The Dangerous World of Politics

* Unlike most of your colleagues who used to pose as opposition and have now become close to the authorities, you were not affected by the virus of power division in Slovenia.

I am not a rebel by nature. I simply believe that an intellectual should remain outside the institutionalized political system. Before the most recent political events in Slovenia, I took an active part in the political movements which have contributed to the democratization of our society. But after the last elections in Slovenia I thought it natural not to get involved in the institutionalization of the political life. Very soon I have found out that it was just the same old story and I got this funny feeling of being once again in the opposition, although I am not a member of any political party, since I believe that such an involvement would limit the scope of my beliefs. For an author, for an intellectual in general, the most appropriate position is to be outside all the official groups, since only that way one can have an unbiased outlook.

* How strong is the pressure DEMOS (the ruling party in Slovenia) and some of your colleagues are exerting on you to give up your engagement?

There are many people who disapprove of my standpoint, but I do not intend to stop pointing out the problems in my own country. An intellectual must always do that. I cannot say to what extent the official authorities are to be held responsible for the pressure I feel at present. It is true that a month ago I had a very fierce polemics with minister Jansa, since I was criticizing the competencies he gave to the army intelligence service. They could be described as military interference in the civilian sphere of the society. As a citizen, I have protested. Jansa replied in an irritated manner, even threatening to send me to trial. He went as far as to say that he hoped to see me in the first line of combat in the next war, which was a cheap shot. However, due to my "previous merits" he generously gave me a chance to publicly apologize to him. I said that I had nothing to apologize for and that I had the right to openly express my views. i have also reminded him that we the writers, in spite of the danger of persecution by the former regime, were holding protest meeting in front of the Military Court building in Ljubljana, during the trial where Jansa was one of the main defendants. The way we have swopped our roles is pure cynicism.

* How serious a problem is the present militarization in Slovenia?

I do not think it is a big problem, although owing to war in Croatia and the undefined status of Slovenia there is a danger of "israelization" of our society. I understand that Slovenia needs its own defence forces, but to establish the civil law and order is at least as important. It is true that Jansa has done a good job during the war in Slovenia, although he was not the only one, there was a widespread resistance. But what we need today is to concentrate on the values of the civilian society. In the letter he wrote to me Jansa said that the individual has no right to discuss and judge the law and that it is the competence of the institutions. I cannot agree with that. If I am effected by some law, as I am by this one concerning the military control over the social life, I most certainly have the right to express my view.

* To what extent does the "southern danger" contribute to the "israelization" of Slovenia?

Due to the war in Croatia, Slovenia is still not a safe country. That is our reality. Instead of striving for expansion and progress, our politicians are resorting to nationalism. They invent "the inner enemies", among which the most dangerous ones are the free-thinking intellectuals, the ones who challenge the legitimacy of the nationalism. At present, Slovenia is threatened by rightist populism, although we have no right to call it "fascism" yet. Despite all, one is not right to say that Slovenia is not a democratic country, for as long as there are people, cultural organizations and political groups who dare say that we have problems and that we must face them. Slovenia can survive only as an open country, which means that, despite the fact that Yugoslavia is no more, it should not break all ties with what used to be Yugoslavia. There are so many thing our peoples have in common and, in spite of the war, we still understand each other much better than others. My personal activities, as well as the activities of the Slovenian PEN Club, are directed towards the preservation of contacts and relationships we used to have with our colleagues all over Yugoslavia. At the time of war in Slovenia, our Club has made a public statement saying that the Slovenian people is not in war with the Serbian people but with the Yugoslav Army which performed an act of aggression. We have, at the same time, given condolences to the parents of all those who were killed in Slovenia, regardless of their nationality and what side they were fighting on.