By: Ana Horvat (Nova24TV.si)
Former Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, was a guest on the show “Bujica” on TV Z1. Prof. Dr Slobodan Prosperov Novak described Janša as a “cult politician of Central Europe”, and former Minister of Culture, Zlatko Hasanbegović, stated that the formation of modern Slovenian state cannot be imagined without his role. Janša participated in an international conference on the challenges of contemporary conservatism in Zagreb, organised by the Centre for Cultural Renewal.
“After the fall of communism, which caused millions of deaths and significant suffering for hundreds of millions of people, there was no Nuremberg for communist leaders,” said Janez Janša, also reminding, “Ceausescu was shot, but that is probably the only case; he was killed by his own, but no one properly condemned the crimes of communism, and that is why this evil somehow sneaked into modern times.” In the Croatian show “Bujica”, Janša, the leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, discussed several topics of common importance for Slovenia and Croatia with the host Velimir Bujanec. Among other things, he touched upon the issue of dealing with totalitarian past and current political challenges.
In the show “Bujica”, former Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, warned against the increasingly ruthless actions of the left and the influence of old communist structures. Given that Janša is internationally recognised as a significant figure in the Slovenian political landscape, as seen and heard in the introduction of the show, the host pointed out that it is almost always the case that there are more kind words spoken about important personalities abroad than at home. Janša attributed this to the division in Slovenia between those for whom an independent Slovenia was never an intimate option, as they publicly stated during the country’s independence, and those who were in favour of an independent and democratic Slovenia.
The communists blame us for destroying their dreams, says Janša
Janša stated that the communists blame the independence activists for “destroying their dreams because they won”. He observed that Yugoslavia was also the dream of many in Croatia, but it was never a majority, rather influential circles. When asked why there was no lustration in Slovenia, Janša replied, “While we were liberating Slovenia, others were privatising it. They took positions in the media, judiciary, and financial institutions. The takeover of power for Slovenian communists was relatively easy, and they still hold these positions,” emphasised Janša. He believes that the old forces in Slovenia have more significant control than in Croatia.
He reminded that since he has been leading his Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) – for three decades now – it has been steadily advancing except for the year 2014 when “they robbed us”, Janša says, “because they sent me to prison three weeks earlier based on a fabricated accusation. They are destroying our potential partners because they cannot destroy us,” Janša claims, “while at the same time, they are forming their new parties to replace the previously unsuccessful ones. The communists in Slovenia do not know tolerance; they are extremely cruel to those who leave the sphere of their ‘cultural Marxism’.”
If communism had been punished, there would be peace in Ukraine today
Janša was one of the first to visit Kyiv after the start of the Russian aggression, but he believes that the situation in Ukraine cannot be compared to that in Slovenia or Croatia. He thinks that the war in Ukraine could have been prevented if communist crimes were punished. After Nazism, there was Nuremberg, but after communism, with millions killed and countless victims, there was no Nuremberg. “If the communists in Russia had been punished, there would be peace in Ukraine today,” the former Prime Minister of Slovenia firmly believes. Slovenia is a large graveyard for Croats killed at the end of World War II, and for Janša, it is natural to pay tribute to the murdered Croats, especially since his father managed to escape from Huda Jama. “If he had not escaped, I would not be here today,” he reveals. He recalls that the Slovenian left-wing government recently cancelled the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Communist Regime.
“After the fall of communism, which caused millions of deaths and significant ongoing suffering to hundreds of millions of people, there was no Nuremberg for communist leaders,” stated Janez Janša. He reminded, “Ceausescu was shot, probably the only example, he was killed by his own people, but no one properly condemned the crimes of communism, and because of that, this evil somehow sneaked into modern times.”
He believes that the main reason for the ban on the commemoration in Bleiburg is that the contemporary European left, including the Austrian left, openly justifies the crimes of communists. The host emphasised that Janša also opposed the attempt to ban the concert of Marko Perković Thompson in Slovenia. He said that he would like to attend the concert himself and labelled the attempted ban as a great shame for Slovenia. The decision to ban the concert in Maribor was issued by the current minister in Golob’s government, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik. “The ban on this concert is a great shame for the Slovenian legal order,” continued the former Prime Minister and leader of the strongest Slovenian party. “The fact is that some lyrics of Thompson’s songs, which do not speak favourably about the time of communism, are not popular in Slovenia, especially among the Slovenian left… It is just about that, not about what he is accused of, some imaginary connection with Ustasha. Simply put, he is a poet, artist, singer, and a popular media personality who has an equal attitude towards all totalitarian regimes. And if you have an equal attitude towards all totalitarian regimes, then in Slovenia, you are already ‘on the edge of fascism’. If you have an equal attitude towards all totalitarian regimes, then you are a fascist,” Janša concluded.
Europe has disappointed
When looking at the conference on the challenges of conservatism today, he believes that the eastern and central parts of the European Union hold more conservative values compared to the western part, but they are on the verge of extinction. He thinks that Europe is threatened by gender ideology, various projects under the guise of human rights, and the destruction of the family. “Europe has disappointed”, Janša claims, citing the example of a report by the European Commission stating that Slovenia has made progress in the independence of the judiciary and media, while at the same time, institutions in Slovenia are taken over by members of the same political environment. “The European Union is part of the problem, not the solution,” he is convinced. On the immigration and migrant quotas recently adopted by the European Union, he emphasises that certain forces in Europe are fighting for new voters because they are losing old ones.
Janša: Slovenian communists do not know tolerance
“It is unacceptable that the immense suffering represented by Bleiburg is being packaged under some ideological labels,” he commented on the ban on commemorating Croatian victims at Bleiburg Field. “It is a great shame for democratic Austria!” Janša’s family narrowly escaped the terrible fate of hundreds of thousands of victims of Tito’s post-war purges: “I have a specific personal attitude towards those events and a completely clear attitude because my father escaped from the pit at Macesnova gorica. If he had not escaped, I would not be here today,” he said. He also mentioned that he “knows many families and people who lost even more in these massacres after the war. That is why my government introduced a national day of remembrance for the victims of communist violence, which the current left-wing government abolished on that very day.” He remarked that “Slovenian communists do not know tolerance”.