Today Civil Society Organization SLOGA presented a report on the iliberal democratic trends in Europe, describing political attacks on fundamental human rights in Latvia, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. SLOGA’s platform director Albin Keuc commented for the STA we should not wait for the normal public discourse to be disabled in Slovenia.

The report concludes Slovenia and Latvia are countries where early warning signs can be detected on transforming the liberal into an iliberal democracy. Keuc highlighted political, media and economic attacks on non-governmental organizations in the case of Magna Steyr, where the political power did nothing to protect NGOs, but to futher exposed them. “These organizations, in turn, bring advocacy for nature or a healthy living environment, which is a constitutional category in Slovenia,” Keuc warned.

The report refers only to last year’s period, but Keuc also noted this year’s example of a response to an artist who received the Prešeren Prize. He stressed, in some cases, political attacks “are falling to the level of ridicule, shame and intimidation.”

The purpose of the report is actually to draw attention to these trends “and that we will not wait to get things up to the point where normal public discourse will not be able,” Keuc said. Several such phenomena are to be be expected in the future if citizens would not become attentive and proactive.

Awareness and education about human rights, the importance of non-governmental organizations, the importance of active citizenship are not enough but additional measures are needed if we want to live in a decent society in the future, Keuc added.

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