24.03.2020 – 13.27 – Yesterday afternoon, Monday 23 March 2020, from 17 to 21, a symbolic protest was held in the center of Ljubljana, in front of the Parliament building, in the form of the lighting of many small candles.
Organized on Facebook thanks to the event “Prižgi#SvečaZaVlado“ on the page “V Sloveniji sem doma“, the flashmob was intended to express the concern of the citizens for the recent decisions on the quarantine.
“This is not a gathering, it is not an assembly, it is not an opportunity to socialize.
It is a torchlight procession to mark the death of democracy in Slovenia,” the author of the event wrote on Facebook.
The candles were lit by “those who care about” people “who will not be able to pay their bills, who will lose their jobs” as well as those who are on the “front line”, like doctors and nurses.
A twofold protest therefore; against what is believed to be an unpreparedness of the Slovenian government; and at the same time against what is perceived as an offense to democracy.
This “torchlight procession” required each citizen to light a candle in front of the Slovenian Parliament; to take a photo and post it online; this without in any way constituting an assembly; an initiative that therefore maintained the social distance now dogma not only in Italy, but also in all Europe.
The event on Facebook had reached 2800 interested people, with 800 participants; judging from the photos, there were very few people present, even if in such a number as to arouse the interest of the newspapers.
It is thought, however, that some candles have been removed by the police.
Concern was expressed about possible restrictions on local journalism; while the proposal to give police powers to the army, which was welcomed by Parliament, was not appreciated by certain sections of the population; harsh criticism was expressed, for example, by Radio Študent, which had proposed a referendum on the subject, which was subsequently banned because of the exceptional circumstances.
This is all taking place in an atmosphere of resentment towards the decision of Ljubljana to increase the salaries of ministers and secretaries of state.
Traduzione di Michael Guggenbichler
