In the News: in Slovenia, the wind of revolt increases against the government of Janez Janša

Bicycle demonstration in the streets of Ljubljana, May 29, 2020. AFP / Jure Makovec

Text by: Courrier des Balkans Follow | Florentin Cassonnet

A press review presented in partnership with Le Courrier des Balkans.

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Every Friday, thousands of Slovenians cycle by bike through the streets of Ljubljana. They denounce the authoritarian drift of the ultra-conservative government of Janez Janša who, since his return to power on March 13, has followed the model of his Hungarian ally Viktor Orbán . But the protesters' demands are not limited to this and spills over to more global issues. Friday, May 29, they protested threats to the environment. It is the revolt of "  media murderers  ", "  environmental extremists  " and "  useless sloths  ", as they are qualified on social networks.

Also in Kosovo there is a demonstration in front of the Parliament: "  Thieves in prison!  ","  We want elections  ","  Albin Kurti, wherever you are, Kosovo is with you  ". They denounce the “  theft  ” of democracy represented by the enthronement of the new Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti (LDK) and his government coalition LDK-NISMA-AAK-Srpska lista, and the exclusion of the party winning the last general election, Vëtevendosje. The objective of the new government: to erase all the decisions of the Kurti government, such as the new " reciprocity  " measures  on goods imported from Serbia. But above all resume the "  dialogue  " with Belgrade, and this in coordination with President Hashim Thaçi (PDK). Former Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not want Hashim Thaçi to conduct these negotiations, accusing him of precipitating an agreement with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić, under the aegis of Washington and the American special envoy Richard Grenell, agreement which could include an exchange of territories. It is believed by many to be one of the main reasons that led to the downfall of the Kurti government.

Avdullah Hoti assured that he excluded any option of territorial exchange. But how can we not suspect that, behind public declarations that are reassuring, other speeches are being held in the politico-diplomatic backyard? Jeta Xharra's investigation for Prishtina Insight only confirms these suspicions: in 2019, the French communication agency Majorelle PR & Events received 168,000 euros to promote the idea of ​​a territorial exchange as a solution for an “  agreement final  ”between Kosovo and Serbia. The money was said to have been paid by the Kosovar Ministry of European Integration, which was at the time under the control of the PDK, the party of President Hashim Thaçi.

In Serbia, the news is not fixed on the "  dialogue  " with Kosovo but on the elections of June 21. And with his party, the SNS, Aleksandar Vučić is inventing cyber-populism . Serbian President conducts election campaign on Zoom and celebrates sacred electronic union. This “  advent of the people online  ” could well be a dystopian window on our political future where the boss-client relationships are reinforced by new technologies. The "people" has finally completely moved into the sphere of representation and simulation, an easily orientable cyber people who are always more faithful to the instructions of power.

100 years

June 4, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Trianon Treaty , which redrawn the borders of Europe at the end of the First World War. The dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire resulted in 3.3 million Hungarians coming under foreign domination, a trauma for Hungary. Detached from the "  motherland  ", the Magyars of Vojvodina have lost the privileged position they occupied until then. Even if their rights were recognized, they struggled to be heard in the new Yugoslav state. In 100 years, however, their bitterness seems to have diminished, in particular thanks to the European citizenship which they have been able to benefit from as a Hungarian diaspora.

On the Romanian side, the Sicilian country remains a bone of contention between Romania and Hungary . The Magyarophones of Romania find themselves caught between Romanian nationalism, recently endorsed by President Klaus Iohannis, and Hungarian nationalism cultivated by Viktor Orbán. Diplomatic quarrels are regular. The last date of April 2020 and was triggered by a bill on the autonomy of Sicilians, discussed in the Romanian Parliament before being finally rejected.

He had never set foot in Bulgaria since his flight in 1956 and he refused to speak Bulgarian in public. Christo maintained complex relations with his native country, some reproached him for his lack of "  patriotism  ", not accepting that the child prodigy, become international artist and citizen of the world, never wanted to retrace his steps or complete the loop. He ended his life on June 1 in New York, his adopted land. However, some Bulgarian workers working on the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, his artistic binomial, remember that Bulgaria had not been entirely erased from its womb: some said that the artist was completely comfortable with them and always spoke to them with a smile and ... in Bulgarian.

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