Assembly for the Republic has responded to the statement of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts on “Slovenian reconciliation,” which was published on the 15th of March 2021. The response, signed by the president of the Assembly for the Republic, France Cukjati, states that they are willing to cooperate to the best of their abilities in the continuation and deepening of the reconciliation process. The Assembly for the Republic expects that the Academy’s statement “will significantly contribute to an open and comprehensive dialogue between all protagonists from the Second World War and the Revolution and their legitimate representatives, as well as between all relevant players in the country, which must also resolve the issue of reconciliation at the level of human rights, the Slovenian Constitution, and the legislation derived from it.” According to the Assembly for the Republic, the key precondition for a fair effort for national reconciliation is the condemnation of all totalitarianisms by the Slovenian parliament. We are publishing the statement of the Assembly for the Republic in its entirety below:
The thirtieth anniversary of the independent Slovenian state is certainly the right opportunity to measure the lengths and sides of our common homeland and its state. In this sense, the “Statement of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts on Reconciliation” is the right initiative and challenge for the continuation and deepening of the reconciliation process. The members of the Assembly for the Republic have different, legitimately plural views on the statement, and we support it in its basic sense.
In the continuation of the reconciliation process, we are willing to participate in an open, constructive and fair dialogue to the best of our abilities, with all of the key protagonists or their representatives, so that together, we can come to unfold the historical facts and then also understand them. We fully agree with the statement that “Social coexistence unencumbered by the past can only be achieved by striving for the truth about interwar and post-war events and evaluating them on the basis of generalised ethical principles and by pious and memorial acts for all fallen, killed and murdered. As much as possible, we must redress the injustices, stop accusing each other, excluding each other and instrumentalising history, and in doing so, also respects those who think differently than us,” as long as they are also advocating for a democratic constitution and a plural political order.
We expect that the statement of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts will significantly contribute to open and comprehensive dialogue between all protagonists from the Second World War and the Revolution and their legitimate representatives, as well as between all relevant players in the country, which must also resolve the issue of reconciliation at the level of human rights, the Slovenian Constitution, and the legislation derived from it. In this context, we believe that the condemnation of all totalitarianisms in the Slovenian Parliament is one of the key preconditions for a fair effort for national reconciliation.
A revision of history is needed
We welcome the position of the statement that a revision of history is necessary and that it needs to be carried out according to a scientific methodology, based on facts and interpreted in their historical context. We agree that there is a need to reach a consensus on the fundamental values of coexistence in a plural, democratic and free country, where any form of violence must be understood as a discarded act. We support further procedures to redress injustices and the debt to the dead, as well as all procedures and actions that continue the process of reconciliation, which should become a touchstone of our social consensus and coexistence, regardless of our differences.
In the expectation and hope that this statement will give a fresh impetus to the unresolved issues of our common existence, we support the initiators and expect them to continue to contribute to the democratic and reconciliation processes in our society and country through their scientific, ethical and national consciousness, in dialogue with all those involved.
France Cukjati
President
