The row about the resettlement of Roma

At the end of October, the Slovenian government resettled a family of 35 Roma after residents of the east Slovenian town of Amrus attempted to storm the Roma settlement on the outskirts of the town. Slovenia's Human Rights Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek not only informed the EU about the incident but publicly denounced the Slovenian government. "There are different approaches to the task of being Human Rights Ombudsman," Ranka Ivelja writes, and goes on to criticise Hanzek's offensive tactics. "You can either adopt a diplomatic, carefully engineered approach without making a big 'fuss' in the media but with maximum effect or appear on all the talk shows criticising the government without any consideration for the reactions of politicians and therefore risking having all the doors slam shut on you." Ivelja concludes that Hanzek has done his cause a disservice. "He could have been what an ombudsman is supposed to be – the voice of those who have no social power."

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Ranka Ivelja

» To the complete press review of Thursday, November 23, 2006