They say that the dispute over the Bay of Piran is just “nationalistic fog”.
Representatives of the Workers’ Front from Croatia and the Left Party from Slovenia met on Sunday at the Dragonja border crossing, where they jointly protested against the border dispute surrounding the Bay of Piran, saying that the argument was a classic example of “nationalistic fog,” whose goal is to focus people on non-existent national issues instead of on burning problems of economic and social policy, reports tportal.hr on January 8, 2018.
“This is a bay which most people from Slovenia and Croatia have never visited in their lives, nor do they really care where the border is. Also, the location of the border does not have any practical significance, since both countries are now in the European Union. All these stories about national interests are a bunch of nonsense,” said the representatives of the two parties.
They also wonder whether it is in the “national interest” of fishermen to sail under the escort of police fleets and whether it is in the interest of workers to deal with “national issues” instead of their own interests. “The mania of militarisation, talking about weapons and calling for wars are not in the interest of any nation. They are in the interest only of those who want to preserve the status quo and social inequality,” said the two parties in a statement.
“While politicians tell stories about national interests in the Bay of Piran, at the same time they’re ignoring the most vulnerable groups – sick children who need medicines, pensioners who search for food in dumpsters, the poor and unemployed. Croatia is facing mass emigration of young people from the country, which will soon lead to a collapse of the pension system and even greater social differences between the rich and the poor. At this time, according to Eurostat data, as many as 1.18 million people in Croatia are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The Croatian Finance Minister praises GDP growth, but that did not bring a better life for everyone. Instead of saving jobs, science, education and healthcare system, ruling politicians spend money on new cars and mobile phones,” they warned.
The two parties think that political spectacles, such as this at the Bay of Piran, are folklore which accompanies the breakdown of the social welfare state and the third wave of privatisation, and together they warned about the recklessness of the current political drama.
“On the other side of the ‘border,’ as well as on this side, there are fishermen, workers, ordinary people, our sisters and brothers who share the same interest – to lead a dignified life in peace. The sea and the coastal areas are a public good that should be managed jointly, taking into account the interests of the local population and not some fictitious ‘national interests’,” said the Workers’ Front and the Left Party.
Translated from tportal.hr.
