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๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia /Elections & Politics

Renaming Prekmurje and Primorska Holidays Sparks Outrage

From Delo · () Slovenian

Translated from Slovenian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Slovenia's governing coalition proposed renaming the Aug. 17 holiday for Prekmurje and the Sept. 15 holiday for Primorska.
  • The proposed changes would remove the word "annexation" from both names, replacing it with language referring to the union of Prekmurje Slovenes and the return of Primorska to the homeland.
  • Veterans' groups and six opposition lawmakers called the process improper, saying it bypassed legal warnings, parliamentary rules and public debate.

A parliamentary amendment to rename Slovenia's Prekmurje and Primorska holidays has triggered anger from veterans' groups and opposition lawmakers, who say the changes were pushed through without proper debate.

The amendment was introduced during a parliamentary committee's second reading of a bill that would designate Aug. 7 as Triglav Day. Instead, the session became dominated by the proposed changes to the names of the two regional holidays. The coalition wants to remove "the annexation of Prekmurje" from the Aug. 17 holiday's name and replace "annexation" with "return" in the name of the Sept. 15 Primorska holiday.

The two areas are not a bowling ball for the far right.

· Association of Societies of Combatants for the Values of the National Liberation Struggle and six opposition lawmakersThe signatories rejected what they described as the political handling of Prekmurje and Primorska's identities.

Under the proposed wording, Slovenia would mark Aug. 17 as the holiday of the union of Prekmurje Slovenes with the Slovenian nation and Sept. 15 as the holiday of the return of Primorska to the homeland. NSi lawmaker Iva Dimic said the names would return to the forms used when parliament established the holidays in 2005, during Janez Janลกa's first government.

Despite warnings from the parliamentary legal service, despite the rules of procedure and without any public debate.

· Association of Societies of Combatants for the Values of the National Liberation Struggle and six opposition lawmakersThe signatories criticized the procedure used to introduce the holiday-name amendment.

The Association of Societies of Combatants for the Values of the National Liberation Struggle and six opposition lawmakers described the proceedings as deeply disappointing and outrageous. They said the amendment was introduced "despite warnings from the parliamentary legal service, despite the rules of procedure and without any public debate." The legal service representative reportedly agreed that the amendment was inadmissible because the bill contained no additional provisions concerning Prekmurje or Primorska.

The signatories said the sensitive identity issue had been smuggled into an amendment to an unrelated law. They said they did not challenge the majority's right to decide, but objected to the way the bill had been introduced and handled. They also criticized the fact that lawmakers from Prekmurje and Primorska were ignored despite raising objections, writing, "Ljubljana decides about our memory and our love for the region. They do not ask us what or how, even though they emphasize that in every sentence."

Ljubljana decides about our memory and our love for the region. They do not ask us what or how, even though they emphasize that in every sentence.

· The statement's signatoriesThe statement criticized central authorities for excluding regional lawmakers and communities from decisions about the holidays.
About this summary

Originally published by Delo in Slovenian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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