Maribor, 05 April (STA) - The rising trend of intolerance in Slovenia is obvious, a panel of philosophers and human rights experts has found. According to them, intolerance is often hidden behind the masque of unwillingness to grant too many rights or too much equality to those who are different.
Among those who addressed the round-table debate on intolerance in Maribor on Tuesday was Human Rights Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek, who noted that it was impossible to say that intolerance increased strongly after the latest election and the change in power in Slovenia.
The new government is simply facing the mistakes it made in the past when it instigated intolerance as still in the opposition, Hanzek said. According to him, the incumbent Prime Minister Janez Jansa, when still an opposition leader, took part in rallies in which people expressed intolerance against the Roma.
According to Hanzek, political demagogues usually make sure that covert intolerance gradually becomes public and legitimate, moreover the object of intolerance is continuously changing.
"Jansa will have to eat what he cooked up," sociologist Andrej Fistravec said in response to what Hanzek said. He said that growing intolerance in a society could often be attributed to inadequate education system.
Fistravec believes Slovenia should follow the example of Finland, a country with a decentralised and de-regulated education system. The sociologist therefore called for increasing the autonomy and plurality of Slovenia's school system.
Philosopher Nenad Miscevic agreed with the claim about growing intolerance in Slovenia. "The situation in Slovenia is unfortunately increasingly like the situation in Croatia, the probable reason being that both countries face increasingly similar problems, in particular in the social domain."
Human rights activist Lana Zdravkovic meanwhile noted that "as a Serb I have never felt threatened in Slovenia. I also cannot claim that there is more intolerance in Slovenia than in other European countries."
The well-attended round-table debate at the Maribor Synagogue was moderated by philosopher Boris Vezjak, who quoted examples of intolerance among right-leaning academics. He said that writer Drago Jancar and philosopher Tine Hribar failed to recognise xenophobia towards the erased as intolerance.
On the occasion, Ombudsman Hanzek opened an exhibition on intolerance at the Maribor Synagogue. The show, entitled "The Snake of Intolerance", has already been mounted in Ljubljana and highlights the period since Slovenia's independence. It will be open in Maribor until 23 April.
