Slovene President Refuses Neighbour Reconciliation

Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk does not want reconciliation with neighbours over events from the past.

Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk decisively opposes the option of a meeting of three presidents (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia) in Trieste, where reconciliation gestures would be expressed concerning past events, Ljubljana-based Delo daily writes.

- President Danilo Tuerk believes such a meeting at the present moment is not necessary or that all conditions have been met for it. The president assessed that, politically speaking, a high level of reconciliation already exists. Slovenia and Italy are members of the European Union, which represents the largest and the most successful reconciliation project in the history of Europe, while there isn`t a historical heritage between Slovenia and Croatia which would require additional reconciliation gestures from statesmen – the leading Slovene paper quoted Tuerk`s cabinet.

Reminding of his talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in Ljubljana, dating back a year, Tuerk said it was then concluded that the reconciliation issue had an “ethical dimension”.

- This dimension requires that Italy faces the crimes of fascism more clearly, which is the oldest form of totalitarianism in this part of Europe and a source of many types of evil. A large part of the Slovene people, just as many Italians, suffered for over two decades under the fascist dictatorship and was subject to various types of repression – Slovene president said.