“Tomorrow, we are all going to Dražgoše to send a message that values are important, that we have fought for the nation, for the language, for existence, for FREEDOM. That the fight against the occupier was necessary and justified. We exterminated fascists and collaborators then, and we will exterminate them again today. Death to Fascism, Freedom to the People!” the SAB MP Marko Bandelli wrote on Twitter, who often accuses others of disrespectful communication, and blocks anyone who even looks at him a bit strangely. But, of course, he is allowed to write anything he wants, even how he is going to exterminate someone – he is clearly subject to different rules than everyone else. However, we would like to ask Bandelli, who, in his opinion, are today’s fascists and collaborators. Who is on Bandelli’s extermination list?
The Party of Alenka Bratušek (Stranka Alenke Bratušek – SAB) is counting down the days until the upcoming election, and their MP Marko Bandelli could be counting down the days until the extermination he apparently has planned. Bandelli is otherwise known for his extreme sensitivity when someone says something a bit wrong at his expense, even if it is just a joke. But he does not know reciprocity – of course, fascists do not deserve a kind rhetoric; they only deserve execution. The SAB MP did not explain where he sees the fascists and collaborators, but we all still remember how this goes – an enemy can hide anywhere. Marking an individual or a group as an enemy is called demonisation, and spreading this is the main purpose of propaganda. Is this part of the SAB party’s pre-election plan? Or should Bandelli get some professional help? Namely, concrete in the wrong hands does not bring anything good, at least in the movies.
On Sunday, the traditional pilgrimage to Dražgoše took place. For the proud successors of the Communists and their supporters, this is an important holiday – too important to be taken away from them, as the Social Democrats party (SD) MP Marko Koprivc said, and on Thursday, we learned that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Igor Zorčič, would also attend the ceremony. And it was, of course, clear to everyone that the former President of the Republic, Milan Kučan, would also be there – “Because of what Dražgoše are. If it were not for Dražgoše, I would not be here,” he explained, making it clear that this is a symbol of their power. It is true that Dražgoše will continue to exist, but unfortunately, many people will no longer be here after this epidemic. However, we clearly have different views when it comes to the question of whether the misuse of graves for political propaganda is worth the lives and health of the people. On Thursday, 4,469 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in our country, so the share of positive results was almost 39.8 percent. The number of active cases increased by 3,419, compared to the previous day. This high number is also due to the December celebrations, despite the fact that mass celebrations were banned. We will see in a week or two what Sunday’s “celebration” of more than 750 participants in the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Dražgoše will bring.
In 1976, a monument was erected in Dražgoše, and mythical elements about the glorious victory of hundreds of fallen occupiers were added to the tragedy
As the historian, Jože Možina said: “Due to the regime mythomania, Dražgoše became an anti-symbol of what the organisers want to present. This was not an epic, protection of the people, a victory, or anything like that, but above all, it was a tragedy. Let’s look at it from the point of view of ordinary people – the villagers.” At the end of 1941, a larger partisan unit led by fanatical communists forced themselves on the innocent villagers of Dražgoše. The boys from the unit were certainly patriotic, but the leaders of the unit had a fanatic Bolshevik mindset, in which sacrificing lives is not a problem. The locals, especially fathers of the families, the former Austro-Hungarian soldiers, asked the partisans to withdraw from the village and told them that they would bring them food to Jelovica… It was, of course, clear that the Germans would attack and take revenge on the village if the unit stayed there. However, the fanatical leaders rejected the villagers’ pleas and, instead of sound judgment, staged rallies, to which locals were also invited. The outcome is known to everyone – the Germans drove out the partisans, killed 41 locals, and razed the village completely.
Head of the National Institute of Public Health, Krek: The organisers are not aware of the burden they have taken upon themselves
The director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, presented the health aspect of the meeting in Dražgoše: “If they strictly keep the distance of two meters among all participating, as well as wear masks, there is little chance of infection. But as far as I know, they shake hands, socialise, and so on. These are all things that should be cancelled.” The decree clearly explains all the requirements about distance, masks, outdoor events, and everything else. If the organiser is able to organise the event according to these standards, then the matter is not problematic. However, if the participants do not comply with the standards, it is the fault of the organiser.
They are spreading political propaganda on top of graves, and during the epidemic, they are helping spread the virus
The Vice-Dean of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Boštjan M. Turk, emphasised that it is more than clear that the battle did not have a significant impact on the course of World War II. “Even now, so many years later, this rally will have no impact, except for the fact that corona will begin to spread a little more intensely. And this gathering will take place at a time when the number of infections is breaking records,” he was critical. Turk said that it was obvious that we are already witnessing the pre-election battle, and in light of this, he announced what the speakers would talk about in Dražgoše: “They will talk about how democracy is threatened and say that elections are the last chance to remedy this state of the threat of democracy. But you have to understand this “threat to democracy” in the way Kučan understands it: ‘We are not in power, so I am asking all citizens to please let us get back in power, and then everything will be all right.'” And as we now know, Kučan really did talk about the importance of the election in his speech in Dražgoše.
Sara Kovač
