Slovenia continues with the erection of a wire fence along the border with Croatia. It has already put up 137 km of fence in 16 municipalities. Interior Ministry State Secretary, Boštjan Šefic, announced that a fence will be put up along the whole border with Croatia. He sees the erection of the fence as completely justified.
However, locals are increasingly dissatisfied. Bela Krajina residents demand the complete removal of the fence. There is also rising opposition against the fence in the Primorska coastal region. On Wednesday, in the vicinity of three camps in Vinica, a few hundred meters of wire fence was replaced by a panelled fence. According to State Secretary Andrej Špenga, the same kind of fence will also be put up at entry-exit points for boats in the Kolpa River. In previous days parts of the fence have also been removed at 13 locations in the Regional Park Kolpa, to allow wildlife access to water.
Bela Krajina locals warned the State Secretary in Črnomelj, that the fence will also influence the loss of subsidies for areas under cultivation. In addition it would make it more difficult to fulfill the goals of the Pokolpje development program. There are also concerns about the ecological impacts the fence would have in the case of bigger floods. The State Secretary assured the locals that the ministry is putting effort in reducing the harmful consequences the fence might have on tourism, fishing and wildlife, reports Jože Žura for Radio Slovenija.