she would discuss Joras's case with her Croatian counterpart.

Cebasek Travnik explained that while, as ombudsman, she cannot take a stand on border issues, she is in a position to "demand that state bodies adopt measures to enable Joras and his family to live normally".

"This problem can be solved not by judicial, but by political, means," Cebasek Travnik said on the thirteenth day of Joras' hunger strike. The stand-off ensued after Croatian police prevented Joras from removing flower pots that blocked access to his home in a disputed stretch of the border. The action came despite a local Slovenian court's order that he be allowed to do so.

"A friendly conversation is pretty much all that can be expected" from the announced talks with the Croatian ombudsman, since no official agreement exists for the talks, Cebasek Travnik said. She said she would ask her counterpart to use his legal powers to push for an appropriate agreement between the two countries.

Natisni: