Slovenia: Forced Evictions
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Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 20:06:49 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Slovenia: Forced Evictions
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Panayote Elias Dimitras <[email protected]>
Slovenia: Forced Evictions
21.1.1999
STATEMENT NUMBER 4
Monitoring development of state of law in Slovenia, Helsinki Monitor
of Slovenia has been engaged especially in protection of human rights
of those, whose human rights have been violated by war and
disintegration of former Yugoslavia.
Helsinki Monitor has been opposing attempts of forced evictions of
families of former officers and employees of the Yugoslav Peoples Army
(JLA), executed by the judicial branch of authority on the demand of
the executive branch of authority , the Ministry of Defense of the
Republic of Slovenia.
The authorities in Slovenia intend to free 1200 flats from its
inhabitants by such procedures. It is not publicly known, how many
families have already been forcibly evicted by the Slovenian
authorities from flats of federal army fund of former Yugoslavia by
the help of illegitimate court decisions, how many have been evicted
by threats, by annonymous telephone calls and other psychological
presures, practiced in the past by secret police.
All these events remind of similar procedures of confiscations of
flats and persecution of national minorities in other states
successors of former Yugoslavia, especially in Croatia and Bosnia
Herzegovina.
Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia is in permanent contact with other NGOs
on the territory of former Yugoslavia, especially with the network of
national Helsinki committees, and asked for assistance from their rich
experience.
In the context of such activity Helsinki Monitor has tried several
times since 1994 to prevent forced evictions of citizens. This time we
would like to draw attention to illegal forced eviction of the family
Koren in Ljubljana on Jan.8, 1999. Mr. Milan Koren, an ethnic Slovene,
father of two daughters, married to a Bosnian, was an aircraft
technician in the Yugoslav army. He retired early in 1990 because of
85% disability caused by a car accident. In 1992 he was in hospital
on one of his 15 operations and his family visited him. In the mean
time an armed soldier of Bosnian army broke into their flat and took
the flat by force with everything in it. The flat was given to Koren
from the federal fund of flats into which he and his wife were paying
instalments of 6-7% of their monthly income, in total 35.000 DEM. As
early as 1990 Milan Koren applied to be transferred from Tuzla to
Ljubljana. After seisure of his flat in Bosnia, Milan Koren returned
to Slovenia and applied to Ministry of Defense for a flat in Ljubljana
from the same federal fund. He has never received an answer from the
ministry, so his family moved to his brother's house from where the
brother threw them out. Then Milan Koren moved to one of 1000 military
flats which are kept empty for 8 years by the Ministry of Defense.
Helsinki monitor does not want to excuse arbitrary settlement of Koren
in an empty flat of former Yugoslav Army, but we demand from
authorities legal functioning as a prerequisite for legal behaviour of
citizens. We do support the family Koren and Milan Koren, who is now a
displaced person from his own birth country Slovenia, discriminated on
the basis of his profession as a former officer of JLA. We support
their tenants right to an adequate flat from the former military fund
in Slovenia, to which they payed 35.000 DEM. The Ministry of Defense
does not want to accept their succession obligations towards the
citizen Koren. Contributions of citizens in the army fund of flats
oblige the ministry to respect tenants rights which they are now
trying first to confiscate and then to arbitrarily privatize. Their
reasoning is, quoting Ministry of Defense: "Koren did not change over
from JLA to territorial defense (within the deadline of tree days in
10 days of armed conflict in Slovenia - author note) in June 1991."
How could Koren change over from operation room with 15 operations on
his leg, to territorial defense, has not been explained by the
Ministry of Defense.
A question arises, firstly, how is it possible that the state organs
of the Republic of Slovenia removed all journalists by police, while
it is their legal right to inform citizens about everything happening
in Slovenia?
Secondly, do the authorities in Slovenia respect international
conventions and charters, which they ratified themselves and which
allow non-governmental organisations for human rights to monitor all
levels of authority, especially the judicial and the police.
Thirdly, how is it possible that the judicial organs obstruct
monitoring of their work by Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia as an
international non-governmental organisation, and give orders to the
police to remove their representatives from their own press conference
organised for protection of human rights of individual?
Fourthly, are the authorities of the Republic of Slovenia aware of the
fact, that with such action, three weeks before signing act of
associate membership in the EU, they have illegally evicted not only
the Koren family, but also civil society, the representatives of which
are the media and the NGO Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia? All this was
happening before the eyes of the public, as it was broadcast by POP TV
and described in daily newspapers.
Fifthly, how is it possible, that the undersigned proxy given power of
attorney of Milan Koren has been thrown out of the flat by the police
who took such orders from the court executor? In the mean time Koren
was lying unconscious on the floor, and was later illegally handcuffed
upon order of court executor. How is it possible that the court
executor orders denouncement to court of minor offence of illegally
removed Koren's proxy?
Sixthly, how is it possible that forced eviction is executed in a
state of law - despite the fact that the dealdline period for appeal
is open, while the court decree with open appeal period has not yet
reached the attorney?
Seventhly, in which state of law is it possible that the court
executor writes a note about the entire procedure on two pieces of
paper without a memorandum, stamp and signature, while this should be
an official document of a state (enclosure A, note of court executor).
How is it possible that the court executor does not write minutes of
personal possessions, inventory of the Koren family, transported from
the flat, and that he forgets two boxes of personal possessions and a
refrigirator of the Koren family in the corridor, while he decides
that other personal possessions and furniture are to be taken to a
military and not court warehouse, where it is raining from a broken
roof?
Finally we ask, how is it possible that the Ministry of Defense of the
Republic of Slovenia in opposition to the constitution, deals with
internal, civil affairs, with organizing and executing forced
evictions, instead of dealing with matters of defense of a state - all
this with serious intents of joining NATO?
It is within the authority of the court to organize transport and
manpower for forced evictions, and not that this job is done by the
Ministry of Defense - speaking on the principle level, only about the
executive procedure - it lies within the authority of the court. It
should have been performed by the court without the presence of the
opposide side. Forced evictions of citizens for the illegal benefits
of the Ministry of Defense, have been performed in the presence of
representatives of the Ministry of Defense, who arrived to the spot in
black official vehicles.
Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia will prepare a report on forced evictions
in Slovenia as a new attempt of nationalisation of flats of citizens
in a presumably democratic state - all this is happening during the
process of denationalisation of war confiscations from 1945.
We hope that the Slovene public will exhibit more sensibility and
support for protection of rights of the individual, as this is the
only way by which Slovenia may join the international community. In
this proces some important media stood against state evictions and
interceded on behalf of rights of individuals, while the media under
state control, like the national TV and the second Janus' face of the
state daily Delo, the Slovenske novice, instigate the public to
approve public lynch and further forced evictions of several hundreds
of families on the basis of discrimination according to ethnic origin
and professional membership in former Yugoslav Army.
PRESIDENT
Neva Miklavcic Predan
Enclosed:
A. Report of court executor
B. Bill for forced eviction addressed to the Ministry of Defense who
placed an order - as a proof of involvement of the ministry in the
job of the executive court
For information:
- President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Milan Kucan
- President of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia
- Ministry of Defense of RS
- Ministry of Justice of RS
- Various domestic and foreign institutions
- IHF and national Helsinki Committees
- Council of Europe
- European Union
- United nations, Commission for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- NATO
- embassies
For publishing:
- domestic and foreign media
_______________________________________
Greek Helsinki Monitor &
Minority Rights Group - Greece
P.O. Box 51393
GR-14510 Kifisia
Greece
Tel. +30-1-620.01.20
Fax +30-1-807.57.67
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
_______________________________________
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