NEWS
Founding of National Defence Manoeuvre Structure – a milestone in Slovenia's independence
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, tonight attended a ceremony in Kočevje marking the 22nd anniversary of democratic change in Slovenia, and the founding of the National Defence Manoeuvre Structure.
Before the ceremony, Prime Minister Janša said that the founding of the Slovenian Armed Forces was marked by several dates and events, each of them representing a milestone. According to the Prime Minister, the first of these events was the founding of the National Defence Manoeuvre Structure, which represented the beginning of the protection and defence of Slovenia's independence, and dates back to 1990 – 22 years ago. "This was not the only milestone, however. Another milestone was the first peacetime training of Slovenian soldiers in May 1991, as well as the first trial of strength with the then occupying Yugoslav army, which took place on 23 May 1990," Prime Minister Janša explained before underlining that a distinction should be made between the origins of the Slovenian Armed Forces and the historical milestones which contributed to its final establishment.
Lojze Peterle, a member of the European Parliament, the prime minister of the first Slovenian Government, and the speaker of honour at the ceremony, stated that Slovenia had witnessed decisive facts 22 years ago which had made our dream of freedom come true. In his view, this was the essential difference between the Slovenian spring of 1990 and 1991 and the spring of 1941 and 1945. He went on to outline the events that have taken place in the Kočevje area in the last few decades, and said that this is where the regime, which had wanted to make a better world by eliminating its opponents, had revealed its most unfortunate face. According to the first prime minister of Slovenia, independence "did not mean continuity, but a break with the totalitarian regime. This break served as the basis for the international recognition of Slovenia and its European perspective". He went on to express his belief that it is the values of independence that form the basis for a truly democratic, economically successful, open and internally free Slovenia that welcomes each of its citizens. His address also touched upon the current situation; he believes that Slovenia is in such deep crisis mainly because "the true Slovenian spring" did not last long enough to result in more profound change. Slovenia therefore faces a question of survival, and, in Peterle's opinion, this is mainly the result of the country's unfinished transition. This "upside down" situation must be resolved by us, the main dilemma not being "left or right, but to move forward together".
The Minister of the Interior, Vinko Gorenak, stated that the National Defence Manoeuvre Structure was founded during the unique historical period of the changing political situation in Europe. As he said, it was in Kočevje that the first public protests against the confiscation of arms took place in 1991. The end result of the events of that time was a "full symbiosis" in the operations of the then militia and territorial defence and over 20,000 of its members, who set the conditions "for the independent Slovenia's establishment on the world map".
The Minister of Defence, Aleš Hojs, stressed that the historical opportunity to establish the independent state of Slovenia arose in the late 1980s, while the risky situation brought an opportunity for the founding of a new army as one of the attributes of the emerging state. In his words, the National Defence Manoeuvre Structure project was prepared very carefully and "in strict confidence", which demonstrated the unity of the Slovenian nation. "It was this unity that paved the way for the final victory in the struggle for independence," he explained.
Vladimir Prebilič, the Mayor of Kočevje, said in his address that the entire independence process would have been much more difficult without the National Defence Manoeuvre Structure. In his opinion, the Kočevje area played a crucial role "in this and many other respects". "Let us be proud of the achievements of the Slovenian nation," he said, and stressed that "although we may not be a great nation in terms of size, our achievements have shown otherwise".