On Tuesday, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the state ceremony at Mala gora near Ribnica to mark Slovenia’s Day of Uprising against Occupation. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia took this opportunity to lay a wreath at the TIGR monument. The ceremony focused on the purity of thought and spirit expressed through the poetry by the little-known or even somewhat disregarded authors France Balantič and Lojze Grozde, as well as by the established author Karel Destovnik Kajuh.
As the keynote speaker, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, stressed in his address that Danilo Zelen, Ferdo Kravanja and Anton Majnik have shown what it means to be a great person. That greatness cannot be measured by numbers, the balance of power or the result. These three heroes have set a standard for humanity and patriotism that is difficult to reach, let alone surpass. It is measured by passion, faith and sacrifice. This is manifested in the ability of a person to put the benefit of society before their own benefit and even before their own life. To fight for their principles, as they simply cannot live in contradiction with them. “Today, we pay respect to the Slovenian resistance, which has kept us going throughout history. It has always been an important pillar of our identity. When our language, our culture and our way of life were threatened, we knew how to stand up to this threat and defend our greatest treasure,” said the Minister of Economic Development and Technology.
He also pointed out that, if we want to follow in our parents’ footsteps and answer the call of our time, this is our last chance to join forces in achieving psychological, social and economic recovery. “The epidemic has put us under a magnifying glass. It has brought out our ability to adapt and survive. But it has also brought out our differences and divergent points of view. However, in the coming months we will be able to live more freely again. Then we will have to work hard to achieve an economic recovery, which will in turn ensure social stability,” said the minister of the economy and continued by saying how we all agree that, for a better future, it is important to ensure social stability, the growth of added value and the living standard, the creation of new jobs and investments in the infrastructure. “Ultimately the development of all Slovenian regions. We need to agree on the path to these goals. To reach an understanding. This will define our better future. Yesterday is history. Let us devote more attention to what we have in common and on which we can build our development and people’s standard of life. Not to that which divides us and is no longer relevant today,” he emphasised.
The Minister of Economic Development and Technology concluded with the thought that our generation has taken two great steps forward and that it is time to take the third. “In the first step, we chose to become an independent state, which we fought for and won. This was the culmination of hundreds of years of efforts to resolve the question of the Slovenian nation. It was the pinnacle of all the past efforts of the creators of the Slovenian national programme. In the second, we chose to integrate into Europe and we succeeded. We joined the most developed countries. We carried out major reforms of our systems by harmonising our legislation with European standards. By entering Euro-Atlantic integration, we reinforced our statehood. Now it is the time to take the third step. Now it is the time for an extensive development front. It is time to reach an agreement, at the very least about our development vision. And to honour our forefathers with this development front. Those who, in decisive moments, answered the call of their time and did the right thing for the Slovenian nation. Let us do the same.”
