By: Borut Korun
In the month of February, thirty-six years ago, one of the great events of our history took place, the final act of the efforts of a group of Slovenian intellectuals – the 57th issue of Nova Revija was published.
Its content was a proposal for the Slovenian national programme. And although some had thought about the independence of Slovenia earlier, this programme led to independence.
Milošević “helped” us in the last decisive step, in the realisation of independence, who “made an effort” and showed us what he thought Yugoslavia or Serbia should be like. It was decisive, however, that he scared even those Slovenians who, for ideological reasons, did not consider independence an “intimate decision”. The appearance of Milošević and their own threat forced them to participate, albeit reluctantly, in the process of independence.
The ten-day war followed, the fight of the Slovenian David against the Yugoslav Goliath, in which we won, just as the biblical Israelite shepherd won – due to the use of reason against bare aggressive power.
We can also rightfully boast that we fought this war without unnecessary bloodshed. Let’s just remember that we treated the wounded YPA soldiers exactly like our wounded, that we treated the prisoners as young people who just served their military service. Anyone who talks about operetta war should know that the highest level of the art of war is to win with as few casualties as possible and with as little destruction as possible.
We can really be proud of such a development of independence, and I am sure that this act deserves more than a modest museum. But even that was too much in Slovenia.
This year’s anniversary of the publication of the 57th issue of Nova revija therefore had a very bitter aftertaste because it was then that we experienced for the Slovenian nation the infamous epilogue of the story that began with its publication, with the earmarking of our independence – the abolition of the Museum of Slovenian Independence, the denial and humiliation of the content from the 57th issue of Nova revija, the announcement that we are going back to Slovenian accident history. It happened – that a “new day” had come announced by Kučan, because the elections were won by the Slovenes, who would have remained Yugoslavs – if it were not for the Serbian leader.
By closing the museum, they symbolically erased the most important part of our history. This was done by the supposedly Slovenian government. The government that can be that precisely because of independence. These “Slovenes” do not like the Slovenian country, they do not recognise it, they are only “temporary” managers of our homeland, they belong to some other world. Their path should lead to a future without Slovenian content. To create a person without national identity, without historical self-awareness is the goal of this and of course every left-wing government. This also includes abolishing Slovenian culture and replacing it with something that is neither Slovenian nor culture. Just think of the National Day celebrations organised by leftists! Those celebrations of theirs were a mockery of Slovenian culture.
The abolition of the museum is not the only example of erasing history. They erase from our historical memory everything that does not belong to their ideologically coloured history, everything that did not contribute to their seizure of power, which was called a revolution. They wiped out the Slovenian Carantania, Prince Kocl, as well as General Maistro and the TIGR members. We do not hear a single word about peasant revolts. Who else hears about the Judenburg ebels? Who knows about the Carinthian peasant heroes who fought to the death against the Turks and whose skeletons rest in the church on Kokovo?
In schools, as a rule, there is no time for lessons on independence. All our past dissolves into nothingness, only what is allowed remains. However, only the Dražgoše are allowed, and maybe even – a really heroic fight – the Pohor Battalion. Now, there will be even more of this in schools.
In the deepest essence, they are doing nothing but what Stalin did in an even more brutal way, who had all the Ukrainian folk singers who recited their historical epics killed.
The plan they are implementing is the antithesis of Nova revija, it is a plan to create a historical void in our minds and then instil in it the belief that there was only one history, which therefore alone justifies and legitimises their absolute and – according to Stane Dolanc – eternal power.