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COMMUNICATION
FOR THE PUBLIC
The Slovenian Association of Former Owners of Expropriated Property (ZLRP) was established already in 1990, it devotedly participated in drawing up the DENA, but with the adoption of the DENA the real fight for the restitution of property only properly started. Continuous attempts to devaluate and modify the DENA, the non-implementation of the Act, the discriminatory attitude in restituting the property, the exceeding of all reasonable time limits in the Act's implementation, and the lack of political will to implement the valid legislation, were and still remain among the worst obstacles in the restitution of property, therefore the ZLRP in its efforts for a just restitution of property is constantly fighting against the elements of an unlawful state. Despite the above stated, it can be said that so far the unequal fight of Slovene expropriated persons has been triumphant. We successfully defended the DENA, approximately one half of the property has been restituted, and in the democratic world we received strong support for our just requests. To our firm conviction, the approaching integration into the EU and NATO will eliminate even the last dilemmas regarding the rule of law in the Republic of Slovenia and simultaneously wash away the remnants of the communist authority and mode of thinking. For all these great achievements of the ZLRP, which is a strong organization of civil society, its leaders shall predominantly thank to its loyal and obstinate members. Namely, only with their contributions the Association has been able to preserve its activities, since until now it has received not even a Slovene tolar of help neither from domestic nor from international forums. We must also express our thanks to all people of unshakable moral principles in the Republic of Slovenia who together with the expropriated persons fought for the just restitution of property. Unfortunately, most often they were not in the position to be able to substantially contribute to the implementation of the valid legislation with the statesmanlike support. Special thanks, of course, go to all those individuals and institutions of the democratic world in Europe and America who persist in the just restitution of property as one of the political criteria for the integration of the Republic of Slovenia into the EU and NATO. ****************** Ten years after the enforcement of the DENA, Slovene expropriated property owners righteously expect the fulfilment in the shortest possible time of the basic requirements related to the restitution of nationalized property and protection of human rights and basic freedoms in the Republic of Slovenia: 1. The most important is the imminent final implementation of the Denationalization Act in spirit of a legal state, of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, of the UN Declaration on Human Rights and Basic Liberties, of European democratic norms and applicable interstate agreements. 2. In the name of Slovene expropriated owners, the ZLRP requests from the Republic of Slovenia to keep clear distance from the inhuman expropriation of its own citizens in the post-war period. Here it particularly draws attention to the decisions of the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council No. 1096, 27th June 1996, about the measures for the elimination of negative consequences of former communist totalitarian regimes (the 23rd session), which was also signed by our country. The Republic of Slovenia shall therefore declaratively condemn and regret the general, unlawful and brutal expropriation of inhabitants after the World War 2, and apologize to all affected persons for the caused misfortune. When doing so, it shall unambiguously present to the present-day inhabitants, particularly the school-age youth, the real intention and volume of expropriation as well as all barbaric methods used by the then communist authority so that in the period from 1945 to 1958 it was able to accumulate the entire outstanding property of its citizens without any differences. The Republic of Slovenia shall stop apologizing, minimizing and keeping secret the post-war raging of the state over the owners and property, and thereby creating the negative public opinion regarding the restitution of property. 3. The Republic of Slovenia shall stop feverishly defending the "acquired rights" from the totalitarian period which were the reward for faithful serving to the communist regime and today present a permanent bribe for the left-hand oriented electoral body. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Republic of Slovenia is a legal and social state and not a state of old and new privileges and privileged persons on the account of tax payers only in order to assure the power to former and present rulers. The Republic of Slovenia shall admit that the first foundation for the "acquired rights" and state privileges was laid exactly by the "lost rights" of Slovene expropriated persons, i.e. by the property robbed during the post-war period of the Slovenia's own inhabitants. 4. The Republic of Slovenia shall refine and Europeanize its ideologically burdened practice and legislation regarding the inviolability of personal property and its use, which are still not harmonized neither with the European standards nor with the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. Therefore, the Republic of Slovenia shall immediately level all the rights regarding the restituted property in the denationalization process with the rights of all other owners in the Republic of Slovenia to free use of property and taking joy in its fruits. 5. In front of domestic public and international forums the Republic of Slovenia shall clearly commit itself to the accelerated, just and non-discriminatory restitution of property without recourse to artificial obstacles and unconstitutional solutions which are continuously being practised in all branches of government to the detriment of expropriated persons. 6. The Republic of Slovenia shall acknowledge the Yugoslav citizenship as a precondition for the restitution of property pursuant to the DENA to all holders of this citizenship as at the day of the enforcement, regardless the provisions of the discriminatory revolutionary legislation about citizenship which was tailored to the needs of the totalitarian authority. At the same time, the Republic of Slovenia shall publish the official data on the volume and course of expatriation as well as on the methods of determining the so-called "persons of German nationality" in the period from 1945 to 1946 in the Republic of Slovenia. 7. The Republic of Slovenia shall find out how many Yugoslav citizens of Slovene origin were, on the basis of the false promulgation to be "persons of German nationality", expropriated, expatriated or persecuted in any other way. The Republic of Slovenia shall take a clear position regarding the guilt and guilty persons for such treatment and regarding the possibility of personal indemnifications to victims of unjust accusation. The ZLRP wishes to further stimulate all expropriated persons who have not achieved their rights yet to increasingly endeavour for the restitution of property. The Republic of Slovenia will namely in any case be obligated to fulfil its lawful and moral obligations towards these persons.
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